Geographer and map designer Topi Tyukanov, who works at map provider Mapbox, is stirring things up with an exciting project: he has created an online world map showing the birthplaces of thousands of historical figures.
Tyukanov presented the world map of historical figures on Twitter. Internet users can use it to search for places, much like Google Maps – and then see historical greats from the culture, science, politics and sport that were born in the area.
The link in the tweet will take you to the map:
Which personalities are included in the list was determined on the basis of a recently published study in the scientific journal “Nature”. To do this, the researchers attempted to rank key names in the story according to their Wikipedia importance, taking into account, among other things, the number of edits to the associated article, length, average number of views, and number of references in the online encyclopedia.
Wikipedia ranking determines the size of names
Based on this ranking of importance, Tyukanov defined how large the names appear on the map. Names of people with large Wikipedia footprints are in bold and can be seen from afar. For less prominent historical figures, zoom in a little closer. Clicking on the name reveals more information, such as whether the person is still alive.
According to the map, the most important historical personalities from Austria according to the Wikipedia presence are the mass murderer Adolf Hitler from Braunau am Inn, the Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger from Thal near Graz and the Salzburg composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Their names are the first to appear when you zoom. Expanding the section further adds many more prominent Austrians – from Marie-Antoinette to Anton Bruckner to Toni Sailer and Hermann Maier.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
