Google honors philanthropist George Peabody with doodle

The financier was born into a poor family in Massachusetts in 1795. He donated to dozens of libraries and universities, including Yale. He founded the Peabody Trust, one of London's oldest housing associations. In 1867, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his donations. He became known as the "father of modern philanthropy."

Have you peeped Google today? It's all about George Peabody, a famed philanthropist.

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The search engine site, which sometimes uses its homepage to honor prominent figures, is highlighting the financier on the anniversary of the day he received his Congressional Gold Medal for charitable work.

Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, the influencer only had a few years’ worth of education. However, he entered the dry goods business, opening a grocery store in his town.

As he began to learn more about the field and international trade, he became more interested in banking and resettled in London. There, he accumulated huge wealth thanks to his businesses in both Europe and the United States.

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Peabody started using his money for good, donating it to educational institutions and libraries. He became known as “the father of modern philanthropy” for giving away millions, and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his advancement of education in 1867.

He died in 1869 at age 74, and since his death he’s been honored numerous times. A statue of him stands next to the Royal Exchange in London, a hall at the University of Georgia is named after him, and his birthplace changed its name to Peabody. Now Google is paying tribute.

“Today's Doodle art is the result of a Doodle team volunteer mural project at George Peabody Elementary School in San Francisco, California,” the site wrote on its blog. “The mural currently resides in the student cafeteria.”

Check out the doodle archive to see the animated doodle, and watch how it was created below.

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