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Nov 9, 2015
Hedy Lamarr's 101st birthday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0gu2QhV1dc
We love highlighting the many good stories about women’s achievements in science and technology. When the story involves a 1940s Hollywood star-turned-inventor who helped develop technologies we all use with our smartphones today… well, we just have to share it with the world.
Today on Google’s homepage we’re celebrating Hedy Lamarr, the Austrian-born actress Hollywood once dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world.” Lamarr’s own story reads like a movie script: bored by the film industry and feeling typecast, Lamarr was more interested in helping the Allied war effort as World War II broke out than in the roles she was being offered. She had some background in military munitions [yes, really], and together with a composer friend, George Antheil, used the principles of how pianos worked [[yep, pianos) to identify a way to prevent German submarines from jamming Ally radio signals. The patent for “frequency hopping” Lamarr co-authored laid the groundwork for widely-used technologies like Bluetooth, GPS and wifi that we rely upon daily.
It’s no wonder, then, that Lamarr has kind of a mythical status at Google, and I was pretty excited at the chance to tell her story in Doodle form. This took some tinkering of my own—after deciding on the movie format as a nod to her Hollywood career, I dug through old fashion illustrations and movie posters to try to capture the look and feel of the 1940’s. Sketching storyboards on a yellow notepad helped me figure out how to show Lamarr in very different scenarios—movie star by day, inventor by night—which we then animated and set to the awesome soundtrack created by composer Adam Ever-Hadani.
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Nov 13, 2015
Dorothea Christiane Erxleben's 300th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...800.2-hp2x.jpg
Throughout her life, Dorothea Christiane Erxleben advocated for women's rights and maintained the unwavering conviction that women should be allowed to—and ought to—pursue an education. After receiving a dispensation from Frederick the Great, Erxleben earned her M.D. from University of Halle in 1754, the first woman in Germany’s history to do so!
Happy 300th birthday, Dr. Erxleben!
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November 21, 2008
René Magritte's 110th Birthday -
Courtesy of Succession René Magritte / ARS, NY
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Dy...T6WK-UFSA=s660
René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgiansurrealist artist, who became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop art, minimalist art, and conceptual art.
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November 1, 2014
Mariquita Sanchez de Thompson's 228th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3k...Gr1751PaX=s660
Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson y de Mendeville, was a patriot from Buenos Aires and one of its leading salonnières, whose tertulias gathered many of the leading personalities of her time. She is widely remembered in the Argentine historical tradition because the Argentine National Anthem was sung for the first time in her home, on May 14, 1813.
A tertuliais a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Iberia or in Latin America. Tertulia also means an informal meeting of people to talk about current affairs, arts, etc. The word is originally Spanish [borrowed by Catalan and Portuguese], but it has only moderate currency in English, used mainly in describing Latin cultural contexts.
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November 1, 2012
L.S. Lowry's 125th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Re...osNce02mQ=s660
Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist. His drawings and paintings depict Pendlebury, Lancashire, where he lived and worked for more than 40 years, Salford and its vicinity.
Lowry is famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of North West England in the mid-20th century. He developed a distinctive style of painting and is best known for his urban landscapes peopled with human figures, often referred to as "matchstick men". He painted mysterious unpopulated landscapes, brooding portraits and the unpublished "marionette" works, which were only found after his death.
His use of stylised figures, which cast no shadows, and lack of weather effects in many of his landscapes led critics to label him a naïve "Sunday painter".
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Dec 3, 2011
Nino Rota's 100th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0S...0Xc9oLDyw=s660
Giovanni Rota Rinaldi, better known as Nino Rota , was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. He also composed the music for two of Franco Zeffirelli's Shakespeare films, and for the first two films of Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy, earning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Godfather Part II [1974].
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Dec 2, 2013
Carlos Merida's 122nd Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7F...sPPrPsoSc=s660
Carlos Mérida was a Guatemalan artist who was one of the first to fuse European modern painting to Latin American themes, especially those related to Guatemala and Mexico. He was part of the Mexican muralism movement in subject matter but less so in style, favoring a non-figurative and later geometric style rather than a figurative, narrative style. Mérida is best known for canvas and mural work, the latter including elements such as glass and ceramic mosaic on major constructions in the 1950s and 1960s.
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December 16, 2010
Jane Austen's 235th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5u...FupGAZ3WQ=s660
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her use of biting irony, along with her realism, humour, and social commentary, have long earned her acclaim among critics, scholars, and popular audiences alike.
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Sep 1, 2016
34th Anniversary of Similan Islands National Park
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...31968-hp2x.gif
Today’s Doodle takes you under the stunning waters of Thailand’s Similan Islands. Located northwest of Phuket in the Andaman Sea, the archipelago of 11 islands is famous for its breathtaking dives. Sea turtles, zebra sharks, and blue-spotted stingrays are just a few of the species an underwater adventurer might encounter.
Equally as inviting as the coral reefs are the park’s white sandy beaches. From there, long-tail boats can be spotted navigating the waters against a backdrop of ironwood and gum trees. Also fluttering above sea level, a number of feathered species call the islands home — everything from white-bellied eagles to yellow-browed warblers.
Rich in both wildlife and natural beauty, the Similan Islands were named a national park 34 years ago today. Now it’s time to dive in and celebrate!
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September 1, 2011
Tarsila do Amaral's 125th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2E...B-KDWq5g8=s660
Besides the 230 paintings, hundreds of drawings, illustrations, prints, murals, and five sculptures, Tarsila's legacy is her effect on the direction of Latin American art. Tarsila moved modernism forward in Latin America, and developed a style unique to Brazil. Following her example, other Latin American artists were influenced to begin utilizing indigenous Brazilian subject matter, and developing their own style. The Amaral Crater on Mercury is named after her.
In 2018 MoMA opened a solo exhibition of her work.
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May 29, 2018
Nepal Republic Day 2018
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...1646720-2x.jpg
In today’s Doodle, one of the rose-gold peaks of the Himalayas rises through the clouds in honor of Nepal’s 11th National Republic Day. The holiday commemorates the country becoming a federal democratic republic on May 28, 2008, ending 239 years of monarchy.
Republic Day, also called Ganatantra Diwas, is celebrated throughout Nepal and around the world. Typically, a parade held in Tundikhel—a wide, open space in the heart of Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu—is chief among the celebrations. In years past, government officials have released pigeons, a sign of peace, from the Army Pavilion. Army helicopters splashed with the Republic flag sprinkled flower petals from the sky. The Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and the Armed Police Force marched with artists, musicians, and karatekas [practitioners of karate], displaying different aspects of Nepal’s myriad cultures and traditions.
Today, we wish Nepalis everywhere a happy Ganatantra Diwas with the country’s colorful prayer flags and magnificent mountains—a symbol of national pride.
Doodle by Vrinda V Zaveri
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November 17, 2016
Elisabeth "Ellis" Kaut's 96th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...208.3-hp2x.jpg
Who's that little goblin lighting the birthday cake? The impish Pumuckl, created by Elisabeth "Ellis" Kaut, has been playfully causing mischief since 1962. Pumuckl is a kobold, a kind of sprite based in German folklore. He constantly gets into trouble but never intends any real harm. Kaut, who would be 96 today, wrote more than 100 Pumuckl stories. She received several awards and honors for her work, including the prestigious Bavarian Poetentaler literary award.
Today's Doodle was created by Barbara von Johnson, who became the primary Pumuckl illustrator in Kaut's books after winning a competition at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1963.
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October 16, 2019
Celebrating Wanda Rutkiewicz
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...5935360-2x.png
“I adored the physical movement, the fresh air, the camaraderie, and the excitement,” wrote the Polish mountain climber Wanda Rutkiewicz. On this day in 1978, she reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the third woman to ascend the world’s highest peak, and the first Pole, male or female.
Rutkiewicz would go on to complete seven more 8,000-meter-plus [26,247-foot-plus] climbs, establishing herself as one of the most celebrated climbers in mountaineering history and one of the greatest female climbers of all time.
Born on February 4, 1943 to a Polish family in the village of Plungiany—now part of Lithuania— Wanda studied electrical engineering at Wroclaw University of Technology. She discovered her passion for climbing by chance after her motorcycle ran out of fuel in 1961. One of the people who stopped to help invited her to join him on a climb of the Falcon Mountains.
Ten years after reaching the peak of Mount Everest, Rutkiewicz became the first woman to climb K2—the world’s second-highest peak—doing so without using supplemental oxygen. Two of her fellow climbers perished on the descent from K2, but she would continue pursuing her dreams.
Rutkiewicz published books and produced documentaries about her climbs, but despite her many accomplishments, she found some male climbers to be condescending. She went on to advocate for women’s climbing and to organize several all-female expeditions. In 1990, she declared her goal of climbing eight 8,000-meter-plus [26,247-foot-plus] peaks in just over a year’s time, a program she called the “Caravan of Dreams.” Although she did not complete that particular mission, Wanda Rutkiewicz has continued to inspire generations of climbers to follow in her footsteps.
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March 31, 2013
Cesar Chavez's 86th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RZ...QyEl89fwy=s660
Cesar Chavez was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association [NFWA], which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee [AWOC] to become the United Farm Workers [UFW] labor union. Ideologically, his world-view combined leftist politics with Roman Catholic social teachings.
Chavez was referenced by Stevie Wonder in the song "Black Man" from the 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. The 2014 American film César Chávez, starring Michael Peña as Chavez, covered Chavez's life in the 1960s and early 1970s. That same year, a documentary film, titled Cesar's Last Fast, was released. He received belated full military honors from the US Navy at his graveside on April 23, 2015, the 22nd anniversary of his death. In 2015, statues of Chavez and Huerta were erected above a pizzeria in Downtown Napa, financed by a wealthy private citizen, Michael Holcomb, rather than the city authorities.
There is a portrait of Chavez in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. In 2003, the United States Postal Service honored Chavez with a postage stamp. A three-dimensional mural by artist Johanna Poethig, Tiene la lumbre por dentro [He Has the Fire Within Him] [2000] at Sonoma State University, honors Chavez and the Farm Workers Movement. The American Friends Service Committee [AFSC] nominated him three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
At the start of the presidency of Joe Biden, a bust of Chavez was placed on a table directly behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.
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May 5, 2019
Stanislaw Moniuszko’s 200th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...8404480-2x.jpg
Today’s Doodle by Warsaw-based illustrator Gosia Herba honors Stanisław Moniuszko, the Polish musician, composer, conductor, and teacher. Born on May 5, 1819, Moniuszko went on to become director of the Warsaw Opera House where he premiered many of his own works, including one of the most beloved operas in Polish history.
After being taught music by his mother as a child, Moniuszko was sent to study harmony, counterpoint, instrumentation, and conducting with the director of the Singakademie Music Society. There, he decided to become a composer, with a special interest in the human voice.
While working as an organist in Wilno, Moniuszko began writing his songbook, Śpiewnik Domowy [Home Songbook], publishing the first of 12 volumes in 1843. During a trip to Warsaw, he met the poet Włodzimierz Wolski, who’d written a libretto for an opera named Halka, based on a Polish folk story. Moniuszko composed the music, drawing inspiration from traditional Polish dance music known as polonaises and mazurkas. Halka premiered in Wilno in 1848 and later traveled to Prague, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Expanded to four acts in 1858, the opera was hailed as a Polish cultural treasure, making Moniuszko a national hero.
A statue of Moniuszko stands outside Warsaw’s Opera House to this day, and his legacy lives on in The Stanislaw Moniuszko Music Academy in Gdansk. An international vocal competition in his name also takes place every three years. In it, finalists compete for a chance to sing with Poland’s National Opera on the stage where Moniuszko’s legend began.
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March 26, 2019
Bangladesh Independence Day 2019
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...5658368-2x.jpg
Today’s Doodle celebrates Independence Day in Bangladesh, the South Asian nation situated on the Bay of Bengal and a deltaic nation with almost 700 rivers flowing through it!
On this day in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, often titled Bangabandhu [which translates to “friend of Bengal”], signed a declaration that made the former East Pakistan the sovereign and independent country of Bangladesh with its own unique language and culture. This founding document followed Bangabandhu’s historic speech, delivered on March 7.
A public holiday in Bangladesh, Independence Day is commemorated with parades, fairs, and concerts as well as patriotic speeches. A festive spirit fills the capital city of Dhaka, where the Bangladesh flag flies proudly, and many government buildings are lit up with the national colors: green and red. The green symbolizes Bangladesh’s abundant flora and the potential of the nation’s youth while the red circle in the middle of the flag represents the sun rising over the relatively new and developing country.
Joy Bangla!
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February 28, 2019
Trịnh Công Sơn's 80th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...44896.2-2x.png
Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and legacy of Trịnh Công Sơn, a prolific and powerful Vietnamese musician, songwriter, poet, and painter.
Born in Đắk Lắk in Vietnam’s central highlands on this day in 1939, Sơn was raised in a Buddhist family by parents who both wrote poetry. His father was imprisoned for several years during Sơn’s youth in the capital city of Buôn Ma Thuột for his vocal resistance to the Vietnamese War. In fact, around the age of 10, Sơn spent a year living with him in Thừa Phủ Prison. Educated at the Lycée Francais school in the ancient imperial capital city of Huế, Sơn also studied philosophy at Lycée Jean Jacques Rousseau in Saigon.
Sơn first worked as a teacher before pivoting careers to become a songwriter in the 1950s. His songs protesting the Vietnam War—particularly those on the 1966 collection Songs of Golden Skin—were popular with soldiers on both sides of the conflict. After the war ended, much of his family fled their homeland, but Sơn chose to stay, writing songs about the unification of North and South Vietnam that displeased government authorities, who sent him to do forced labor in a “re-education camp.”
Following his release, he continued to record music and paint throughout his life.
Widely considered one of Vietnam’s most important modern musicians, Sơn was admired by international singers such as Joan Baez. His song “Ngủ Đi Con” [Lullaby] about the mother of a fallen soldier was a hit in Japan. Today, his music is still recorded by popular Vietnamese singers, such as Hồng Nhung.
Happy Birthday, Trịnh Công Sơn!
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January 31, 2019
Celebrating Nasi Lemak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYdKqVUd3GQ
Today’s Doodle celebrates the rich, fragrant, and spicy dish, known as Nasi Lemak. The dish — considered the national dish of Malaysia and widely eaten year-round — is what many Malaysians start their day with. Also popular in Singapore and Thailand, the humble delicacy is believed to have originated as a hearty farmer’s breakfast on the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula.
Although the name translates from Malay as “rich rice” [a reference to the coconut milk included in the recipe] there is another origin story for the name. According to legend, the daughter of a widow named Mak Kuntum accidentally spilled coconut milk into the rice pot. “What did you cook?” Mak asked and her daughter answered. "Nasi le, Mak!" [Rice, mother!]
There are many variations of the dish across the multiethnic melting pot of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and other indigenous and imported cultures, but the fundamental recipe — featured in today’s video Doodle — is rice cooked with santan or coconut milk and flavored with pandan leaf and galangal root, served with ikan bilis [fried anchovies], crispy peanuts [skin on], sliced cucumber, hard-boiled egg, and sambal [hot sauce] or a splash of tamarind juice, with an optional piece of fried chicken or beef rendang on the side. Sold at roadside stalls wrapped in a “bungkus” of banana leaf or brown paper, Nasi Lemak is so popular it’s also eaten for lunch and dinner, too!
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January 31, 2010
Tapati Rapa Nui Festival 2010
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yn...0WpZf8I3g=s660
Tapati Rapa Nui literally means “Rapa Nui Week” in the local language, but under that name a series of unique events take place to constitute the most important cultural festival of Easter Island and one of the most important in all Polynesia.
The Tapati festival is celebrated every year during the first half of February, so the original concept that gave it its name has extended one more week. The Tapati Rapa Nui, which was born more than 40 years ago and had its origins in the ancient “spring festivities” that were celebrated in Chile, has been transformed over time to become a tribute to the ancestral traditions of the Rapanui people, and on a unique occasion to relive, share and preserve the cultural identity of this fascinating corner of the planet.
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February 12, 2009
Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pF...zg6hf7MMp=s660
Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His proposition that all species of life have descended from common ancestors is now widely accepted and considered a fundamental concept in science. In a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding. Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and he was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.
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November 9, 2012
Paul Abadie's 200th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HY...Fprb-iLl0=s660
Paul Abadie [9 November 1812 – 3 August 1884] was a French architect and building restorer. He is considered a central representative of French historicism. He was the son of architect Paul Abadie Sr..
Abadie worked on the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, Église Sainte-Croix of Bordeaux, Saint-Pierre of Angoulême and Saint-Front of Périgueux. He won the competition in 1873 to design the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on Montmartre in Paris, and saw construction commence on it, though he died long before its completion in 1914.
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February 11, 2021
Celebrating María Grever
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...08287.2-2x.jpg
Today’s Doodle celebrates Mexican singer and songwriter María Grever, considered to be one of the country’s greatest composers. Grever spent a lifetime producing hundreds of songs that went on to be covered by some of the world’s most famous artists, like Placido Domingo, Aretha Franklin, and Frank Sinatra. On this day in 1938, Grever recorded “Ti-Pi-Tin,” a waltz about serenading your loved ones that became one of her biggest hits.
María Joaquina de la Portilla Torres was born in the late 19th century in the city of León in central Mexico. As a child, she moved to Seville, where she studied English, French, and music. Grever’s natural musical abilities were evident as she composed a holiday carol for her school. This led her father to provide her some of the finest tutors, including distinguished composers, Debussy and Lehár. Her first record, “A Una Ola” [“To a Wave,” 1912], sold millions of copies, and was eventually covered by several singers.
In 1916, Grever moved to New York, where she soon composed background music in films for both Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. All the while, Grever continued to produce songs that married folk rhythms with styles like tango to captivate audiences throughout the Americas and Spain. Some of her biggest hits included “Júrame” [“Promise, Love,” 1926] and “What a Difference a Day Makes” [originally “Cuando Vuelva a Tu Lado,” 1934]. The latter went on to win a Grammy in 1959 as sung by jazz legend, Dinah Washington.
In recognition of her contributions to music, the Union of Women of the Americas [UWA] named Grever “Woman of the Americas” in 1952.
Thanks for all the music María Grever; it continues to strike a chord with listeners around the world today!
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ria_grever.jpg
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August 3, 2016
238th Anniversary of the inauguration of Teatro Alla Scala
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...82592-hp2x.jpg
Bellini’s Norma. Verdi’s Otello and Falstaff. Puccini’s Turandot. All classics from opera’s golden age - and all works that debuted at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, a masterpiece itself since its inauguration in 1778.
Today’s Doodle honors La Scala’s legendary stage, known both for its size and the distinction of its players. The opera house’s treasured halls have hosted some of the world’s most inspirational opera, ballet, and classical performances over its long existence. Seating more than 2,000 people, its theater has survived both a WWII bombing and restorative construction, continuing to pack houses and delight audiences for some 238 years.
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22 September 2004
Ray Charles' 74th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Q4...DErdtFoZ4=s660
Ray Charles Robinson [September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004] was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother Ray." He was often referred to as "The Genius." Charles was blinded during childhood due to glaucoma.
Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic. He contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums.While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first Black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.
Charles' 1960 hit "Georgia On My Mind" was the first of his three career No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. His 1962 album Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music became his first album to top the Billboard 200. Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 44 on the US R&B singles chart, 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, 2 on the Hot Country singles charts.
Charles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but his music was also influenced by Louis Jordan and Charles Brown. He had a lifelong friendship and occasional partnership with Quincy Jones. Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles "the only true genius in show business," although Charles downplayed this notion. Billy Joel said, "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley".
For his musical contributions, Charles received the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Polar Music Prize. He won 18 Grammy Awards, including 5 posthumously. Charles was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked Charles No. 10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and No. 2 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...piano_pose.jpg
Charles in 1969
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28 Jun 2012
Sergiu Celibidache's 100th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hv...3ClMr8OqP=s660
Sergiu Celibidache was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures as principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Sicilian Symphony Orchestra and several other European orchestras. Later in life, he taught at Mainz University in Germany and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Celibidache frequently refused to release his performances on commercial recordings during his lifetime, claiming that a listener could not have a "transcendental experience" outside the concert hall. Many of the recordings of his performances were released posthumously. He has nonetheless earned international acclaim for his interpretations of the classical repertoire and was known for a spirited performance style informed by his study and experiences in Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.
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6 Jul 2012
José María Velasco's 172nd Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/j_...yzL7agsSE=s660
José María Tranquilino Francisco de Jesús Velasco Gómez Obregón, generally known as José María Velasco, was a 19th-century Mexican polymath, most famous as a painter who made Mexican geography a symbol of national identity through his paintings. He was both one of the most popular artists of the time and internationally renowned. He received many distinctions such as the gold medal of the Mexican National Expositions of Bellas Artes in 1874 and 1876; the gold medal of the Philadelphia International Exposition in 1876, on the centenary of U.S. independence; and the medal of the Paris Universal Exposition in 1889, on the centenary of the outbreak of the French Revolution. His painting El valle de México is considered Velasco's masterpiece, of which he created seven different renditions. Of all the nineteenth-century painters, Velasco was the "first to be elevated in the post-Revolutionary period as an exemplar of nationalism."
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12 January 2015
11th Anniversary of Kimani Maruge's First Day of School
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fm...NmxmtkEie=s660
It’s never too late to learn something new. On this day 11 years ago, Kenyan Kimani Maruge enrolled in primary school at the ripe age of 84, becoming the world’s oldest person to start elementary school. But Maruge’s love for education didn’t end there. In 2005, he boarded a plane–for the very first time–to address the U.N. on the importance of free primary school.
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20 Jul 2012
Santos Dumont's 139th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nW...jaVq2TWJk=s660
Alberto Santos-Dumont was a Brazilian inventor and aviation pioneer, one of the very few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air aircraft.
The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos-Dumont dedicated himself to aeronautical study and experimentation in Paris, where he spent most of his adult life. In his early career he designed, built, and flew hot air balloons and early dirigibles, culminating in his winning the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize on 19 October 1901 for a flight that rounded the Eiffel Tower. He then turned to heavier-than-air machines, and on 23 October 1906 his 14-bis made the first powered heavier-than-air flight in Europe to be certified by the Aéro-Club de France and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. It was also the first powered flight to be publicly witnessed by a crowd and takeoff unassisted by an external launch system. His conviction that aviation would usher in an era of worldwide peace and prosperity led him to freely publish his designs and forgo patenting his various innovations.
Santos-Dumont is a national hero in Brazil, where it is popularly held that he preceded the Wright brothers in demonstrating a practical airplane. Countless roads, plazas, schools, monuments, and airports there are dedicated to him, and his name is inscribed on the Tancredo Neves Pantheon of the Fatherland and Freedom. He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1931 until his suicide in 1932.
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25 Jul 2012
Jaakonpäivä
https://www.google.com/logos/2012/jaakonpaiva-12-hp.jpg
The day of Jaakko , corresponding to 25 July [in Italy it is the day of St. James ], is at the center of a Finnish popular belief that justifies the lowering of the temperatures of the lakes which usually occurs in the third week of July.
Legend has it, in fact, that it is Jaakko who throws a cold stone into the water.
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15 Aug 2012
Julia Child's 100th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8x...RsW73yITQ=s660
The scene in our living room in the early ‘60s will be familiar to many. I can picture my dad sitting in hischair, glued to the new black-and-white miracle of technology in our house, watching The French Chef...for the sheer fun of the show. Fast-forward nearly 15 years and I would find myself, as a young student at La Varenne cooking school in Paris, standing in front of Julia Child herself.
At that first meeting, for a moment, I had Julia’s undivided attention and her intent interest in my goals and plans as a cook. [Happily, that encounter would lead to opportunities to work as a member of Julia’s team, to travel with her around the U.S. and in France, and to a treasured friendship until her death in 2004. I would even become executive director of that esteemed cooking school – due, in large measure, to her influence and support.] Countless times throughout the years that’s the scene which would became familiar to me – Julia engaging and encouraging both professional chefs and home cooks. She would rarely leave a restaurant without a visit to the kitchen or exit a book signing without having communed with everyone in line; she was an active mentor to many of us. Julia was so approachable that people felt they knew her – no one hesitated to stride right up and start a conversation – and in fact, they did know her. After all, she’d been in our living rooms taking us by the hand in the kitchen for years. [Ever-embracing of new technologies, I believe Julia would be thrilled to know that she’s now literally in people’s hands, on digital devices.] But more than that, what people saw on camera was what they’d experience in person.
It was all pure Julia. Especially on the occasion of what would have been her 100th birthday, it’s clear that Julia Child is simply someone we love to love. For good reason – there are many qualities that endear her to us. She came into her own later in life and helped to redefine age. [One of her secrets to aging, I discovered, is that she never saw herself as old. After attending a Smith College reunion in her late 70s, she told me she’d never go to another. “Too many old people,” she said].
Julia loved hard and worked hard [more than anyone I have ever known] and accomplished great things that endure. [How many authors have a New York Times best seller nearly 50 years after publication?] She was opinionated, utterly authentic, and a self-professed ham. She managed to be both serious and a showman, making things look easy while never compromising her incredibly disciplined approach. She demystified and democratized French cooking [[the gold standard and height of sophistication when she took the stage) and appeared to have a ball doing it. Julia dedicated her support to the organizations and causes that mattered to her most, particularly those related to cooking and the pleasures of the table. In 1995, Julia created the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts [juliachildfoundation.org] for the purpose of continuing that support after she’d “slipped off the raft”, as she would often refer to dying.
The Foundation is proud to help further Julia’s life’s work. Julia believed in all of us. She felt that if she could show us how to cook well, we’d do just that. She wanted us to experience the pleasures – in both life and work – that she had, and to revel in good food. “The thing about food,” she said in a 1966 Time Magazine cover story, “is you’re a much happier person if you eat well and treasure your meals.” So to quote Julia once again – on the occasion of her 100th birthday – “Bon Appétit!”
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29 January 2018
Teresa Teng’s 65th Birthday
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Pop singer Teresa Teng was born on this day in 1953 in Taiwan. Her music and talent was a dominant and influential force in Asia throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s. Teng was able to move her audiences as much with the sweetness of her voice as with the power of melancholy emotion. One of the “Five Great Asian Divas”, she was known for driving her audience into rapture, and often tears, over a career that spanned three decades.
Teng’s widespread popularity was also driven by her ability to sing in several languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Indonesian, and English. Evoking for many precious memories of childhood and happier times, her legacy endures to this day.
Today’s Doodle pays tribute to one of Teng’s most well-known songs, "The Moon Represents My Heart." By providing an alternative to the mostly revolutionary songs then prevalent in mainland China, Teng’s emotional rendition of this old Mandarin favorite catapulted her to instant and long-lasting fame that lingers to this day.
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8 Feb 2018
Paula Modersohn-Becker’s 142nd Birthday
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Renowned German expressionist painter Paula Modersohn-Becker was born on this day in 1876. Her art bears witness to her courage, boldness, and ambition — a temperament that greatly influenced her short but prolific career.
Exposed to the intellectual world from the time she was a young child growing up in Dresden-Friedrichstadt, Modersohn-Becker began her artistic endeavors as a student in Bremen, and at the age of 18, moved to an artist’s colony in Worpswede. There she met her future husband, but hungry to learn more, she moved to Paris to study and urged him to join her.
In the years that followed, her personal life underwent many changes. But through all the turbulence, she continued to paint, producing more than 80 pictures in 1906 alone. Her writings explain this frenetic pace as a necessity to make up for the first two ‘lost’ decades of her life.
An early expressionist, she joined the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse in introducing modernism to the world. Modersohn-Becker was known for her bold choices as an artist — be it her depictions of nude female figures [among the very first women artists to do so], or those of women breastfeeding their children. She tenaciously resisted the strict expectations held of women of her era, preferring exploration and painting over more traditional pastimes.
Today’s Doodle reflects her artistic style depicting domestic subjects, and is illustrated by Berlin-based duo Golden Cosmos.
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10 December 2019
Anatoly Tarasov’s 101st Birthday
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"Even though there is a limit on how fast a hockey player can skate… there is no limit to creative endeavors and progress."
–Anatoly Tarasov
Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Marseille-based guest artist Nadya Mira, celebrates Russian coach Anatoly Tarasov, widely known as the “father of Russian hockey,” on his 101st birthday. Under his leadership, the Russian [then USSR] national team won every Ice Hockey World Championship for 9 consecutive years, won 11 European championships, and took home 3 Olympic gold medals. Tarasov’s visionary tactics and will to win put his opponents on ice.
A proficient bandy player, Tarasov was given the task to implement a Soviet hockey program from the ground up after World War II. The Moscow native developed a unique coaching style, focusing both on the individual player’s mastery while demanding a team-first attitude, as well as integrating modified elements from other sports like bandy, soccer, and even ballet to produce champions.
Rival nations often attempted to mimic Tarasov’s approach. A coach from the U.S. asked Tarasov to reveal his secrets and was met with: “There is no secret in hockey. There is imagination, hard work, discipline, and dedication to achieving whatever the goal is.”
His ingenious methods influenced the game worldwide and left a mark on hockey that is still felt globally to this day. In 1974, Tarasov became the first European coach to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, as well as the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.
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11 Dec 2019
Noel Rosa’s 109th Birthday
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Today’s Doodle celebrates the 109th birthday of the beloved Brazilian singer and songwriter Noel Rosa. Known as the “Poeta da Vila” [Poet from Vila], his observational and comedic style earned him a special place in the history of samba, the popular music of the Brazilian people.
Born in the Vila Isabel neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro on this day in 1910, Rosa grew up in a musical family. He started playing the mandolin at age 13 and soon learned the guitar as well.
A gifted student, he entered medical school in 1931. However, when he had to choose between medicine and music, Rosa’s choice became clear. Rosa devoted his energy to writing music and created his own style of samba by mixing witty lyrics with unpredictable twists and turns of melody and bridging the gap between rural Afro-Brazilian traditions and the sound of urban nightlife.
He had his breakthrough with "Com que roupa?," which became one of the biggest hits in 1931 in Brazil and the first of many memorable songs. With his songwriting partner Vadico, he also wrote a series of popular compositions such as "Feitiço da Vila" ["Witchcraft of the Villa"] and "Feitio de Oração" ["In the Form of a Prayer"].
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8 March 2023
International Women's Day 2023
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Today’s Doodle honors International Women’s Day by celebrating many ways in which women support women. The vignettes within each “GOOGLE” letter highlight just a few of the many areas in which women around the world support each other to progress and improve each other's quality of life.
Women in positions of influence who advocate for progress across issues central to the lives of women everywhere. Women who come together to explore, learn, and rally for their rights. Women who are primary caregivers to people of all walks of life. Women who are critical support systems for each other in motherhood.
In honor of women across the globe who are supporting each other across all aspects of life — Happy International Women’s Day!
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November 24, 2021
Celebrating Isala Van Diest
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Today’s Doodle celebrates the first woman to become a doctor in Belgium—Isala Van Diest. On this day in 1884, a government decree went into effect that allowed Van Diest to practice medicine in Belgium.
Isala Van Diest was born in Leuven, Belgium in 1842. Her father was a doctor who owned a medical practice and her mother was active in progressive, feminist organizations. Van Diest made the decision early on to take over her father’s practice, marking a departure from gender conventions of the era. Unable to enroll in medical school in Belgium due to gender discrimination, Diest left home to study in Bern, Switzerland, where she became the first Belgian woman to graduate with a university degree in 1879.
After a short stint in a British women’s hospital, Van Diest shifted her focus to opening her own practice, but many societal and institutional obstacles hindered her progress. Belgium finally began to allow women to formally study medicine in 1880, and in 1883, Van Diest graduated as a doctor of medicine, surgery, and obstetrics. Following years of working in a women’s refuge hospital and advocating for women’s rights, Diest at last opened her own practice in 1886.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day in 2011, the Belgian government issued a €2 coin in Van Diest’s honor alongside Belgium's first woman lawyer, Marie Popelin. In Brussels, the street of Van Diest's former practice was named in her honor in 2018.
Here’s to a medical trailblazer—Isala Van Diest!
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Mar 8, 2014
International Women's Day 2014
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Women have historically been underrepresented in almost all fields: science, school curricula, business, politics — and, sadly, doodles. In addition to our continued effort for doodle diversity and inclusion, this truly International Women’s Day doodle features a host of over a 100 inspiring women from around the world.
Here is the full list [in order of appearance]:
Cee Chatpawee, TV host, IT Princess, Thailand
Chinaza Godwin Christiana, Student, Nigeria
Easkey Britton, Surfer and the first woman to surf in Iran, PhD and doctoral candidate, Ireland
Rahimah Yussof, Developer group leader, Brunei
Chen Yuhong, School teacher, China
Naho Okamoto, Jewelry designer, Japan
Mary Kom, Five-time World Boxing champion, India
Funlayo Adewale, Canteen owner, Nigeria
Jennifer Luo & Yi-hsin Chen, Mothers to be, Taiwan
Alifiyah Ganjee, Developer group leader, Kenya
Karnataka State Home Guard, India
Ana Cecilia Castillo, Developer group leader, Guatemala
Rivka Carmi, President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founded the place2be and Kids Company, caring for 17,000 children, UK/Iran
Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania
Sarah Sechan, TV personality and entertainer, Indonesia
Shoko Uemura, Under-23 Women's Football Team member, Japan
Janet Mock, Trans woman rights activist and author, USA
Harusoga Fujima, Professional Nihon Buyo dancer [traditional dance], Japan
Mara Gabrilli, Congresswoman & Brazil's spokesperson for people with disabilities, Brazil
Maria da Penha, Women's rights advocate, named the law protecting women from domestic violence, Brazil
Viviane Senna, Entrepreneur and founder of NGOs, Brazil
Marta Silva, Awarded multiple times by FIFA golden ball as best female soccer player in the world, Brazil
Students, Guatemala
Maia Sandu, Minister of education, Moldova
Chamki, Adventurous and inquisitive schoolgirl muppet, India
Christine Van Broeckhoven, Molecular biologist, Belgium
Tanha Islam, Aspiring engineer, Bangladesh
Jake Feinler, Former head of Network Information Center at Stanford and Internet Hall of Fame member, USA
Iryna Velychko, Galyna Korniyenko & Marina Derkach, Developer group organizers, Ukraine
Marisa Millán, Proud grandma, Spain
Noelle Wenceslao, Janet Belarmino & Carina Dayondon, First Filipinas to climb Mount Everest, Philippines
Clarisse Reille, Managing Director of French Professional Committee for Apparel Economy Development, France
Gesche Joost, Professor of Design Research and one of Germany's "100 masterminds of tomorrow", Germany
Dora, Explorer
Nogah Dufresne, Multinational baby, France/Israel
Tooba Shaikh, Aspiring Developer, Pakistan
Katelyn Donnelly, Executive Director of the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, USA/UK
Catherine Koo, Chairlady of United Christian College Parents Teachers Association, Hong Kong
Roba Al Assi, Blogger, Jordan
SOS Lambrate, Ambulance volunteers, Italy
Camila Bernal Villegas, Director of the CRAN Foundation and cancer survivor, Colombia
Malala Yousafzai, Education activist, Pakistan
Ashaji, Holds a Guinness World Record as most recorded artist in music history, India
Nonna Grishaeva, Actress, comedian and singer, Russia
Ndileka Xameni, Runs an orphanage, South africa
İpek Hanım's Farm, Business woman turned farmer and her village , Turkey
Prof. Jacqueline A. Oduol, Gender expert fighting for Women's and children's rights, Kenya
Martha Debayle, Radio personality, named one of the 50th most powerful women in Mexico by Forbes, Mexico
Alenka Godec, One of the most prominent jazz and pop singers in Slovenia, Slovenia
Zakeeya Patel, Actress, dancer and winner of South Africa's Strictly Come Dancing 2013, South Africa
Astrid Sartiasari, Singer, Indonesia
Jenny Chan, Ella Wong & Ching Hoi Man, Spokeswomen, Hong Kong
Isadora Faber, Education activist, 14 years old, Brazil
Refiloe Khaoli, Copyrighter, South Africa
Serena Gu, Grace Liang & Sharon Tam, University start-ups advocates, Hong Kong
Anne Geddes, Renowned photographer and women's advocate, Australia
Cecilia Chung, Social justice & human rights activist, HK/US
Diaa Elyaacoubi, Serial entrepreneur, named Entrepreneur of the Year 2004, France
Ros Juan, Entrepreneur and Social advocate, Philippines
Funmi Victor-Okigbo, Events Production Designer, Nigeria
Chen Junlan and QiQiGe, Office workers, China
Tarryn Tomlinson, Inspiring quadriplegic working with disadvantaged youth, South Africa
Zahira Asmal, Founder of Design South Africa, South Africa
Foluso Olaniyan, Agricultural pioneer, Nigeria
Jirawadee Sudta, Awarded National Excellent Youth in law and protection of children's rights, Thailand
Thanks to our amazing editor Morgan Stiff, Zap Mama for the wonderful music, and all the women and girls who participated.
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Mar 8, 2016
International Women's Day 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztMIb6nEeyg
Over the years, Doodles have commemorated the achievements of women in science, civil rights, journalism, sports, arts, technology and beyond. It’s always an honor to pay tribute to women who have changed the course of history, sometimes in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But for this year’s International Women’s Day, we wanted to celebrate the Doodle-worthy women of the future. So we gathered our cameras and pencils and visited 13 countries where we spoke to 337 women and girls and asked them to complete the sentence, “One day I will…”
From toddlers to grandmothers, the women in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Lagos, Moscow, Cairo, Berlin, London, Paris, Jakarta, Bangkok, New Delhi and Tokyo all sparkled with personality. Each new city brought more “One day I will”s, more signature dance moves, more hugs, more high-fives. The aspirations we heard were as varied as the women and girls who shared them, from the very personal—swim with pigs in the Bahamas—to the very global—give a voice to those who can’t speak—and everything in between. When it was done, we found that our own “One day I will…”s had grown bigger and richer, inspired by the women we had met.
Even women who are already accomplished aren’t done dreaming. Jane Goodall shared her hope to one day discuss the environment with the Pope, while Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai and activist Muzoon Almellehan continue to work fearlessly toward a future where every girl can go to school.
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March 8, 2021
International Women's Day 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJP8qEfWh2A
Today’s annual International Women’s Day Doodle takes a journey through a series of firsts in women’s history—highlighting female pioneers who have challenged the status quo and paved the way in education, ci vil rights, science, art, and so much more.
The video Doodle pays homage to these [s]heroes by depicting the hands that have opened the doors for generations of women. While some firsts achieve something spectacularly new, others are receiving a recognition or right that is long overdue.
Suffragists, academics, gold medalists, entrepreneurs and more—today’s Doodle celebrates the women around the world who overcame the obstacles of their time to create a lasting legacy. These firsts stand on the shoulders of countless others—women who laid the foundation, in the past, for today’s doors to be finally opened and glass ceilings broken.
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February 27, 2018
Celebrating May Ayim
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Today’s Doodle celebrates author, poet, and activist May Ayim. It was on this date in 2010 that "May Ayim Ufer" or "May Ayim Street" was named in her honor in Berlin.
Born in 1960 to a Ghanaian father and a German mother, Ayim drew inspiration from a difficult childhood to become a prominent figure in the Black German movement.
Ayim’s pioneering work helped lay the groundwork for the field of Black German history. Her 1986 thesis, “Afro-Germans: Their Cultural and Social History on the Background of Social Change,” was the first scholarly work on Afro-German history from the Middle Ages to the present. This thesis also provided the foundation of her renowned book, “Farbe Bekennen.” In addition to her scholarly publications, Ayim’s poetry collections brought the Black German struggle for equality to an international stage.