On Wednesday the Google search page shows Jan Kross sat behind a typewriter, and by clicking on the header, the search engine leads the user to a search for "Jaan Kross," where you can read more about him. 

The Doodle was designed by Tallinn-based Estonian illustrator Mirjam Laater and a small interview about how she came up with her idea can be read here.

Discussing the inspiration for the design, she said: "I was already familiar with Kross' writing, so I focused my research on the author himself, to better understand his nature, how and why he wrote the way he did. I was struck by the contrast of his life story on paper—the post-war years, being an intellectual in a time of censorship, and the surprising charm and playfulness evident from his photos and interviews. It seemed to me that writing itself was a form of freedom for him, a way of understanding life and its choices. I wanted to capture that joy and dedication, a life among books."

Kross was born on February 19, 1920 in Tallinn and died in 2007, aged 87. He is Estonia's most internationally well-known author and was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His books have been translated into many languages, including English.

His novels highlighted themes of censorship and state-led repression and served to foster a sense of solidarity among Europe's Soviet Bloc writers.

In 1990, Kross won the Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, France's foreign book award, for "Keisri hull," as well as the Amnesty International Golden Flame Prize. In 1992, Kross helped draft Estonia's new constitution after the country gained independence from the Soviet Union.

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