FILE - In this March 14, 2016, file photo, actor Lin-Manuel Miranda speaks during an event with the cast of the Broadway play "Hamilton" in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Miranda has accepted Thursday, April 7, 2016, one of the largest prizes given for dramatic writing, saying that his creation of the Broadway smash “Hamilton” was parked by learning about Alexander Hamilton’s immigrant roots. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - In this March 14, 2016, file photo, actor Lin-Manuel Miranda speaks during an event with the cast of the Broadway play "Hamilton" in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Miranda has accepted Thursday, April 7, 2016, one of the largest prizes given for dramatic writing, saying that his creation of the Broadway smash “Hamilton” was parked by learning about Alexander Hamilton’s immigrant roots. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

New York — Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the Broadway smash Hamilton, says the real story of Alexander Hamilton is one that any immigrant can relate to.

Miranda, who on Thursday was awarded The Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History, told of reading Ron Chernow’s biography of the first U.S. treasury secretary and learning that he was born and raised in what was then the West Indies.

“When I found that out about Hamilton, I said, ‘I know this guy,’” said Miranda, who is of Puerto Rican heritage.

The prize, bestowed by Columbia University, was created to honor a new play or musical that explores the United States’ past.