Who Is Fazlur Rahman Khan? Google Doodle Honors 'Father Of Skyscrapers' On 88th Birthday

Monday's Google Doodle featured a drawing of a man standing behind skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. That man is Fazlur Rahman Khan, a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect who was a pioneer in the field of high-rise buildings and large-scale design, leading to their advancement. Monday marked what would be his 88th birthday.

The "father of skyscrapers" as Khan was also called, was born in Dhaka on April 3, 1929, and died at the age of 52 in 1982 due to a cardiac arrest in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He created the trussed tube structural system which was, and still is, used by most tall buildings around the globe. Khan's structural systems increased efficiency and reduced costs, and enabled buildings to reach heights surpassing anything that came before them. His best-known work was the Sears Tower (now called Willis Tower) and the John Hancock Center in Chicago.

On his birthday, his daughter Yasmin Sabina Khan spoke about his accomplishments.

"As a youth my father never imagined that one day he would be building skyscrapers," she told Google. "In 1972, at 42 years old, he was named Construction’s Man of the Year by Engineering News-Record. His pioneering work in skyscraper design was rejuvenating the design profession as he developed new ways of framing tall buildings, dramatically improving structural efficiency and economy," she added.

Even after his death his creations have been put to use in many of the world's most famous high-rise buildings and skyscrapers including Shanghai's Jin Mao Tower, Hong Kong's Bank of China Tower, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and even the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the tallest structure in the world. Apart from skyscrapers, he also designed the Hajj terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, according to Time.com.