The famous world map

From Miguel de Cervantes to Andrés Iniesta, the most recognized personalities of Spain and the world rest on an interactive map available on the Internet called 'Notable people'. The "influencers" of the planet born between 3500 BC and 2018 meet on this platform with a design similar to Google Maps. Artists, scientists, revolutionaries, religious or businessmen appear in the list of the most famous. Filtering by categories of culture, science, leadership, sports and games, you can find out which town or city has seen the birth of the best known. Although popularity should not be confused with importance, the people who appear have left their mark, but not all have done so for their good deeds.

Spain, headed on the map by Cervantes, Goya or Picasso, has several renowned figures, historical or current. Ignacio de Loyola or Juan Sebastián Elcano (Gipuzkoa), Miguel de Unamuno (Bilbao), Pope Alexander VI (Játiva), Hernán Cortés (Medellín, Badajoz) or Federico García Lorca (Fuentevaqueros) are the ones that jump out at you on the map digital. As you zoom in, the names of other figures pop up with information on their gender, whether they're alive, and notoriety rank.

The tool was created by Finnish geographer Topi Tjukanov, who is a designer for the company Mapbox. With a sober appearance, the map can be fully navigated with the movement of the mouse to digitally travel to any region of the planet. The information, in addition to being collected from open data from Wikipedia and Wikidata, is based on a study published in the journal 'Nature', Tjukanov explained on his Twitter account. "It is both a source of fascination for the general public and a resource for scholars," summarizes the research, in which several universities, including Columbia, participated.

The world map reflects the birthplace of more than two million people. The recognition index does not always coincide with the level of historical importance and it is common to find soccer players or musicians in places where illustrious writers or decisive rulers could be placed. The technology processed the data to show only one name per location, the second most distinguished will have to be searched the old-fashioned way: diving into the internet.

The curious map shows that some celebrities were born in other places than most believed. Freddie Mercury is the clearest example, mentions Tjukanov. The vocalist of 'Queen' was not born in the United Kingdom, but in Zanzibar (Tanzania). The article that inspired the website points out that culture is the sphere that has given the most celebrities worldwide, 30%; followed by sports and leadership, each having more than 27%. Scientists only represent 11.9% of the most noted. In addition, there has been an evolution of the reasons that raise the interest towards people. At the beginning of the 15th century, politics and religion brought prestige and the current trend is entertainment and sports.