Google Doodle Honors Charles Dickens’ 200th Birthday
Google Inc. rolled out a new doodle in honor of the 200th birthday anniversary one of the greatest English novelists of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens.
The Google Doodle showcases some of Dickens's most iconic characters, Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Pip from "Great Expectations". The Doodle isn't animated unlike other Doodle's Google has released before but clicking on the Doodle will lead to a Google Books search results page of Dickens' works . Google released 260 doodles last year beating out the 258 doodles the company released in 2010. For those who missed a doodle or who weren't able to see them because some doodles were limited to a specific country, Google revamped its Doodle site which houses all Google Doodles since it was first released back in 1998. You can now play the Pac-Man doodle again or watch the other animated Doodles Google released over the years.
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. He worked as a clerk, a shorthand court reporter, a newspaper reporter and went on to write some of the classic works of literature, including "A Christmas Carol", "David Copperfield", "Bleak House", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Great Expectations", "The Adventures of Oliver Twist", "Nicholas Nickleby" and "Our Mutual Friend". He died of a stroke on June 9, 1870.
There will be a slew of events to celebrate Dickens' 200th birthday. The Prince of Wales will visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at Dickens's burial site, the Poets' Corner. Prince Charles is also expected to visit London's Dickens Museum.
Actors will give readings through the day in Britain. Ralph Fiennes, who will play Magwitch in the upcoming film version of Dickens' "Great Expectations", Gillian Anderson, Sheila Hancock, and Simon Callow will perform in Dickens' birthplace of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Several of Dickens' surviving descendants are expected to appear at some of the celebrations.