Below is our list of the four most important Americans in terms of their impact on American culture per decade. It’s our Mount Rushmore of each decade! We began with the 1940’s, the decade of World War II because, well, that’s when modern culture basically started. But, really, we had to start somewhere.

We found that the 1960’s were especially full with possible great people – we regret having to leave off Muhamad Ali and Jimi Hendrix. Also the 1990’s had a lot of options, given the boom of computers and the Internet. It was hard to fill the 1970’s and several people we polled for the project said, “It was a bad decade…” We realize, too, that the 2010’s aren’t over and things could change. Either way, just for fun, here is our list!

–Jake Uitti

2010’s

1. Mark Zuckerberg
2. Jack Dorsey
3. Dan Savage
4. Bill Simmons

2000’s

1. Barack Obama
2. Steve Jobs
3. George W. Bush
4. Oprah

1990’s

1. Kurt Cobain
2. Michael Jordan
3. Bill Clinton
4. Dr. Dre

1980’s

1. Madonna
2. Michael Jackson
3. Bill Gates
4. Ronald Reagan

1970’s

1. George Lucas
2. WoodwardandBernstein
3. Curtis Mayfield
4. Julia Child

1960’s

1. John F. Kennedy
2. Martin Luther King Jr.
3. Neil Armstrong
4. Bob Dylan

1950’s

1. Elvis
2. Lucille Ball
3. Rosa Parks
4. Hugh Hefner

1940’s

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
2. Jackie Robinson
3. Charlie Parker
4. Humphrey Bogart