Who was Maria Reiche? Google Doodle celebrates mathematician who researched Peru’s Nazca lines
German-born mathematician Maria Reiche carried out in-depth research into the Peruvian Nazca lines
TODAY'S Google Doodle celebrates the life and achievements of German-born mathematician, Maria Reich, upon her 115th birthday.
But who was she? Here's the lowdown ...
Who was Maria Reiche?
Maria Reiche was born on May 15, 1903, in Dresden, Germany.
There she studied mathematics, astronomy, geography and foreign languages - of which she could speak five.
She moved to Peru in 1932, when she became a nanny and teacher to the German consul's children in Cusco.
After the break out of World War II, Maria remained in Peru and dedicated her life to researching the Nazca lines - ancient geoglyphs etched into the Nazca Desert.
It is believed they were created between 500 BC and 500 AD.
Reiche's theories about the lines were published in The Mystery on the Desert in 1949.
The area became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1994.
Maria passed away aged 95 of ovarian cancer and was buried with her sister near Nazca.
More Google Doodles
What is a Google Doodle?
In 1998, the search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google as a message to that they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.
The company decided that they should decorate the logo to mark cultural moments and it soon became clear that users really enjoyed the change to the Google homepage.
In that same year, a turkey was added to Thanksgiving and two pumpkins appeared as the 'o's for Halloween the following year.
Now, there is a full team of doodlers, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who help create what you see on those days.
Among the Doodles published recently were ones commemorating world renowned scientist Dr Jane Goodall and Earth Day 2018.
