LUBBOCK, Texas — On Monday, in honor of Will Rogers, Google displayed an animated doodle. Rogers would have been 140 years old if he lived until Monday.
He lived from 1879 until 1935. Among other things, he was an actor and a columnist.
A statue of Will Rogers (and Soapsuds) was dedicated at the memorial circle on the Texas Tech campus in 1950.
According to the Texas Tech website, “The plan to face Will Rogers so that he could be riding off into the sunset did not work out as it would cause Soapsuds’ rear to be facing downtown.”
“To solve this problem, the horse and Will was turned 23 degrees to the east so the horse’s posterior was facing in the direction of Texas A&M, one of the school’s rivals,” the Texas Tech website said.
Rogers herded cattle in the Lubbock area and one of his favorite ranches was west of Lubbock.
His statue in Lubbock was commissioned by Amon Carter. It’s nearly 10 feet tall and weighs more than 3,000 pounds.
