L.S. Lowry's 125th Birthday celebrated by Google Doodle Lowry was born in Stretford, Lancashire, and his paintings typically depict Salford and nearby areas including Pendlebury, where he lived and worked for over 40 years. When Lowry's father died in 1932, Lowry spent seven years looking after his bedridden mother. This was a time of isolation and growing despair in Lowry's life, reflected in paintings which depicted derelict buildings and wastelands. Lowry has the record for the most honours declined, having turned down five between 1955 and 1976, including a knighthood. He died of pneumonia in 1976 aged 88. The first Google Doodle appeared in 1998 when the search engine's founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page replaced the logo with a picture of a Burning Man, to notify the world that they had gone on holiday to the Burning Man Festival.