ALAN Paton was a South African author and anti-apartheid activist who fearlessly opposed the racial segregation rife in his homeland throughout his career.
The trailblazing writer is being commemorated by a Google Doodle on what would have been his 115th birthday – here is what you need to know about him.
Getty - Contributor Author Alan Paton was a fearless anti-apartheid campaigner
Who was Alan Paton?
Alan Paton was born in Natal on January 11, 1903 and earned a science degree before gaining a diploma in education and working as a teacher.
In 1935 he became principal of the Diepkloof Reformatory for young black African offenders, and spent his 14-year stint pursuing a series of compassionate, and consequently controversial, policies.
These included open dormitories, work permits and home visitation, with offenders rewarded for good, trustworthy behaviour by being allowed to work and even reside outside the prison.
After World War Two he toured correctional facilities around the world, visiting the likes of Scandinavia, England and the US.
During the trip he began work on his seminal first novel Cry, The Beloved Country, which was published in 1948 and laid bare the racial tensions in South Africa which would eventually become the apartheid system.
The moving book was critically acclaimed and spawned two movie adaptations, released in 1951 and 1995, and a musical version called Lost in the Stars.
Credit: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo Paton is best known for his seminal 1948 work Cry, The Beloved Country
Paton released several other books on race and politics in South Africa in the 1950s and 1960s, achieving great success.
He also fought against apartheid politically, co-founding the Liberal Party of South Africa in 1953, which railed against separatist legislation introduced by the ruling National Party.
The party was forced to disband in 1968 due to its members being both black and white.
While Paton advocated peaceful protest against apartheid, his opposition incurred the wrath of the ruling regime.
In 1960, the author had his passport confiscated for 10 years without explanation upon returning from a trip to New York.
He met his first wife, Dorrie Francis Lusted, when he was still at school – they were married in 1928 and had two sons before her death in 1967.
Paton married his second wife, Anne Hopkins, two years later, and they stayed together until he died from cancer in Durban in 1988, three years before the end of apartheid.
The Google Doodle celebrating Paton on his 115th birthday
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.
Google Google celebrated the Autumn Equinox with a themed doodle
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 recent Doodles were ones commemorating German scientist Robert Koch, Jan Ingenhousz (who discovered photosynthesis) and the 50th anniversary of kids coding languages being introduced.
Earlier in the year, the search giant celebrated the 2017 Autumn Equinox , which marked the official ending of summer and the coming of autumn.
Google is celebrating South African author and activist Alan Paton with a new Google Doodle on Wednesday, marking what would have been Paton’s 115th birthday.
Born in Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa, Paton became a prominent figure both in the literary and political world through his writings and public addresses that spoke out against apartheid, the South African system of racial discrimination, during the mid to late 1900s.
After graduating from the University of Natal and becoming a teacher, Paton became head of Diepkoof, a prison for young black youths, where he introduced reforms that included open dormitories and home visitations.
It was while studying prison reform in Europe that Paton was inspired to write his famed book, “Cry, the Beloved Country,” which tells the story of a minister who struggles to come to terms with the murder of his son amid racial tensions.
Google’s Doodle depicts Paton on a train ride – the moment he is believed to have been inspired to write the book.
Author, Alan Paton (R) interviewing Herrero woman, Katrina Whiteman against the backdrop of the Tshani well during during his Kalahari expedition in Bechuanaland. Terence Spencer—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Paton went on to write a variety of works after “Cry, the Beloved Country” that shed light on the racial injustices of apartheid. He also helped to create the Liberal Party of South Africa in 1953.
The party fought for universal voting rights and an opposition of violence through 1958, when it was disbanded by a law that made interracial parties illegal.
Besides his books, Paton also wrote numerous essays on race and politics in South Africa that helped spark attention from around the world on the issue of apartheid.
The Google Doodle for January 11 pays tribute to Alan Paton, the South African author and anti-apartheid activist, on what would have been his 115th birthday.
He is renowned for protesting against racial segregation in person and in his books during pre-Apartheid in South Africa.
Who was Alan Paton?
Alan Paton was born on January 11, 1903 in the Natal province of South Africa, in what is now called the KwaZulu-Natal province. His father was strict and used corporal punishment to control Paton and his brothers, which is thought to have influenced Alan's opposition to authoritarianism and physical punishment. Despite this, Paton's father also introduced him to literature and sparked a love of nature in his son that was later showcased in his books.
South African author and activist Alan Paton is marked in the Google Doodle for January 11
Paton had been a teacher before his appointment as Principal of the Diepkloof Reformatory for Young Offenders led him to work with black youths and this had an impact on his political development.
He then wrote his most famous book,Cry, the Beloved Country, which was published in 1948, the year apartheid was formally established and when the four decades of racial segregation began in South Africa.
Paton's most famous work Cry, the Beloved Country was published in 1948 and has sold more than 15million copies
As the Google Doodle describes: 'His magnum opus is a moving tale of racial injustice, human suffering, and redemption, as two fathers come to terms with the loss of their sons - one an accidental murder and the other, his unfortunate victim.'
The book was considered revolutionary by many white South Africans, sold more than 15 million copies, inspired two films (in 1951 and 1995) and is renowned for expanding knowledge of apartheid on a global scale.
After the success of Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton resigned from his post at the Diepkloof and dedicated his life to the pursuit of writing. He published 19 books between 1948 and 1989, helped found the Liberal Party and was elected party leader in 1955, succeeding Margaret Ballinger. Paton remained in this post until 1968 when the party was dissolved after a legislation passed banning multiracial political parties.
Alan Paton continued writing and fighting for the right for the human principles of love, non-violence and family. In 1988, he was diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer and died in Durban on April 12 that year.
What is a Google Doodle?
The latest Google Doodle depicts Alan Paton on a train ride, where he is thought to have been inspired to write Cry, the Beloved Country and celebrates his 115th birthday imagining the author and activist as a visionary.
Google Doodles were first created by co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to inform others that they would be attending the Burning Man Festival that year and would be out of the office. Since then, Google's logo has been transformed on a more regular basis to celebrate famous people and mark cultural events around the world.
Previous Google Doodles have celebrated Chinua Achebe, Vladimir Dal and Christian Doppler.
“Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear.”
South African author and activist Alan Paton introduced the world to life in pre-Apartheid South Africa, fearlessly speaking out against racial segregation in person and through his books, and propagating universal franchise and non-violence.
Born in the Natal province (present day KwaZulu-Natal), the young Paton was subjected to extensive corporal punishment, which led to his lifelong opposition to any form of authoritarianism and physical punishment. Later, as administrator of the Diepkloof Reformatory for young black African offenders, he developed a controversial but compassionate system of reform that included open dormitories, work outside the prison walls, and home visitations.
After the Second World War, Paton toured correctional reform facilities across the world, during which time he started to write Cry, the Beloved Country. The book was published in 1948 — ironically the very year in which apartheid was formally institutionalized, beginning four decades of racial segregation in South Africa. His magnum opus is a moving tale of racial injustice, human suffering, and redemption, as two fathers come to terms with the loss of their sons — one an accidental murder and the other, his unfortunate victim.
Today’s Doodle depicts Paton on a train ride (on which he allegedly gained inspiration to write Cry, the Beloved Country) and celebrates the 115th birthday of a visionary who did much to fight for basic human principles of love, non-violence, and equality.
Happy Birthday, Alan Paton!
