Who was Hamed Gohar, the subject of Tuesday's Google Doodle?

The search engine paid tribute to the founding father of oceanography in Egypt and the Arab world

Google is paying homage to Hamed Gohar, who is widely considered the founding father of oceanography in Egypt and the Arab world. Photo: Google

A generation of Arabs know Hamed Gohar as the host of Sea World, a TV show he fronted for more than 18 years.

The renowned Egyptian scientist and marine biologist would have been 115 on November 15. Google is paying homage to the man who is widely considered the founding father of oceanography in Egypt and the Arab world with a dedicated doodle on its search page.

It features an illustrated scene of Gohar at sea, hosting his show from the underwater world he knew best.

Who was Hamed Gohar?

Born in 1907 in Cairo, Gohar studied medicine at Cairo University from 1925 and pursued a master's degree in oceanography at the University of Cambridge in the UK six years later.

He made some incredible contributions to Egyptian and Arab marine biology, working with the Arabic Language Academy to create scientific dictionaries in Arabic and serving as an adviser to the UN secretary general. He also helped organise the first International Conference on Law of the Sea in Geneva.

He started out by researching xenia, or soft coral, along the Red Sea coast, and soon discovered that the dugong, which was thought to be extinct in the region, still existed in that area.

He studied underwater life for 25 years at the Hurghada marine biological station and hosted Sea World, sharing the ocean's secrets with a generation of Arabs.

In the show, he highlighted underwater scenery and natural sea life, inspiring young people with his knowledge and passion for the ocean depths.

His Google biography says he was rumoured to never eat fish because of his love for sea creatures.

The doodle can be seen on Google's search page across North Africa, the Arabian Gulf and Iraq.

Google pays homage to the Mena region

The search engine often pays tribute to famous figures across the Mena region. Last month, it celebrated the life of Moroccan singer Haja El Hamdaouia, who influenced several generations of artists with her innovative style of Moroccan chaabi music.

Earlier, it marked what would have been Egyptian historian Mostafa Abdel-Hamid El-Abbadi's 94th birthday.

Scroll through the gallery below to see other regional Google Doodles over the past few years