Check Out This Animated Map Showing How Boston Birthed America [View all]

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/08/15/check-out-this-animated-map-showing-how-boston-birthed-america/

Check Out This Animated Map Showing How Boston Birthed America
Nick DeLuca - Staff Writer
08/15/14 @12:00pm in City News



Boston sits at the epicenter of American history. Many who have graced the countryside and cityscapes can trace their roots back to The Hub, which during colonization served as the Ellis Island of European political refugees. Sure, massive metropolitan areas like New York and Philadelphia would go on to surpass Boston exponentially in terms of size and scope, but Boston is where it all began.

An animated map courtesy of Maximilian Schich and researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas tracks the birthplace and deathbeds of more than 100,000 influential individuals who've impacted Western Civilization so profoundly that, well, people track where they were born and eventually passed away.

The map begins with archetypal Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci, who was born in Italy and died in France, before moving on to Asia, Western Europe and eventually North America.

As aforementioned, during the early days of colonial America Boston served as the gateway to the continent. If you jump to the three-minute mark and observe with a keen eye, you'll see such big name historical players as Mary Dyer, Benedict Arnold and John Washington, George Washington's great-grandfather.