5. The Man Who Saved the French Revolution
French revolutionary politician, general, and administrator Lazare Carnot (1753 – 1823), is another of those figure who played an outsized role in shaping history, but who is little known today. Despite valuable services to France, he got screwed over by his country.
A leading member of the Committees for General Defense and for Public Safety during the French Revolution, Carnot organized and oversaw the mass mobilization of French manpower. It came just in the nick of time to beat back foreign attacks from all sides, and to snuff out internal rebellions. Those accomplishments earned him the nickname The Organizer of Victory.