Making judgements

Having just about about posted all the scientists selected from Jon Balchin's book, Quantum Leaps, I have started trying to make my quick and dirty distinction between sinner or saint to try and answer my question. Not surprisingly this is not straightforward. So what are the sticky bits?

1. The wikipedia entries rarely have any information about their personal or interpersonal lives.
2. Where there is information, it is often describing how their behaviour was viewed by their contemporaries. So homosexuality for example is cause for scandal and oppression for some, but not for me.
3. How am I to judge the information that is there, even at this early stage? As me? Or as a contemporary? I have to do it as me I reckon, since I don't have the opportunity to take a contemporary view.
4. How far is it possible to judge whether somone was a b%$&*rd IN ORDER TO succeed? This is very tough.
5. How good is the starting list? Not very in my view.
6. Is sinner or saint enough? What about victim? Or sacrifice?

Conclusions so far are that I will finish this first list and make the quick and dirty judgement.
I will add victim and sacrifice to the distinction. I will stick with this list for now, and see how many people I end up with for the next level of more detailed reading.

I reckon this would be a fun thing to do on line with a community of contributors and voters , wiki style. Mmmmm ....