When Google celebrates something it becomes a piece of news. When you open Google today, it appears with a finely designed image that is called Doodle. It is a logo that changes very often if not day by day on its home page.
Google on October 10 celebrated two eminent personalities of the time. Google India along with United States of America, Saudi Arabia and others celebrated Norwegian humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen and Google Hong Kong, Australia, United Kingdom and others celebrated English journalist Clare Hollingworth. It is not surprising but Google Pakistan did not celebrate either. It is all about business and no room for emotions.
Fridtjof Nansen was born on October 10, 1861 in Norway to a rich family. His father was an early explorer of the White Sea and his mother was a lawyer. Nansen was many in one. He was a scientist who did research on the central nervous system of lower marine creatures and helped establish modern theories of neurology. He was an oceanographer who made many scientific cruises, mainly in the North Atlantic, and contributed to the development of modern oceanographic equipment. He was a great humanitarian. As one of leading citizens of his country, he was in favour of ending his country’s union with Sweden and he spoke out for this.
In his 50s, he devoted his life to League of Nations. In 1921, he was appointed as the League’s High Commissioner for Refugees. He was a champion of peace and did a lot for First World War victims. He was one of the few who caused ending the first world war. Because of his dedication to the cause of peace during first world war, he was awarded Noble prize for Peace.
Fridtjof Nansen and Clare Hollingworth have one commonness. Both were somewhere engaged in world wars and League of Nations. Fridtjof Nansen was working for World War One as an activist and Clare Hollingworth was the first war correspondent who had reported outbreak of World War II. Her reporting was described as the “scoop of tragedy”.
Clare Hollingworth was born on October 10, 1911 in Leicester, England. She travelled from Poland to Germany and spotted and reported German forces massed on the Polish border. She was the first to report the German invasion of Poland.
Clare had a passion for writing from her early age though her mother wanted her to do something else. Her interest in warfare was stimulated by visits to historical battlefield sites in Britain and France with her father.
She wrote on conflicts in Palestine, Algeria, China, Aden and Vietnam. She worked for best newspapers in the world including The Telegraph, The Observer and The Guardian. War reporting was her passion. She died in January this year.
The New York Times had described her as “the undisputed doyenne of war correspondents”. She amassed considerable expertise in military technology and – after pilot training during the 1940s – was particularly knowledgeable about aircraft.
