Howard Carter was an English archaeologist, whose most significant contribution to his field was the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty.
Born in London on 9 May 1874, Carter took off to Egypt at the age of 17, to assist in the excavation and recording of Middle Kingdom tombs. He turned his inexperience into an asset, coming up with some rather innovative techniques while replicating the decoration of tombs being excavated.
After working for 8 years as an artist, recording and replicating the work, Carter was appointed the first chief inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service (EAS) in 1899. It was in this role he caught the attention of Lord Carnarvon, who got Carter on-board to supervise his excavations.
On 4 November 1922, Carter's excavation group found the steps leading to Tutankhamun's tomb, by far the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings. It was here, that Carnarvon and Carter were to have their now iconic exchange. When Carnarvon asked 'Can you see anything?', Carter replied with the famous words: 'Yes, wonderful things.'.
The team spent the next several months cataloging the contents of their discovery. The clearance of the tomb with its thousands of objects continued until 1932.
Howard Carter has been a celebrated character in popular culture, with references to him in music, literature, art as well as movies and television, including the Young Indiana Jones TV series.
Carter died of lymphoma, a type of cancer, in Kensington, London, on 2 March 1939 at the age of 64. On his gravestone is written: 'May your spirit live, May you spend millions of years, You who love Thebes, Sitting with your face to the north wind, Your eyes beholding happiness' and 'O night, spread thy wings over me as the imperishable stars'.
The doodle shows Carter standing amongst the artifacts excavated from the tomb of Tutankhamun proudly inspecting his work.
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