Howard Carter and King Tut's tomb get a Google Doodle

The Google Doodle is celebrating another birthday Wednesday, May 9 - the 138th birthday of Howard Carter, the man who discovered the tomb of 14th century BC pharaoh Tutankhamun, a.k.a. King Tut.

Carter was born in London, England May 9, 1874 and at the young age of 17 was sent out by the Egypt Exploration Fund to help excavate and record tombs, as Carter was quite a skilled artist and could replicate the tomb decorations that they discovered.

In 1899, Carter was appointed the first chief inspector of the Egypt Antiquities and went on to work for George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who was the financial backer in the search for King Tut's tomb. The search appeared fairly fruitless and Carnarvon was becoming frustrated, but on Nov. 4, 1922, the excavation team found the steps leading to the tomb, which turned out to be the most intact and best preserved tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

On Feb. 16, 1923 Carter opened the sealed doorway to the burial chamber. It took another nine years to clear the tomb of all its thousands of relics and artifacts. After such a monumental find, Carter retired from archaeology. He died of cancer at the age of 64 on March 2, 1939.

The Google Doodle (pictured above) isn't one of their best efforts. We think for a King Tut tomb-based Doodle, they could've made it a little more interactive. Maybe gotten Steve Martin involved ...