I would include people like Captain Cook and Sir Edmund Hillary, even Jacque Cousteau. These explorers opened the eyes and minds of the world...
In pop culture... Madonna would be as influential as MJ I would think. Arnold Schwarzenegger (sp) would be another cult icon if you forget about his politics. Elvis Presley and perhaps John Wayne would be others... but you could cover so many people...
Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi - all interesting in their own way. In high school in NZ we had to study Martin Luther King as a lead in to some of the history of the USA.
Arthur C Clarke would be an interesting one from a literary perspective.
There are so many potential people in society present and past....
