Frequent Internet users know that the search engine giant, Google, likes to surprise users with different pictures on the home page every now and then. On Wednesday, the company put out a new picture, but this one has a significant meaning behind it.
Wednesday’s Google Doodle pays tribute to a deceased author on what would have been his 112th birthday. Jorge Luis Borges was an accomplished author from Argentina. Born August 24, 1899, Borges moved to Switzerland with his family where he received an education. He returned to Argentina in 1921 and began publishing some of his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He became director of the National Public Library in and professor of Literature at the University of Buenos Aires in 1955 in Argentina. In 1961 he received the first International Publisher’s Prize (Prix Formentor),as well as the Jerusalem Prize in 1971.
Google Doodle tweeted a happy birthday wish to the writer, adding a quote by Borges that clearly links the doodle to the author: “I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” Borges was known for his contributions to the genre of science fiction, so much so that he is considered one of the pioneers of science fiction. His themes circle around the magic of realism end include a focus on dreams, labyrinths, animals, religion, libraries, and God. Some of his most famous works were The Garden of Forking Paths, The Aleph, The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths, and The Secret Miracle.
The Google Doodle is connected with him because the old man in the image is representative of Borges himself. The view that the old man is gazing at contains an image from one of Borges stories, The Garden of Forking Paths, and the unique sort of library that Borges imagined.
This isn’t the first time Google Doodle has honored a famous author or other known person. Christian Science Monitor mentioned some past authors included Hans Christian Anderson (which Google honored with his flipbook logo), Roger Hargreaves (with a drawing of his 16 different colorful cartoons), and a drawing of the interactive submarine paid tribute to science fiction author Jules Verne. The Doodle has also paid tribute to actress Lucille Ball, guitarist Les Paul, sculptor Constantin Brancusi, and jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie.
