7 Of 'Time' Magazine's Most Shocking Picks For Person Of The Year

Every year, United States news magazine 'Time' recognises a "person or group of people" who had "the greatest influence on the events of the year-for better or worse." The 'Time Person of the Year' is announced in December and makes it to the magazine's cover in a tradition that dates back to 1927. The title goes to "the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse," former Managing Editor Walter Isaacson wrote in the 1998 issue, according to 'Time' magazine.

However 'Time' magazine also clarifies that this does not necessarily mean that its person of the year is always a hero. "Adolf Hitler, for example, was Person of the Year in 1938, with a cover showing him playing a ghastly organ and a cover line touting, 'From the unholy organist, a hymn of hate'," they write.

A video by Cover Media takes a look at seven of 'Time' magazine's most shocking pics for 'Person Of The Year'. Here are the names that made it to the list:

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was Person of the Year in 1938. "Hitler became in 1938 the greatest threatening force that the democratic, freedom-loving world faces today," the magazine wrote.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was chosen as 'Time Person of the Year' twice - in 1939 and 1942. "Joseph Stalin has gone a long way toward deifying himself," the magazine said of Stalin.

Nikita Khrushchev

Nikita Khrushchev, who succeeded Stalin as leader of the Soviet Union, was picked as 'Time Person of the Year' in 1957.

Richard Nixon

The American president was picked as 'Time Person of the Year' in 1972. His presidency is most often remembered for the Watergate scandal that led to his resignation.

Ayatullah Khomeini

Ayatullah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, was 'Time Person of the Year' in that year too, when the magazine called him "the mystic who lit the fires of hatred."

Vladimir Putin

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin was chosen as the Person of the Year by 'Time' magazine. "Putin has put his country back on the map. And he intends to redraw it himself," 'Time' magazine said.

Donald Trump

The  businessman and television personality became the president of the United States in 2016 - the year he was also picked as 'Time Person of the Year'.