New Delhi: The doodle in place of the usual Google logo on Tuesday is inspired by the paintings of the famous French-American ornithologist John James Audubon. The doodle celebrating Audubon's birthday has, like many other Google doodles, a pattern of the Google logo visible. In the latest doodle, the Google logo is made up of the branches of the trees the birds in the painting are perched.
Audubon was born in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), then a French colony, on April 26, 1785 to a French sea captain and plantation owner and his French mistress. He spent his early years in France and immigrated to the United States at the age of 18. He had an avid interest in birds and drawing right from his childhood.
He began his study of American birds soon after his arrival in the US while also dabbling in the series of unsuccessful business ventures. He was also briefly jailed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile his interest for drawing birds steadily grew and published the first volume of his illustrations title The Birds of America in 1827. The book was well received and Audubon had established himself as an ornithologist of note. His other works include Ornithological Biography, A Synopsis of the Birds of North America and Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.
James Audubon died at the age of 65 on January 27, 1851 in New York.
Google doodles have gained immense popularity over the past few years and the Google team has put out commemorative doodles on events ranging from news events, civic milestones, birthdays, death anniversaries and important dates in history.
Google has recently celebrated Charlie Chaplin, Robert Bunsen and Jules Verne's birthdays and also Earth Day with commemorative doodles.
Google estimates it has created more than 900 doodles since 1998, with 270 of them running in 2010. Some appear globally, and others are tailored for local markets, such as Kenya Independence Day.
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