The world is a melting pot of cultures. No matter where you go, you’ll find people from different backgrounds, colours and creeds spread out across the globe.

A group of historians at the University of Texas in Dallas put together this short video illustrating the recorded births and deaths of more than 150 000 notable people in history, including the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci and King David.

The team created the map using data sourced from Freebase, a Google-owned database curated by a community of users. Blue dots on the map represent a person birth and red dots represent their deaths.

The map also shows how people flocked to certain places that were relevant or seen as places of opportunity and power in different eras.

“The animation reflects some of what was known already. Rome gave way to Paris as a cultural centre, which was eventually overtaken by Los Angeles and New York. But it also puts figures and dates on these shifts — and allows for precise comparisons. For example, the data suggest that Paris overtook Rome as a cultural hub in 178,” says Alison Abbott of the Nature science journal.

Watch the video below:

[Source – Nature. Image – YouTube]