Person of the Year (called Man of the Year
or Woman of the Year until 1999) is an annual
issue of the United States news magazine Time
that features and profiles a person, a group,
an idea, or an object that "for better or
for worse... has done the most to influence
the events of the year".
== Background ==
The tradition of selecting a "Man of the Year"
began in 1927, with Time editors contemplating
the news makers of the years.
The idea was also an attempt to remedy the
editorial embarrassment earlier that year
of not having aviator Charles Lindbergh on
its cover following his historic trans-Atlantic
flight.
By the end of the year, it was decided that
a cover story featuring Lindbergh as the Man
of the Year would serve both purposes.
== Selection ==
=== U.S. Presidents ===
Since the list began, every serving President
of the United States has been a Man or Person
of the Year at least once with the exceptions
of Calvin Coolidge (in office at time of the
first issue), Herbert Hoover (the subsequent
U.S. President), and Gerald Ford.
Most were named Man or Person of the Year
either the year they were elected or while
they were in office; the only one to be given
the title before being elected is Dwight D.
Eisenhower, in 1944 as Supreme Commander of
the Allied Invasion Force, eight years before
his election.
He subsequently received the title again in
1959, while in office.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only person to
have received the title three times, first
as president-elect (1932) and later as the
incumbent president (1934 and 1941).
=== Women ===
In 1999, the title was changed to Person of
the Year.
Women who have been selected for recognition
after the renaming include "The Whistleblowers"
(Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley, and Sherron
Watkins in 2002), Melinda Gates (jointly with
Bill Gates and Bono, in 2005), Angela Merkel
in 2015 and "The Silence Breakers" in 2017.
Prior to 1999, four women were granted the
title as individuals: three as "Woman of the
Year"—Wallis Simpson (1936), Queen Elizabeth
II (1952), and Corazon Aquino (1986)–and
one as half of the "Man and Wife of the Year",
Soong Mei-ling (1937).
"American Women" were recognized as a group
in 1975.
Other classes of people recognized comprise
both men and women, such as "Hungarian Freedom
Fighters" (1956), "U.S. Scientists" (1960),
"The Inheritors" (1966), "The Middle Americans"
(1969), "The American Soldier" (2003), "You"
(2006), "The Protester" (2011) represented
on the cover by a woman, and "Ebola fighters"
(2014).
Although the title on the magazine remained
"Man of The Year" for both the 1956 "Hungarian
Freedom Fighter" and the 1966 "Twenty-five
and Under" editions which both featured a
woman standing behind a man, and "Men of the
Year" on the 1960 "U.S. Scientists" edition
which exclusively featured men on its cover.
It wasn't until the 1969 edition on "The Middle
Americans" did the title embrace "Man and
Woman of the Year".
=== Groups and non-humans ===
Despite the name, the title is not just granted
to individuals.
Pairs of people such as married couples and
political opponents, classes of people, and
inanimate objects have all been selected for
the special year-end issue.
Multiple named peopleChiang Kai-shek and Soong
Mei-ling, President and First Lady of China
(1937)
William Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell,
crew of Apollo 8 (1968)
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, political
allies (1972)
Ronald Reagan and Yuri Andropov, Cold War
rivals (1983)
Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk; Yasser Arafat
and Yitzhak Rabin, political leaders leading
peace negotiations (1993)
Bill Clinton and Ken Starr, key figures in
the Clinton impeachment (1998)
Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley and Sherron
Watkins, whistleblowers (2002)
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Bono, philanthropists
(2005)
Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and
Kyaw Soe Oo, and the staff of The Capital,
journalists (2018)Classes of unnamed peopleThe
American fighting-man (1950)
The Hungarian freedom fighter (1956)
U.S. Scientists (1960)
The Inheritor (1966)
Middle Americans (1969)
American women (1975)
The American soldier (2003)
You (2006)
The Protester (2011)
Ebola fighters (2014)
The Silence Breakers (2017)
The Guardians (2018)Inanimate objectsThe Computer
(Machine of the Year, 1982)
The Endangered Earth (Planet of the Year,
1988)
=== Special awards ===
In 1949, Winston Churchill was named "Man
of the Half-Century", and the last issue of
1989 named Mikhail Gorbachev as "Man of the
Decade".
The December 31, 1999 issue of Time named
Albert Einstein the "Person of the Century".
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi were
chosen as runners-up.
=== 
Controversial choices ===
Despite the magazine's frequent statements
to the contrary, the designation is often
regarded as an honor, and spoken of as an
award or prize, simply based on many previous
selections of admirable people.
However, Time magazine points out that controversial
figures such as Adolf Hitler (1938), Joseph
Stalin (1939 and 1942), Nikita Khrushchev
(1957) and Ayatollah Khomeini (1979) have
also been granted the title for their impacts.As
a result of the public backlash it received
from the United States for naming Khomeini
as Man of the Year in 1979, Time has since
shied away from using figures who are controversial
in the United States for commercial reasons,
fearing reductions in sales or advertising
revenue.Time's Person of the Year 2001, immediately
following the September 11, 2001 attacks,
was New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
The stated rules of selection, the individual
or group of individuals who have had the biggest
effect on the year's news, made Osama bin
Laden the more likely choice that year.
The issue that declared Giuliani the Person
of the Year included an article that mentioned
Time's earlier decision to select the Ayatollah
Khomeini and the 1999 rejection of Hitler
as "Person of the Century".
The article seemed to imply that Osama bin
Laden was a stronger candidate than Giuliani,
as Adolf Hitler was a stronger candidate than
Albert Einstein.
The selections were ultimately based on what
the magazine describes as who they believed
had a stronger influence on history and who
represented either the year or the century
the most.
According to Time, Rudolph Giuliani was selected
for symbolizing the American response to the
September 11th attacks, and Albert Einstein
selected for representing a century of scientific
exploration and wonder.
Another controversial choice was the 2006
selection of "You", representing most if not
all people for advancing the information age
by using the Internet (via e.g. blogs, MySpace,
YouTube, and Wikipedia).
=== Withdrawn selections ===
In 1941, the fictional elephant Dumbo from
the Disney movie of the same name was selected
to be "Mammal of the Year", and a cover was
created showing Dumbo in a formal portrait
style.
However, the attack on Pearl Harbor on December
7 pre-empted the cover.
The U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt
was named Man of the Year for a record third
time, although Dumbo's Mammal of the Year
profile still appeared on the inside pages
of the magazine.Film-maker Michael Moore claims
that director Mel Gibson cost him the opportunity
to be Person of the Year alongside Gibson
in 2004.
Moore's controversial political documentary
Fahrenheit 9/11 became the highest-grossing
documentary of all time the same year Gibson's
The Passion of the Christ became a box-office
success and also caused significant controversy.
Moore said in an interview "I got a call right
after the '04 election from an editor from
Time Magazine.
He said,' Time Magazine has picked you and
Mel Gibson to be Time's Person of the Year
to put on the cover, Right and Left, Mel and
Mike.
The only thing you have to do is pose for
a picture with each other.
And do an interview together.'
I said 'OK.'
They call Mel up, he agrees.
They set the date and time in LA.
I'm to fly there.
He's flying from Australia.
Something happens when he gets home...
Next thing, Mel calls up and says, 'I'm not
doing it.
I've thought it over and it is not the right
thing to do.'
So they put Bush on the cover."On November
24, 2017, U.S. president Donald Trump posted
on the social media network Twitter that Time
editors had told him he would "probably" be
named Person of the Year for a second time,
conditional on an interview and photo shoot
which he had refused.
Time denied that they had made any such promises
or conditions to Trump, who was named a runner-up.
=== 
Online poll ===
Time magazine also holds an online poll for
the readers to vote for who they believe to
be the Person of the Year.
While many mistakenly believe the winner of
the poll to be the Person of the Year, the
title, as mentioned above, is decided by the
editors of Time.
In the first online poll held in 1998, wrestler
and activist Mick Foley won with over 50%
of the votes.
Foley was removed from the poll, and the title
was given to Bill Clinton and Ken Starr, which
led to outrage from the fans of Foley who
mistakenly believed the winner of the poll
would be the winner of the title.
In 2006, the poll winner by a wide margin
was Hugo Chávez, with 35% of the votes.
The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
came in second.
Time again ignored those results, not mentioning
them in the announcement of the Person of
the Year.
Time continues to annually run an online poll
for the "People's Choice", but stresses the
decision on whom the magazine recognizes is
not made by the poll, but by the magazine's
editors.
== Persons of the Year ==
== 
See also ==
Canadian Newsmaker of the Year (Time), printed
in the Canadian issue of Time until 2008
Breakthrough of the Year
Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People
== Notes
