As a civilization's culture increases, they will attract Great Persons from history. Each one counts as a Cultural Milestone; when 20 Cultural Milestones are obtained a civilization may obtain a Cultural Victory by building the United Nations wonder. A Great Person initially behaves as a non-combat unit with two points of movement. Upon reaching a city, a Great Person may either:
Once settled, a Great Person cannot be unsettled, although they can be kidnapped by Spies.
| Person Type | Settling Bonus | Consumable Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Great Artist/Thinker | +50% Culture | Convert a nearby enemy city |
| Great Leader | +3 Experience to new units | Upgrade all units to Veterans |
| Great Scientist | +50% Science production | Immediately complete current research goal |
| Great Humanitarian | +50% Population growth | +1 population to all cities |
| Great Builder | -50% Building costs | Immediately complete current city's construction objective |
| Great Explorer/Industrialist | +50% Gold production | Immediately obtain some gold: +50 if in the Ancient era, +100 in Medieval, +200 in Industrial, +400 in Modern |
| Name | Type | Prerequisite Technology |
|---|---|---|
| Aesop | Artist/Thinker | Writing |
| Agamemnon | Leader | Iron Working |
| Roald Amundsen | Explorer/Industrialist | Combustion |
| Archimedes | Scientist | Engineering |
| Aristotle | Artist/Thinker | University |
| Sargon | Builder | Bronze Working |
| Charles Babbage | Artist/Thinker | Networking |
| J.S. Bach | Artist/Thinker | Religion |
| Thomas Becket | Humanitarian | Feudalism |
| Alexander Graham Bell | Scientist | Corporation |
| Cheops | Builder | Masonry |
| Christopher Columbus | Explorer/Industrialist | Banking |
| Confucius | Scientist | Literacy |
| Marie Curie | Scientist | Metallurgy |
| Leonardo da Vinci | Builder | Invention |
| David | Leader | Monarchy |
| Vasco de Gama | Explorer/Industrialist | Navigation |
| Fyodor Dostoevsky | Artist/Thinker | Industrialization |
| Frederick Douglass | Humanitarian | Railroad |
| Thomas Edison | Scientist | Electricity |
| Albert Einstein | Scientist | Atomic Theory |
| Enrico Fermi | Scientist | Nuclear Power |
| Henry Ford | Builder | Automobile |
| Gilgamesh | Builder | Horseback Riding |
| Johannes Gutenberg | Humanitarian | Printing press |
| W.R. Hearst | Explorer/Industrialist | Mass Media |
| Homer | Artist/Thinker | Alphabet |
| Imhotep | Builder | Ceremonial Burial |
| Otto Lilienthal | Scientist | Flight |
| Guglielmo Marconi | Scientist | Electronics |
| Karl Marx | Artist/Thinker | Communism |
| Nebuchadnezzar | Builder | Construction |
| Florence Nightingale | Humanitarian | Gunpowder |
| Plato | Artist/Thinker | Pottery |
| Marco Polo | Explorer/Industrialist | Currency |
| Pythagoras | Scientist | Mathematics |
| Albert Schweitzer | Humanitarian | Globalization |
| Solomon | Scientist | Code of Laws |
| Sophocles | Builder | Democracy |
| George Stephenson | Builder | Steel |
| Leopold Stokowski | Builder | Superconductor |
| Tippu Sultan | Explorer/Industrialist | Space Flight |
| Lao Tzu | Humanitarian | Irrigation |
| James Watt | Builder | Steam Power |
| Eli Whitney | Humanitarian | Mass Production |
| Wilbur Wright | Explorer/Industrialist | Advanced Flight |