11. William Shakespeare
His most famous play was Romeo and Juliet, but there is more to Shakespeare than the star-crossed lovers. He is responsible for many of the sayings and idioms that we still use today, such as, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” He also invented many of the words that are still used today, as well as many literary devices, such as comic relief, knock-knock jokes, and five-act plays that have an introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.