Google is celebrating the 245th anniversary of legendary German composer Ludwig van Beethoven with one of its famous animated doodles.
The musician and composer was born on this day in 1770 in Bonn - then part of the Holy Roman Empire - and went on to become one of the most celebrated composers of all time.
But here are some of the things you may not know about the legendary virtuoso:
1. No one is actually sure this is his birthday
There is no accurate parish record for when Beethoven was actually born.
17 December is the day he was baptised - which was usually the day people celebrated in the 18th century - but historians believe he may have actually been born a few days earlier.
2. No one really knows why he lost his hearing Beethoven started losing his hearing when he was around 26 years old and by the last decade of his life he was completely deaf.
No one is entirely sure why he began to lose it but he suffered from a severe form of tinnitus - which meant he heard a severe “ringing” in his ears.
An autopsy after his death in 1827 reported he had had a “distended inner ear” that had developed lesions over time.
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