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Nov 12, 2018
Veterans Day 2018
Go behind-the-scenes of today’s Doodle below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_rzu-7wQbI
Today’s interactive, animated Doodle for US Veterans Day honors the brave individuals who have served our country by inviting us all to listen to their stories. Created in partnership with StoryCorps, Google’s internal employee veteran network [[VetNet), and animation studio Foreign Fauna, the Doodle features five veterans’ voices – one from each branch of the military – each sharing a real story from their service. Aside from covering experiences from a range of time periods in our nation’s history, the stories also touch on a spectrum of veteran experiences and emotions such as friendship, loss, hardship, hope, and love.
Today’s Doodle is also part of our larger #VeteransVoices initiative, a collaboration between StoryCorps [whose mission is to collect and preserve humanity’s stories], Google, and YouTube. #VeteransVoices encourages us all to honor veterans and their sacrifices by listening to their stories. When you download the StoryCorps app, you can interview a veteran in your life to archive their oral history in the Library of Congress. You can also find or share Veteran stories on YouTube or other social channels using #VeteransVoices.
If you or someone you know is a veteran in crisis, please reach out to the Veterans Crisis Line here or call 1-800-273-8255 & press 1.
The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource that’s available to anyone, even if you’re not registered with VA or enrolled in VA health care. The caring, qualified responders at the Veterans Crisis Line are specially trained and experienced in helping veterans of all ages and circumstances.
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May 28, 2019
Dorina Nowill’s 100th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...3110400-2x.png
Today’s Doodle celebrates the 100th birthday of Brazilian educator and advocate Dorina de Gouvêa Nowill, whose tireless efforts made Brazil more responsive to the needs of visually impaired.
An unfortunate illness left Nowill blind at the age of 17. As the first blind student to enroll in a regular school in São Paulo, she found it difficult to find the books she needed. As a result, she began advocating for all students’ access to culture and information. Becoming a teacher at her alma mater, Nowill implemented training for education of the blind and won a scholarship to further her studies at Columbia University in the United States. In 1946 she and some friends established the Foundation for the Book of the Blind in Brazil with the country’s first large Braille press, enlisting volunteers to transcribe various publications.
After working to found the Department of Special Education for the Blind, Nowill helped pass a law guaranteeing blind people’s right to an education. Such accomplishments led to new opportunities on a wider scale. Elected president of the World Council of the Blind in 1979, she went on to speak at the United Nations General Assembly and campaigned for the creation of the Latin American Union of the Blind.
Having won numerous philanthropic awards, Nowill’s legacy lives on in the work of her nonprofit organization, Fundação Dorina Nowill, which prints braille editions for Brazil’s Ministry of Education as well as everything from menus to airline safety cards. The foundation also distributes audio and digitally accessible books to schools and libraries all over Brazil, ensuring the just and inclusive society that Dorina Nowill foresaw.
Happy birthday, Dorina Nowill!
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May 28, 2010
Milutin Milankovich's Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gr...HEvApODZI=s660
Milutin Milanković was a Serbian mathematician, astronomer, climatologist, geophysicist, civil engineer and popularizer of science.
Milanković gave two fundamental contributions to global science. The first contribution is the "Canon of the Earth’s Insolation", which characterizes the climates of all the planets of the Solar system. The second contribution is the explanation of Earth's long-term climate changes caused by changes in the position of the Earth in comparison to the Sun, now known as Milankovitch cycles. This explained the ice ages occurring in the geological past of the Earth, as well as the climate changes on the Earth which can be expected in the future.
He founded planetary climatology by calculating temperatures of the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere as well as the temperature conditions on planets of the inner Solar system, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon, as well as the depth of the atmosphere of the outer planets. He demonstrated the interrelatedness of celestial mechanics and the Earth sciences and enabled a consistent transition from celestial mechanics to the Earth sciences and transformation of descriptive sciences into exact ones.
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May 28, 2012
Ruby Payne-Scott's 100th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/sQ...DOsp_ZJAN=s660
Ruby Violet Payne-Scott, was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was the first female radio astronomer.
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May 28, 2016
Nepal Republic Day 2016
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...04768-hp2x.jpg
Happy Republic Day, Nepal!
Today's doodle shows Nepal's national bird, the Danphe, or the Himalayan Monal. The male pheasant is brilliantly plumed with iridescent colors highlighting the beauty of Nepal. The female, a mild brown, represents its constancy and warmth. Similarly, Nepal is a nation of vibrancy and contrast, counting among its features both the world's highest and most unforgiving peak and the well-preserved and magical temples and shrines of Kathmandu.
The landscape is an appropriate metaphor for the history of a nation in which, despite great upheaval, peace prevails. We hope today's doodle by Alyssa Winans brings pride and joy to the people of Nepal.
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May 28, 2009
Dragon Boat Festival 2009 - Multiple Cities on Various Dates
https://www.google.com/logos/2009/dragonboat09.gif
The Dragon Boat Festival s a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar.
The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so the date of the festival varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. In 2017, it occurred on 30 May; in 2018, on 18 June; in 2019, on 7 June; and in 2020, on 25 June, in 2021, on 14 June.
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May 31, 2021
Akira Ifukube's 107th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...08945.2-2x.png
Today’s Doodle celebrates the 107th birthday of Japanese composer Akira Ifukube—a prodigious talent in classical music and cinematic film scores widely known for his work on the original soundtrack for the “Godzilla” movies of the 1950s.
Akira Ifukube was born on this day in 1914 in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan, into a distinguished family lineage that traces its origins back to at least the 7th-century. A passionate listener of European musical scores as a teenager, he aspired to intertwine his deep-rooted national identity into original compositions, an idea further solidified after listening to Russian composer Stravinsky’s 1913 emotive orchestral piece “The Rite of Spring” at 14 years old.
In 1935, Akira left home to study forestry at Hokkaido University, where he wrote ”Japanese Rhapsody,” his first original orchestral number. Following a brief stint as a forestry officer and lumber processor, he chose to pursue music composition full time. In 1947, he released the first of his more than 250 film scores that he produced over the next half-century. The height of his film score career came in 1954 when he wrote the soundtrack for “Godzilla,” whose signature roar he created by taking a resin-covered leather glove and dragging it against the loose string of a double bass.
Outside of his lifelong work as a composer, Akira served as president of the Tokyo College of Music starting in 1976 and published a 1,000-page book on theory entitled “Orchestration.” The Japanese government honored his lifetime achievements with both the Order of Culture and the Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Happy birthday, Akira Ifukube!
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May 31, 2009
150th Anniversary of Big Ben
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ba...Fx9_Ktv3X=s660
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, although the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012, to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...-_May_2007.jpg
Big Ben
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June 2, 2016
Lotte Reiniger’s 117th birthday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkgirvbPJnw
Lotte Reininger created visually stunning and fantastical films using black cardboard, scissors, and boundless imagination. Pre-dating Walt Disney by nearly a decade, Reiniger pioneered a style of animation that relied on thousands of photos of paper cut-out silhouettes arranged to tell a story. It was a painstaking process that involved moving paper characters ever so slightly and snapping a photo of each movement.
Nearly a century later, Reiniger continues to inspire animators and artists, including doodler Olivia When who built almost everything, from the puppets to the top down camera rig. On what would have been her 117th birthday, we celebrate Reiniger’s limitless creativity and pioneering spirit.
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June 2, 2012
Queen's Jubilee
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Lh...VK-_nbzf7=s660
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Victoria.
Following the tradition of the Queen's Silver and Golden Jubilees, commemorative events were held throughout the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh toured the United Kingdom and other members of the royal family toured the rest of the Commonwealth as the monarch's representatives. The Jubilee celebrations marked the beginning of the withdrawal of the Duke of Edinburgh from public life and a more prominent role for the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry in Commonwealth affairs.
Numerous events and tributes were held over the year and throughout the Commonwealth, culminating in a jubilee pageant held in London. The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust was set up as a charitable foundation with a mission to leave a lasting legacy across the Commonwealth. Other projects included the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood and the issuing of commemorative medals.
Royal corgis were the Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs owned by Elizabeth II and her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Fond of corgis since she was a small child, Elizabeth II has owned more than 30 corgis since she became Queen of the Commonwealth realms in 1952.
Elizabeth II owned at least one Corgi at any given time between the years 1933-2018.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Show_2012.jpg
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June 2, 2014
Dragon Boat Festival 2014
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/c-...Qa12-Dz4E=s660
Take a ride in our dragon boat for the Duanwu Festival in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan today. During this festival people eat “zongzi” [sticky rice dumplings], drink realgar wine and race dragon boats.
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June 2, 2015
Republic Day Italy 2015
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...73152-hp2x.jpg
Today’s doodle is an homage to Festa Della Republica, which commemorates Italy’s transition to democratic rule 69 years ago. In the center - the emblema della Repubblica Italiana.
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June 2, 2019
Italy Republic Day 2019
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...931072-2xa.gif
On this day in 1946, the Kingdom of Italy held a national referendum to choose a form of government, with over 12 million Italians voting in favor of a Republic—putting an end to 85 years of monarchy. The second day of June has since become a national holiday known as Festa della Repubblica, which is celebrated all over Italy, in Italian communities worldwide, and in today’s Doodle.
Republic Day is one of the biggest events in the capital city of Rome, marked by a grand parade along the historic Via dei Fori Imperiali, which runs from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum, draped with an Italian flag to mark the occasion. A wreath is laid in honor of fallen soldiers at the Altare della Patria, and the Italian president opens the gardens of his residence, the Palazzo del Quirinale, where various military bands play for the public.
The day isn’t complete until the Italian Air Force’s world-renowned Frecce Tricolori [Tricolour Arrows] perform a synchronized flyover in their customized Alenia Aermacchi MB-339A jets, filling the sky with Italy’s national colors: green, white, and red.
Buona Festa della Repubblica!
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June 2, 2018
Heinz Sielmann’s 101st Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...4179072-2x.jpg
Today’s Doodle celebrates the renowned biologist and documentary filmmaker, Heinz Sielmann. Sielmann is also often recognized as ‘Mr. Woodpecker’, a nickname earned after the release of one of his most beloved wildlife documentaries showing the mysterious lives of Woodpeckers—filmed at times from within the bird’s nest.
Heinz Sielmann was born in Germany, in 1917, and moved to East Prussia at a young age where his father opened a business of electrical and building materials. Even in his early childhood, Sielmann had a fascination with the natural world; often waking up early to observe birds before school. At the age of 17, after being given his first camera, he traded in his sketches for photographs of his natural surroundings.
One of Sielmann’s most notable achievements was his development of Carpenters of the Forest which featured the elusive Woodpecker in a degree of depth that had not been seen before. Sielmann placed cameras inside of the woodpecker’s nests and in doing so captured intimate moments between parent and offspring. The film was an enormous success globally and was followed by a book about it’s making. In it Sielmann wrote, “of all the animals that I have worked with, the woodpeckers are my favourites... because I was able to find out many new facts about the biology of these birds.”
In the late 1950’s, Heinz Sielmann released his first feature film, Les Seigneurs de la Forêt [Lords of the Forest], which was commissioned by the King of Belgium and filmed in what was at the time the Belgian Congo. In addition to the wildlife and breathtaking landscapes, Sielmann was of the first to capture the familial and social nature of Gorillas. This film won first place at the Moscow Film Festival and quickly became one of his most revered films—even being translated into 26 languages. Over the following decades, Sielmann continued to make documentary films and series. In 1971 he photographed for the Academy Award winning film The Hellstrom Chronicle, along with Walon Green, about the threat that insects collectively pose to humans and the struggle between the two.
Today’s Doodle depicts Heinz Sielmann as he appeared in his popular TV show Expeditionen ins Tierreich, documenting the forest wildlife that surrounds him.
Doodle illustrated by Dieter Braun.
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June 3, 2016
Copa América Centenario
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...96960-hp2x.jpg
Today the 100th year of the Copa América Games! This year, for the first time, the United States will host the longest running fútbol tournament of the Americas. Starting today, 16 teams will compete in 32 matches across 10 U.S. cities. Today's fiery matchup takes place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara — right around the corner from Google headquarters in Mountain View. We'll be listening for the roar of the crowd!
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June 3, 2016
Rhee Seund Ja’s 98th birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...83520-hp2x.jpg
Seund Ja Rhee was a South Korean painter, engraver, draughtswoman, and illustrator. She also designed tapestries and mosaics. She was a prolific artist with more than 1,000 paintings, 700 prints, 250 ceramics, and numerous drawings. She exhibited mainly in France and in South Korea, with 84 solo exhibitions and almost 300 group exhibitions during her lifetime. In 1958, she moved to Tourrettes, Var [France] where she finally built the "Milky Way", a large atelier and exhibition room
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June 3, 2017
Josephine Baker's 111th Birthday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnRScE-ijJM
With her kohl-rimmed eyes and exotic costumes, Josephine Baker pounced onto the global stage in the 1920s, becoming a Jazz Age icon and one of the first internationally recognized African-American entertainers.
Born into a vaudevillian family on June 3, 1906, Baker took up the family trade as a teenager. Her early days were spent dancing in public spaces for spare change. She eventually made her way to New York City at the dawn of the Harlem Renaissance, where she joined the chorus line of Shuffle Along, the first all-black Broadway musical. From there, she set off for Paris and found her fame and artistic home in the city’s opulent cabarets, singing and performing uninhibited dance routines that celebrated female liberation and African cultural identity.
A celebrity in Europe – and one of the most photographed women on the planet – Baker nonetheless faced racially charged comments from the press when she returned to the U.S. in 1936 for a short-lived starring turn in the Broadway series Ziegfeld Follies. Championing diversity and fighting for civil rights would become an enduring concern throughout her life. She refused to perform for segregated audiences and worked closely with the NAACP. In 1963, she participated in the March on Washington as the only female speaker to officially address the crowd, which she described as looking like "salt and pepper. Just what it should be." Her family life also mirrored her ideals. She adopted 12 children from around the world, affectionately referring to them as her Rainbow Tribe.
As if all that weren’t enough for one life, Baker had a secret career with the French resistance during World War II, socializing with Axis officials at high-society parties and using her cover as a country-hopping celebrity to gather intelligence — often writing it on her sheet music in invisible ink. Following the war, she was awarded the Croix de Guerre and inducted by Charles de Gaulle into France’s prestigious Legion of Honour.
There’s little doubt why Ernest Hemingway once called her "the most sensational woman anybody ever saw—or ever will."
Happy 111th birthday, Josephine Baker!
Doodle slideshow by Lydia Nichols
Animated gifs by Tracey Laguerre
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June 4, 2014
Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė's 169th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NR...2dWa0cl_C=s660
Writer Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė is best remembered for her stories about life among the peasantry. Our homepage in Lithuania depicts a scene from her book Marti [“Daughter-in-law”], in which the main character realizes she may have made a huge mistake.
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June 4, 2013
Vladislav Gorodetsky's 150th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/x_...b4QacCjoE=s660
Władysław Horodecki [[born Leszek Dezydery Horodecki; Russian: Владислав Владиславович Городецкий; Ukrainian: Владислав Владиславович Городецький; June 4 [O.S. May 23] 1863 — January 3, 1930) was a Polish architect[1] active in the Russian Empire and later in the Second Polish Republic. He is best known for his contributions in the urban development of Kyiv, with buildings such as the House with Chimaeras, the St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Karaite Kenesa, and the National Art Museum of Ukraine.[citation needed]
In Kyiv, Horodecki often worked along with a sculptor from Milan, Emilio Sala, who was an instructor at the Kyiv City College.[citation needed]
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October 8, 2021
Ivan Piddubny's 150th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...9102.2-2xa.gif
Few professional wrestlers enjoy a career lasting over 40 years, and many fewer retire undefeated from every tournament in which they’ve competed. Today’s Doodle celebrates a world champion Ukrainian wrestler who accomplished both—Ivan Piddubny.
Ivan Piddubny was born on this day in 1871 in the small village of Krasenivka in what is now central Ukraine. The young Piddubny developed his grit and brute strength by throwing haystacks into carts and plowing the land on his family farm. After leaving home at 17 in search of a better life, Piddubny found work in the ports of the Crimean town of Feodosia. While spectating a Greco-Roman wrestling match hosted by a touring circus that visited the port town, he decided to put his strength to the test.
Piddubny requested to join a match and to everyone’s amazement, he defeated every opponent—including a handful of famous world-class contenders. Piddubny joined the circus as an indomitable wrestler in 1897, marking the start of a whirlwind career entertaining audiences around the globe. By 1906, he was the first wrestler to win two world championships. The winning streak continued with six world titles that earned him prestigious names such as “The Champion of Champions.” He astounded onlookers and fellow athletes alike with both his Herculean strength and unheard of longevity—even winning the 1926 American championship at 55!
Although he retired in 1941 at the age of 70, his powerful legacy endures as many Ukrainians are known to still say “like Piddubny” to describe someone's strength.
Happy birthday, Ivan Piddubny. Here’s to an athlete who turned the world of wrestling upside-down!
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October 8, 2015
Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva’s 123rd Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...09440-hp2x.png
Happy Birthday Nadežda Petrović!
Times of conflict breed some of history’s strongest voices. Born of the Russian Revolution, Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva’s poetry told vibrant stories etched with stirring emotions. The expressive lyrical style of her poems, prose, and folkloric narratives spans ten collections. Beloved across the world, her work influenced generations of twentieth century poets.
Doodler Kevin Laughlin started today’s Doodle with concepts based on “Here is a window anon,” one of Marina’s most recognizable poems.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WS...XHIwRQ_QY5e=s0
The Doodle evolved to become more focused on Marina’s portrait, blending her into the imagery of her poem.
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/oGT...tqMw9dTjx5g=s0
Eventually, we decided to simplify the concept and focus on Marina herself.
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y8F...QD9IpUgctDV=s0
For the final Doodle, Kevin worked with Googlers and a Russian museum to refine the portrait and get all of the little details right, from the shape of her nose to the silver rings she never took off.
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October 8, 2010
John Lennon's 70th Birthday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygTLvNhEvWo
There’s a lot that can be said about John Lennon, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Even more can be said about the individual experiences people have had growing up with his music. It seems like everyone has a Lennon story. The earliest memory I have of him is listening to his songs in the backseat of our old station wagon with my brothers, watching my mom and dad sing along on the cassette player. It’s a very simple memory, but rich with subtlety—the sunlight through the windshield, my mom’s smile—and so it’s stuck with me. And maybe that’s what John’s music is about. There’s an earnest simplicity to it, yet I’m sure any one of us, regardless of whether or not we were around during his time, could describe some way he has deeply enriched our lives.
We're celebrating him with our first-ever animated video doodle. The old saying, ”A picture is worth a thousand words” still rings true, so I hope a moving picture will help me adequately—and simply—thank John for the memories.
posted by Mike Dutton
http://www.firstpost.com/wp-content/...144566_opt.jpg
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October 8, 2014
Croatian Independence Day 2014
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0c...-RKFg1eEm=s660
This year's tribute to Croatian Independence Day was created by guest artist, Vedran Klemens, an illustrator and designer living in Zagreb. We were delighted to work with Vedran and asked him a few questions about his thought process and what led to his final design:
1) What was the biggest challenge in coming up with a Google Doodle that celebrates Croatia's independence?
I decided not to use national iconography as the dominant subject matter for the doodle. I thought that would be too easy. That constraint made it more challenging to come up with an idea that would be appropriate for a national holiday. As if constraining the drawing within the Google logo and preserving its color scheme wasn't challenging enough!
2) Were you inspired by any particular piece of Croatian art, music or literature?
I was inspired by the lyrics of the Croatian national anthem.
3) Each "letter" in your doodle has an individual and unique image. Can you explain what each represents?
The letter 'G' combines the silhouette of the country with the first few words of Croatia's national anthem. Those words are loved and are widely used as a metonym for Croatia; Lijepa naša translates to "Our beautiful homeland." The anthem lyrics also mention major parts of the country [[deep blue sea, mountains and plains kissed by sunshine) which I used to illustrate the remaining letters. The only letter and image that is not mentioned in the anthem is the red square. It is a reference to Croatia's red checkerboard, one of our most widely recognized national symbols.
4) Was there a reason you chose to paint your illustration with watercolors? Did you paint using traditional brushes on paper or did you work digitally?
Watercolor has a warm and emotional character which I found appropriate for the subject matter. I also chose it as I thought it would be a nice contrast to the usual clean and precise Google logo. I often begin an illustration by using analog tools and techniques. But it is only a starting point. Most of the work is done afterwards, digitally. Traditional watercolor is very unpredictable and difficult to edit. I find it is much easier to paint and edit a watercolor that has been created, from scratch, using digital brushes and tools.
5) Finally what do you hope your fellow Croatian citizens will feel or think when they see your illustration?
I wanted the illustration to be cheerful and optimistic. So I hope it will make someone happy, for a second, to think about our beautiful land. I also hope they will forget what they wanted to search for!
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October 8, 2018
Thanksgiving 2018 [Canada]
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...02400.3-2x.png
Every year on the second Monday in October, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving with fall feasts—surrounded by loved ones. The holiday originally derived from European harvest festivals [much like it’s American counterpart], is now a day for giving thanks for the many blessings in one’s life.
Thanksgiving wasn’t always observed as consistently as it is today. It wasn’t until 1957, that Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada, solidified the date in the calendar. Since then, Canadians get together over this long weekend, every year, to share a meal with their family and friends. Traditional autumn vegetables are on the menu most Thanksgivings, along with classics like turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.
Today’s Doodle was created using construction paper cutouts and features squash, pumpkins, and other harvest bounty—like the ones that decorated early harvest festivals.
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!
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October 8, 2010
César Milstein's 73rd Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/2010/ce...ein2010-hp.jpg
César Milstein was an Argentine biochemist in the field of antibody research.Milstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels Kaj Jerne and Georges J. F. Köhler for developing the hybridoma technique for the production of monoclonal antibodies.
In addition to the Nobel Prize 1984, Milstein was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society ,was a fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge from 1980 to 2002, awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in 1980, won the Copley Medal in 1989, and became a Companion of Honour in 1995. In 1993, the Argentinian Konex Foundation granted him the Diamond Konex Award, one of the most prestigious cultural awards of Argentina, as the most important scientist in the last decade of his country.
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October 8, 2013
William John Swainson's 224th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1o...nSIjH19rw=s660
William John Swainson was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist.
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August 7, 2013
Abebe Bikila's 81st Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/R0...7Pcb8HShk=s660
Shambel Abebe Bikila was an Ethiopian marathon runner who was a back-to-back Olympic marathon champion. He is the first Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist, winning his first gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while running barefoot. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, he won his second gold medal. In turn, he became the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title. In both victories, he ran in world record time.
On March 22, 1969, Abebe was paralysed due to a car accident. He regained some upper-body mobility, but he never walked again. While he was receiving medical treatment in England, Abebe competed in archery and table tennis at the 1970 Stoke Mandeville Games in London. Those games were an early predecessor of the Paralympic Games. He competed in both sports at a 1971 competition for the disabled in Norway and won its cross-country sleigh-riding event.
Abebe died at age 41 on October 25, 1973, of a cerebral haemorrhage related to his accident four years earlier. He received a state funeral, and Emperor Haile Selassie declared a national day of mourning. Many schools, venues, and events, including Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa, are named after him. He is the subject of biographies and films documenting his athletic career, and he is often featured in publications about the marathon and the Olympics.
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October 9, 2020
Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s 197th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...7108574-2x.jpg
Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Alberta, Canada-based guest artist Michelle Theodore, celebrates the 197th birthday of American-Canadian newspaper editor and publisher, journalist, teacher, lawyer, abolitionist, and suffragist Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Credited as the first Black female newspaper editor and publisher in North America and the second Black woman to earn a law degree in the United States, Shadd Cary is renowned as a courageous pioneer in the fight for abolition and women’s suffrage.
Mary Ann Shadd was born on this day in 1823 in Wilmington, Delaware. Her parents were dedicated abolitionists and used their home as a station on the Underground Railroad to provide a safe haven to escaped slaves. Following her graduation from a Pennsylvania boarding school, she became a teacher. Frederick Douglass published her first work in his newspaper in 1848, which was a bold call to action for the abolitionist movement.
In the wake of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850—a major threat to Black people in the U.S.— the Shadd family moved north to Canada. It was there in 1853 that Shadd launched her historic newspaper, The Provincial Freemen, a weekly Black publication geared especially toward escaped slaves. Following her marriage, Shadd Cary moved back to the U.S. and, in 1883 earned her trailblazing law degree from Howard University.
For her invaluable contributions to Canadian history, Shadd Cary was honored by the country in 1994 as a Person of National Historic Significance.
Happy Birthday, Mary Ann Shadd Cary!
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October 1, 2016
Nigeria Independence Day 2016
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...400.2-hp2x.jpg
This year on National Day, Nigeria celebrates 56 years of independence. Annual celebrations usually start with the President’s speech and continue with patriotic parades and festivities. In Nigeria and all over the world, people host parties festooned with green and white flags, play games, and enjoy traditional, home-cooked foods.
Today’s Doodle showcases sectors that Nigeria is developing and takes great pride in, such as agriculture, science, literature, engineering, and culture including Naija music and the Nollywood industry. Young people are key to the country’s future and are shown here celebrating in patriotic green and white fashions.
Happy Independence Day, Nigeria!
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October 1, 2020
Mid Autumn Festival 2020 [Taiwan]
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Today’s Doodle commemorates Taiwan’s Mid Autumn Festival, a holiday observed each year on the date of the harvest moon–the first full moon after the autumnal equinox. Mid Autumn Festival provides an annual opportunity to look up at the night sky and appreciate the natural beauty of the moon, all while enjoying some delicious culinary treats.
The signature snack of the festival is mooncakes–round, filled cakes that come in countless sweet and savory varieties. One traditional variant contains a salted egg yolk in the center, symbolic of the bright full moon around which the holiday orbits. Once you’ve had your fill, try one of the large citrus fruits called pomelos. And don’t be surprised to see children donning the peels as festive hats, which are traditionally said to bring good fortune to those who wear them.
Happy Mid Autumn Festival, Taiwan!
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October 1, 2020
Mid Autumn Festival 2020 [Vietnam]
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Today’s Doodle commemorates Vietnam’s Mid-Autumn Festival or Tết Trung Thu, an annual holiday observed on the date of the harvest moon–the first full moon after the autumnal equinox. One of Vietnam’s most significant holidays, Tết Trung Thu provides a festive occasion to gaze up at the sky and celebrate the year’s harvest.
Also known as the Children’s Festival, the celebration is eagerly anticipated by many Vietnamese youth excited to display their red, star-shaped lanterns and enjoy the holiday’s signature dish: mooncakes. These small cakes come in countless varieties, from the sweet to the savory; if you’re lucky you just might find a salted egg yolk at the center, symbolic of the bright full moon around which this holiday orbits.
Happy Tết Trung Thu, Vietnam!
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October 1, 2018
Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy's 100th Birthday
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"Attachment to your village, your hospital, your state or country—that must go. You must live in your soul and face the universal consciousness. To see all as one. To have this vision and work with strength and wisdom all over the world...to give sight for all."
-Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy
Known as Dr. V to colleagues and patients, Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, founded the Aravind Eye Hospital, which started as an 11-bed facility and has grown into a network of clinics providing life-changing care to citizens of a nation struggling with high rates of blindness. Born on this day in 1918, Govindappa Venkataswamy was raised in Vadamalapuram, a rural village in Southern India. He began his education at a school with no paper or pencils—spreading sand from the riverbank on the ground, students would write with their hands. From such humble beginnings he went on to earn a B.A. in chemistry from American College in Madurai, an M.D. from Stanley Medical College in Madras in 1944.
Joining the Indian Army Medical Corps straight out of medical school, Dr. V’s plans for a career in obstetrics were derailed when he was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis so severe that he was confined to his bed for a year. Simple acts like walking or holding a pen became a serious challenge, but somehow he managed to return to school and study for a degree in ophthalmology in 1951. Despite his health issues, he learned how to perform surgery to remove cataracts—the leading cause of blindness. Dr. V could perform 100 surgeries in a day. Addressing the problem of blindness in a holistic fashion, he set up eye camps in rural communities, a rehab center for blind people, and a training program for ophthalmic assistants, personally performing over 100,000 successful eye surgeries. In 1973 he received the Padmashree award from the Government of India for outstanding service to the nation.
Facing mandatory retirement at age 58, Dr. V began the next phase of his career in 1976, establishing the GOVEL Trust in order to fund the first Aravind Eye Hospital. The 11-bed facility was financed by doctors mortgaging their homes and donating their own furniture. The vision was to devote six beds to those patients who could not pay anything and to cover those costs with the other five beds, serving patients paying only as much as they could afford.
Today Aravind Eye Hospital has nearly 4,000 beds performing over 400,000 eye surgeries each year, with 70% of patients paying little or nothing. This seemingly miraculous result has been made possible by a relentless focus on efficiency and good management. Dr. V lowered the cost of cataract operations to nearly $10 per patient. His team of paramedicals do most of the prep work required for each surgery, freeing doctors to do what they do best. Each year Aravind performs 60% as many eye surgeries as the NHS in Great Britain, doing so at one-one thousandth of the cost.
As Dr V said, “Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must also be the joy of doing something beautiful.”
Happy 100th Birthday Dr. V!
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August 16, 2021
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan's 117th Birthday
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Today’s Doodle, illustrated by New Zealand-based guest artist Prabha Mallya, celebrates the 117th birthday of Indian activist and author Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, a trailblazing writer and freedom fighter whose work rose to national prominence during a male-dominated era of literature. Her evocative nationalist poem “Jhansi ki Rani” is widely regarded as one of the most recited poems in Hindi literature.
On this day in 1904, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was born in the Indian village of Nihalpur. She was known to write constantly, even in the horse cart on the way to school, and her first poem was published at just nine years old. The call for Indian independence reached its height during her early adulthood. As a participant in the Indian Nationalist Movement, she used her poetry to call others to fight for their nation’s sovereignty.
Chauhan’s poetry and prose primarily centered around the hardships that Indian women overcame, such as gender and caste discrimination. Her poetry remained uniquely underscored by her resolute nationalism. In 1923, Chauhan’s unyielding activism led her to become the first woman satyagrahi, a member of the Indian collective of nonviolent anti-colonialists to be arrested in the struggle for national liberation. She continued to make revolutionary statements in the fight for freedom both on and off the page into the 1940s, publishing a total of 88 poems and 46 short stories.
Today, Chauhan’s poetry remains a staple in many Indian classrooms as a symbol of historical progress, encouraging future generations to stand up against social injustice and celebrate the words that shaped a nation’s history.
Happy birthday, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan!
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August 16, 2010
Gozan no Okuribi, iconic festivals of Kyoto
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Gozan no Okuribi, more commonly known as Daimonji, is a festival in Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the Obon festival on August 16, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased family members, who are said to visit this world during O-Bon, are believed to be returning to the spirit world—thus the name Okuribi [roughly, "send-off fire"].
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August 16, 2018
Ebenezer Cobb Morley’s 187th Birthday
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Before Ebenezer Cobb Morley set down the rules of football in 1863, the game was much more chaotic than the version we know today. His 13th rule gives some indication of how unruly football used to be: 'No player shall wear projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta percha on the soles or heels of his boots.'
Born the son of a minister, Morley grew up a sports enthusiast and went on to study law. After joining Barnes Football Club in London, he realized that the game would be benefit from more structure and regulation. He wrote to the sports newspaper Bell’s Life to make the case for a more organized game.
A meeting followed at Freeman’s Tavern where Morley was joined by members of football clubs across England, who all had input into the rulemaking before Morley drafted his list of 13 rules, which became the standard of play in England.
Morley’s laws helped reduce violence on the field — although he did think players should be able to “hack the front leg” — and formalized the crucial rule we now call offsides, which prevents players from permanently stationing themselves behind an opponent’s defensive line, waiting for a pass.
Morley later helped establish the Football Association, which is still the governing body for football in Great Britain. In 1863 he was elected the Honorary Secretary of the F.A., holding the post until 1866 and president of the F.A. from 1867 to 1874.
Other groups from various countries made crucial developments to football as well, but thanks to Morley “the beautiful game” became less brutal, the action more spread out across the field, and is played the way it is today.
Happy Birthday Mr. Morley!
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December 24, 2020
Li Tien-lu's 110th Birthday
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Today’s Doodle celebrates Taiwanese puppeteer, educator, and film actor Li Tien-lu, a beloved artist who helped introduce the world to the traditional hand puppetry of his homeland. Tien-lu was a charismatic symbol of Taiwanese identity who breathed new life into the artform of puppetry for over 70 years.
Li Tien-lu was born on this day in 1910 in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei and learned puppetry from his father when he was a child. He became a professional puppetry career as a young teenager, and in his early 20s he established his own troupe: I Wan Jan. Tien-lu brought together elements like Peking opera and Taiwanese Beiguan music to craft a new form of glove puppetry called Wai Jiang Pai, and the troupe achieved great success from the ‘50s to the ‘70s.
In 1973, a French scholar took an interest in Tien-lu’s craft and asked him to teach a few of the scholar’s students. Soon enough, Tien-lu had pupils from around the world who in turn helped bring global popularity to the art of Taiwanese of puppetry. He spent the rest of his life traveling the globe to promote the artform, and also acted in films like “The Puppetmaster” [1993], a biopic about his life.
In honor of his artistic contributions, Tien-lu was honored as a “Living National Treasure'' by the Taiwanese government, and in 1995 he was knighted by the French government.
Happy birthday, Li Tien-lu, and thank you for handing the gift of Taiwanese puppetry to audiences around the world.
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November 24, 2020
Celebrating Mariachi
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Today’s video Doodle celebrates a quintessential element of Mexico’s rich cultural heritage: the musical genre of Mariachi. Mariachi is typically characterized by a small group of musicians dressed in traditional clothing who perform a wide repertoire of Mexican songs on mostly stringed instruments [the term Mariachi can refer to either the music or the musicians themselves]. During a session held the week of November 22, 2011 UNESCO inscribed Mariachi on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Mariachi tradition was born in west-central Mexico around the turn of the 19th century, though its exact origins remain unknown. At first, the genre was strictly instrumental, composed of the sounds of stringed instruments, and eventually vocals and the trumpet were added to the mix. In modern times, Mariachi music has been combined with elements of diverse genres from jazz to reggae. Singers often add in their best grito to express the emotion of the vibrant music! No matter the variation, Mariachi remains a strong representation of Mexican history and culture.
Today’s video Doodle features a Mariachi serenade of the classic song, Cielito Lindo. More than just music, Cielito Lindo [which roughly translates from Spanish as “lovely sweet one”] is a symbol of Mexican pride and community.The Mariachi band is depicted playing the staple instruments of the musical genre—including the guitarrón [a six-string bass], vihuela [a five-string guitar], violin, trumpet, and harp—and wearing traditional trajes de charro [charro suits].
¡Que viva el Mariachi!
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November 4, 2020
Miliki's 91st Birthday
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Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Spain-based guest artist Cinta Arribas, celebrates Spanish clown, actor, director, writer, singer, and composer Emilio Aragón Bermúdez, known fondly by his stage name Miliki. Among his many artistic accomplishments, Aragón starred in the Spanish children’s program “El Gran Circo de TVE” [“TVE’s Great Circus”] which is widely considered one of the most iconic shows in the history of Spanish television.
Emilio Alberto Aragón Bermúdez was born on this day in 1929 in the town of Carmona in southwestern Spain. The son of a clown and an equestrian acrobatics specialist, Aragón honed his talent for performance art as a child surrounded by entertainers. Determined to carry on the family tradition, Aragón launched his clowning career by the age of 11, performing with his brothers at venues like Madrid’s legendary Circo Price [Price Circus].
The siblings moved to Cuba in the 1940s and achieved fame over the following decades as they showcased their endearing talents across the Americas. They found their way back to Spain in 1972 and the very next year, they took Spanish television by storm as the hosts of the children’s show which eventually became known as “El Gran Circo de TVE.”
After a hugely successful decade on air, Aragón moved beyond his identity as a clown and throughout the rest of his career explored new endeavors as a writer, TV presenter, filmmaker, and recording musician—a talent which earned him two Latin Grammy Awards.
¡Feliz cumpleaños, Miliki!