37. Christopher Columbus
The iconic explorer did more than travel to the New World. He helped bring about the almost complete destruction of the indigenous peoples of the Americas by bringing to them European diseases to which they were not immune. He helped open up the slave trade between Europe, the Americas, and Africa by bringing indigenous people back to Europe as slaves and also pioneered colonialism by paving the way for wealthy Europeans to build colonies and plantations in the West Indies. All of his influences were not necessarily helpful for the people around him.