The discoverer of King Tutankhamun’s tomb is the inspiration for today’s Google Doodle.
Marking the 138th anniversary of Howard Carter’s birth, the English archaeologist and Egyptologist discovered the doorway to King Tut’s chamber on Nov. 4, 1922, finding the excellently well-preserved and most-intact pharaoh's grave ever found in the Valley of the Kings.
Carter had been working as an archaeologist for more than 30 years before making the discovery of the steps to the entrance to the four room chamber, which yielded hundreds of priceless artifacts.
Carter retired from working in the field after making the discovery, working for museums and private collections. He was 64 when he died of lymphoma in 1939.
The doodle features a person examining artifacts such as a sarcophagus, a statue of Anubis and more, with a Google logo in the background.
Google has created hundreds of doodles to commemorate events and important dates marking historical figures. The company commemorated Earth Day this year, and other Google doodles include a playable Pac-Man, a Valentine’s Day-themed animation, and architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who designed Toronto’s Toronto-Dominion Centre. Geologist Nicolas Steno was honoured with the first doodle of 2012.
