The latest lifestyle, fashion and travel trends
The latest lifestyle, fashion and travel trends
Today’s Google Doodle commemorates the life and legacy of renowned German doctor Dr Ruth Pfau on what would have been her 90th birthday.
Dr Pfau dedicated her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan, and is often described as the country’s very own ‘Mother Theresa.’
Here’s everything you need to know about humanitarian pioneer Dr Ruth Pfau:
Who was Dr Ruth Pfau?
Dr Pfau was born on 9 September 1929 in Leipzig, Germany. Following the post-war Soviet occupation of East Germany, she escaped to West Germany along with her family, and went on to study medicine at the University of Mainz.
She first went to Pakistan aged 29 in 1960 and, after witnessing leprosy for the first time, returned to set up clinics across the country.
During her time there, she rescued disfigured and suffering children who had been confined to cattle pens for years by their parents, who were terrified they were contagious.
Her efforts meant that in 1996, the disease was declared to have been brought under control.
Why is she being honoured with a Google Doodle?
Dr Pfau dedicated years of her life to the people of Pakistan. Her influence was considered so profound that when she died in 2017, the country’s then-Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said Dr Pfau “may have been born in Germany, but her heart was always in Pakistan.”
Ensuring she left a lasting legacy, Dr Pfau founded Pakistan’s National Leprosy Control Program and the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center, which has a presence in every Pakistani province.
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The doodle celebrating Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary
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The doodle marking 155 years of the Pony Express – when horseback riders would deliver letters between California and Missouri
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The doodle marking the 155th anniversary of the London Underground
2/20
The doodle celebrating the 255th anniversary of the British Museum
3/20
The doodle marking India’s Republic Day in 2013
4/20
The doodle marking the 160th anniversary of the first Indian passenger train
5/20
The doodle marking Earth Day 2018 with Jane Goodall
6/20
The doodle marking when the NASA Juno probe reached Jupiter
7/20
The doodle marking when the NASA Juno probe reached Jupiter
8/20
The doodle marking Hannah Glasse’s 310th birthday, the creator of the Yorkshire Pudding
9/20
The doodle celebrating Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, who died in 2013
10/20
One of Matt Cruickshank’s doodles, marking the 93rd birthday of Saul Bass, the American graphic designer and Oscar-winning film maker
11/20
The doodle marking Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka’s 120th birthday
12/20
The doodle marking Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, which also takes place on the same day as St George’s Day
13/20
The doodle celebrating the Japanese poet, Kobayashi Issa
14/20
The doodle marking marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Louise Carson on her 107th birthday
15/20
The doodle marking Columbian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 91st birthday,
16/20
The doodle marking Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s 95th anniversary
17/20
An amalgamation of all the different Google Doodle gifs marking 100 years since the completion of the Trans-Siberian railway
18/20
The background for the doodle game celebrating Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary
19/20
The doodle celebrating Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary
20/20
The doodle marking 155 years of the Pony Express – when horseback riders would deliver letters between California and Missouri
She went on to receive an accolade of honours for her work, including the Hilal-e-Imitaz – Pakistan’s second highest civilian award – in 1979, the Hilal-e-Pakistan in 1989 and the German Staufer Medal in 2015.
Dr Pfau wrote four books in German about her work in Pakistan, including To Light A Candle, which has been translated into English.
In the years following her death, Dr Pfau will be remembered as a medical pioneer and altruistic humanitarian.
“Not all of us can prevent a war,” she once said, “but most of us can help ease sufferings – of the body and the soul.
