--- title: Virginia Woolf: What You Should Know About the Writer description: Virginia Woolf's 136th birthday is celebrated with a Google Doodle illustration of the British author's profile. canonical: https://time.com/5117849/virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday/ author: Suyin Haynes article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-25T04:31:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:38:38.000Z og:title: Today Is Virginia Woolf's 136th Birthday og:description: Here's what you should know about Virginia Woolf on her birthday og:url: https://time.com/5117849/virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2ffe3999b109bd/6988f96922fb856302e247ca/virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday-5857012284915712-6-l.png?branch=production&width=391&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 391 og:image:height: 220 og:image:alt: virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday-5857012284915712.6-l og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Today Is Virginia Woolf's 136th Birthday twitter:description: Here's what you should know about Virginia Woolf on her birthday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe2ffe3999b109bd/6988f96922fb856302e247ca/virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday-5857012284915712-6-l.png?branch=production&width=391&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Today Is Virginia Woolf's 136th Birthday. Here's What You Should Know About Her > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: How Google Makes its Doodles [Watch (HLS stream): How Google Makes its Doodles](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/upF0qp1E.m3u8) (3:23)  _Published 2018-07-07. Our videographer went to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California to meet some of the designers and coders who create the special, clever variations on the Google.com logo known as_ by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:38 AM UTCPublished: Jan 25, 2018 4:31 AM UTC  Google Doodle Google DoodleGoogle Doodle celebrates what would have been British novelist Virginia Woolf's 136th birthday by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:38 AM UTCPublished: Jan 25, 2018 4:31 AM UTC Thursday’s Google Doodle celebrates British literary luminary [Virginia Woolf](https://www.google.com/doodles/virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday), with a portrait to mark what would have been her 136th birthday. The author of [_Mrs Dalloway_](http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/slide/mrs-dalloway-1925-by-virginia-woolf/), [_To The Lighthouse_](http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/slide/to-the-lighthouse-1927-by-virginia-woolf/)and _A Room of One’s Own_, Virginia Woolf’s life and work remains highly influential on the world of literature and beyond. Born on Jan. 25, 1882, Woolf’s early life was infused with creative connections, as both her parents were prominent figures in London’s literary and artistic circuits. Woolf, her husband Leonard and her sister, artist Vanessa Bell, would become core protagonists themselves in an intellectual circle known as the [Bloomsbury Group](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/b/bloomsbury/lifestyle-lives-and-legacy-bloomsbury-group); a collective of writers, artists, and thinkers who enjoyed their heyday during the first half of the 20th century. Virginia Woolf is regarded as one of the greatest authors of her time due to her exploration of modernism and feminist narratives, inspiring authors such as [Margaret Atwood](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/sep/07/classics.margaretatwood) and [Gabriel Garcí](http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/15/reviews/marquez-talk.html)[a Márquez](http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/15/reviews/marquez-talk.html). While Woolf’s pioneering, stream-of-consciousness novels received critical acclaim during her lifetime, she was affected by recurring bouts of mental illness, and died by suicide in 1941\. As TIME’s [obituary of Woolf](http://time.com/vault/issue/1941-04-14/page/38/) noted of her novels: --- > “” ---  English novelist and critic Virginia Woolf (1882 - 1941). (Photo by George C Beresford/Getty Images) George C. Beresford—Getty Images The Google Doodle illustration for Woolf’s birthday was created by London-based illustrator [Louise Pomeroy](http://www.louisezpomeroy.com/) and is reminiscent of a [well known photograph](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26869265) of Woolf in 1902 that captured her serene, thoughtful profile. Woolf’s Doodle is also surrounded by falling autumn leaves, which were a recurring image in her work. In celebration of Woolf’s birthday, the New York Public Library shared a guide to her work on Twitter, and Londonist shared a map of the locations where Woolf’s novels take place. > [](https://twitter.com/nypl/status/956527111610740736) > [](https://twitter.com/Londonist/status/956513497810132993) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5117849/virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5117849/virginia-woolfs-136th-birthday/"},"headline":"Today Is Virginia Woolf's 136th Birthday. 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