MAIN Society TIME Person of the Year

Formerly knwon as "Man of the Year", TIME Magazine's choice of "Person of the Year" is regarded by many readers as the definitive word on the planet's most influential people.

TIME has been choosing their Man or Person of the Year since the Depression era — when a slow news week forced editors to boost circulation.

The formula was squarely set when the magazine featured hero and true blue American Charles Lindbergh on the first Man of the Year cover in 1927.

Since then, the special end-of-year issue has annually become an instant bestseller featuring world statesmen, political leaders and prominent people in the news.

Person of the Year 2009?

In 2009, the most frequently named people included President-elect Barack Obama, (for the second year running) as well as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, airline pilot and US hero Captain Sullenberger — or an abstract choice such as The World Economy, or The American Taxpayer. However, the pick ultimately hinged on what headlines shape the world in the interim, and in 2009 TIME editors chose chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Bernard Bernanke, as the person holding the most influence over the US economy this year and, by extension, the world.

The March of TIME

Throughout the years, obvious popular picks have included such names as Martin Luther King, Jr., George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II, and even a royal nod to Queen Elizabeth II as "Man of the Year" following her coronation in 1952.

Not that the TIME cover has ever been without controversy.

TIME's long-held policy of choosing movers and shakers resulted in Man of the Year honors being bestowed on Adolf Hitler in 1938, Joseph Stalin (twice, in 1939 and 1942), and Iran's Ayatullah Khomeini in 1979.

Today, TIME's readership still holds the popular notion that the Person of the Year should only honor the world's best and brightest. Perhaps bowing to public pressure, the magazine named "The Younger Generation" and "The Endangered Planet" as feel-good picks in the recent past.

Perhaps the most parodied of all TIME covers focused on "YOU", as the Person of the Year in 2006. The pick was widely considered to be the magazine's safest choice (and, at worst, mere pandering) when a metallic cover reflected a readers own face — said to symbolize the growing force of Internet users worldwide.

More about TIME's Person of the Year around the Web:

Around the Web, discover more about the annual pick that profiles a man, woman, couple, group or idea that, as TIME states,"...for better or for worse has done the most to influence the events of the year."

TIME Person of the Year 2009 - A complete profile of this year's pick Federal Reserve chairman Bernard Bernanke, and why he was chosen, including photos and a complete bio.

TIME's Person of the Year 1927 - 2008 - Special magazine Web supplement allowing visitors to view historic covers arranged by category or browseable by year.

Time Person of the Year - Wikipedia - Good overview featuring historical background, photos, complete list of honorees from 1927 to the present, with related references & resources.

TIME's Man of the Year List - Complete hyperlinked winner list from 1927 to the present with releated trivia and fun facts.

Time Magazine's Person of the Year - Photoshop parody of their honored picks, from SomethingAwful.com.