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Jul 10, 2017
Eva Ekeblad’s 293rd Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...44096.4-2x.jpg
Today we celebrate Eva Ekeblad’s 293rd birthday. The Swedish scientist brought potatoes, then a greenhouse curiosity, to the people. Eva discovered the starch was humble but mighty – potatoes could be ground into flour or distilled into spirits. Her discovery helped reduce famine in years to come.
For her scientific and delicious work, Eva Ekeblad became the first woman elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1748. She was truly a pioneer - the next woman recognized in those ranks would come 203 years later.
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13 September 2016
Yma Sumac’s 94th birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...912.2-hp2x.jpg
Born Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo in the mountains of Peru, Yma Sumac, or the “Peruvian songbird,” came into the world on this day in 1922. As a young girl, Yma would sing to rocks on her mountainside home, pretending they were her audience. As a teenager, Yma’s audience became very real when she was invited to sing on an Argentine radio station. After that moment, her astonishing five-octave vocal range captivated audiences in South America and beyond.
Yma arrived in the United States in 1946 and was signed by Capitol Records shortly after. During her 1950s prime, she sung at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Royal Albert Hall - to name a few.
Here’s to Yma, whose captivating voice will always be remembered.
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23 Apr 2015
Shoen Uemura’s 140th birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Je...zP1RMsjrM=s660
Uemura Shōen was the pseudonym of an important artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her bijin-ga paintings of beautiful women in the nihonga style, although she produced numerous works on historical themes and traditional subjects. Shōen is considered a major innovator in the bijin-ga genre despite the fact she often still used it to depict the traditional beauty standards of women. Bijin-ga gained criticism during the Taisho era while Shōen worked due to its lack of evolution to reflect the more modern statuses of women in Japan. During bijin-ga's conception in the Tokugawa, or Edo, period, women were regarded as lower class citizens and the genre often reflected this implication onto its female subjects. Within the Taisho era, women had made several advancements into the Japanese workforce, and artistry specifically was becoming more popular outside of pass times for the elite, which opened way for Shōen's success.
Shōen received many awards and forms of recognition during her lifetime within Japan, being the first female recipient of the Order of Culture award, as well as being hired as the Imperial Household's official artist, which had previously only employed one other official woman in the position. In 1949 she died of cancer just a year after receiving the Order of Culture Award.
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27 November 2018
Fe del Mundo’s 107th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...1928960-2x.png
“I’m glad that I have been very much involved in the care of children, and that I have been relevant to them,” says Filipina physician Fe del Mundo. “They are the most outstanding feature in my life.”
Born in Manilla on this day in 1911, del Mundo was inspired to study medicine by her older sister who did not herself live to realize her dream of becoming a doctor. Also known as “The Angel of Santo Tomas,” del Mundo devoted her life to child healthcare and revolutionized pediatric medicine in the process.
A gifted student who became the first woman admitted to Harvard Medical School, del Mundo returned home after completing her studies in the U.S. During World War II, she set up a hospice where she treated more than 400 children and later became director of a government hospital. Frustrated with the bureaucracy, she eventually sold her house and belongings to finance the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines. Del Mundo lived on the second floor of the Children's Medical Center in Quezon City, making early morning rounds until she was 99 years old, even in a wheelchair.
When she wasn’t treating patients she was teaching students, publishing important research in medical journals, and authoring a definitive ‘Textbook of Pediatrics.’ She established the Institute of Maternal and Child Health to train doctors and nurses, and became the first woman to be conferred the title National Scientist of the Philippines and received many awards for her outstanding service to humankind.
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8 Mar 2013
Women's Day 2013
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MP...kckwqo-Y0=s660
Creating this Doodle, while lots of fun, was quite a challenge. After all, women make up more than half of the population. How can they be fairly represented in just one illustration? While no attempt is perfect, it took a number of tries to arrive at the final concept that you see on the homepage.
I initially thought it might be fun to simply depict some ladies having fun outside. I then tried to anthropomorphize the Google letters into women from different backgrounds and lifestyle choices. Ultimately, I didn’t feel that any of these fairly represented women as a whole.
The idea for the final illustration came to me while I was doing one of my favorite things -- sketching in a coffee shop. When drawing from life, you really observe how each human face is unique. People come in all shapes and sizes!
I realized that I could use a similar concept with the Women’s Day Doodle. Using simple shapes to write “Google” with negative space seemed to be the best way to approach this assignment; I now had far more to work with than simply replacing the 6 letters in “Google”.
I had fun painting this Doodle, and hope that others enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the creative process!
Posted by Betsy Bauer, Doodler.
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May 26, 2015
Sally Ride’s 64th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...28928-hp2x.gif
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwD2377KZe8
Today’s guest blog post is from Tam O’Shaughnessy—life partner of astronaut Sally Ride, and co-founder & CEO of Sally Ride Science. Over the past few months, Tam worked with our Doodle team to create a doodle for Sally’s 64th birthday. In this post, she tells us more about Sally’s life, her flight aboard the space shuttle Challenger, and her passion for helping kids stay excited about science and technology.
As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride—who would have been 64 today—captured the nation’s imagination as a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers. But her historic flight represented just one aspect of a remarkable and multifaceted life. She was also a physicist, a science writer, and an inspirational advocate for keeping kids excited about science as they go through school.
Sally was born on May 26, 1951, in Los Angeles. She grew up playing with a chemistry set and small telescope—and playing football in the streets with the neighborhood kids. Later she considered playing professional tennis, but decided instead to study science.
In 1977, Sally was finishing her Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University when she saw an article in the student newspaper saying that NASA was looking for astronauts—and for the first time was allowing women to apply. Sally didn’t hesitate to send in her application, and became one of six women selected as part of the new crop of astronaut candidates. On June 18, 1983, she soared into history as the first American woman in space.
Looking back at Earth through the window of the space shuttle, Sally was moved by the view of our beautiful blue planet wrapped in its thin blanket of air. She realized how important it is for all of us to take care of our fragile home in space, and became an environmentalist. Many years later, we wrote books for young adults about Earth’s changing climate.
After leaving NASA, Sally became a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. She loved being a scientist, but she was concerned that many young people—especially girls and minority students—abandon their early interest in science and math.
Studies show that the reason kids turn away from STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] is not that they don’t like it or aren’t good it. Instead, young people get turned off because society sends false messages about who scientists are, what they do, and how they work. So Sally decided to use her high profile to motivate young people to stick with their interest in science and to consider pursuing STEM careers.
In 2001, Sally and I and three friends started Sally Ride Science to create programs and publications that bring science to life and show young people that STEM is fascinating, creative, and fun. Since then, we’ve trained thousands of teachers on how to spark and sustain interest in STEM and reached millions of students with our books and programs.
Sally died almost three years ago on July 23, 2012, from pancreatic cancer. But I know she would be honored by today’s Google Doodle. With whimsy, it expresses Sally’s sense of fun and adventure, and her ability to inspire young people. And who knows—maybe her Doodle will motivate some girl or boy somewhere in the world to become a scientist and adventurer just like Sally.
Sally said it best . . .
Everywhere I go I meet girls and boys who want to be astronauts and explore space, or they love the ocean and want to be oceanographers, or they love animals and want to be zoologists, or they love designing things and want to be engineers. I want to see those same stars in their eyes in 10 years and know they are on their way!
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Feb 12, 2018
Rosenmontag 2018
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...0197376-2x.jpg
While Carnival is observed by countries all across the world, celebrations in Germany are marked by delightful traditions, and take on different names in different parts of the country.
For Karneval celebrators in Rhineland, the Rosenmontag [Rose Monday] parade takes center stage on the Monday before Ash Wednesday. Every town hosts a parade complete with floats and candy-tossing, while participants dress up in Funkenmariechen [traditional costumes]. Shouts of "Alaaf!" [the fool’s call], which translates roughly to “may he live well” and "Helau!" [a call representing the fun of joy] fill the streets until Veilchendienstag, [Violet Tuesday] the next day.
In Berlin, Brandenburg or Saxony, Fasching celebrations take a similar form, but begin in earnest on Schmutziger Donnerstag, or ‘Fat Thursday’. In southwestern Germany and northern Bavaria, you may find yourself celebrating Fastnacht, sporting elaborately carved masks depicting witches and other animals in the wild.
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March 1, 2018
St. David's Day 2018
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...6475392-2x.jpg
March 1st is celebrated in the UK as St. David’s Day [Dewi Sant], named after the patron saint of Wales. The musical country earned the title “Land of Song” through its rich history of choral singing, dating all the way back to the 19th century.
Today’s Doodle was created by Sander Berg, an illustrator from Sweden who now makes his home in Wales. It features a woman in historic Welsh dress—now traditionally worn on St. David’s Day—plays the Welsh National Anthem on a Welsh Triple Harp. The harpist plays in front of Mt. Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, and is surrounded by Cenhinen Pedr [St. Peter’s Leek], also known as the daffodil. As one of the first signs of spring, the cheerful flowers are an important symbol on Welsh National Day, and can be seen popping up in fields and on lapels throughout the country.
Wales boasts several well-known musical institutions, including The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Welsh National Opera, the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, and a myriad of Welsh Male Voice Choirs. Eisteddfod, an eight-day festival of literature, music, and performance, is a common way for Welsh communities around the world to honor their patron saint and celebrate their musical heritage.
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Mar 6, 2018
Celebrating Semla
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...7776.3-2xa.gif
Semla season is in full swing, sending fans of these storied Swedish buns, flavored with cardamom and filled with almond paste and whipped cream, into a frenzy!
Dating back to around 1541, semlor [plural of semla, because who could consume just one?] were originally eaten by Sweden’s monarchy and upper-classes, usually every Tuesday between Shrove Tuesday and Easter, prior to Lenten fasting.
King Adolf Frederick, a ruler with an enormous appetite, devoured 14 semlor in one sitting, shortly before his demise on February 12, 1771. Unlike typical buns of the time, his were soaked in hot milk [known as hetvägg], and fancified with cinnamon and raisins. Alas, they were to be his last.
Almond paste and whipped cream further sweetened the bun in the 1930s. and over the years semlor in all shapes and sizes have filled bakery windows, from traditional semlor with cut-off tops and powdered sugar to modern takes like semmelwrap, made with flattened dough and the Princess semla, a cross between the Prinsesstårta, a traditional green layer cake, and the cardamom bun. [In other parts of Scandinavia, semlor are known as fastlagsbulle or fastelavnsbolle.]
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March 18, 2018
Erich Ohser's 115th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...5826304-2x.jpg
Cartoonist Erich Ohser’s mighty pen was not only his sword, but his shield. Born on this day in Vogtland, Germany, in 1903, Ohser was raised in the industrial town of Plauen. He attended art school at Leipzig’s esteemed Academy of Graphic Arts and Book Trade [Akademie für graphische Künste und Buchgewerbe] before finding his voice as a cartoonist and book illustrator in Weimar Republic–era Berlin.
The artist’s work blossomed through his bond with writer Erich Kästner and journalist Erich Knauf, who shared his political ideology and modern sense of aesthetics. Ohser’s impassioned cartoons and caricatures, which appeared in Knauf’s articles and other popular publications, became his vehicle for expressing his antipathy towards the National Socialists. As making such declarations became increasingly dangerous, Ohser found refuge in drawing the lighthearted, and highly successful, comic strip Vater und Sohn [Father and Son].
From 1934 through 1937, Vater und Sohn captivated readers of the weekly news magazine Berliner Illustrirte Zeitungwith its irreverent wit, scratchy pen strokes, and playful antics. Plucking a page from his past, Ohser signed it with a pseudonym that stuck: E.O. Plauen.
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March 29, 2005
Vincent van Gogh's 152nd Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Y...SftuxL_Ne=s660
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. He was not commercially successful, and his suicide at 37 came after years of mental illness, depression and poverty.
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August 11, 2015
Gustavo Cerati’s 56th Birthday
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When he was 9 years old, Gustavo Cerati’s parents gave him his first guitar. Thus began the long career of one of the most unique, inspiring, and cherished Ibero-American rock musicians of all time.
Gustavo Cerati started his first band only a few years later. When Soda Stereo formed in 1982, Gustavo and his bandmates broke the mold on Latin rock, captivating Spanish-speaking audiences throughout the Americas, all the way across the ocean to Spain. After 15 years as a band, they said an emotional goodbye with El Último Concierto [The Last Concert].
Gustavo wasn’t done setting the stage for Latin rock. As a solo act, he’d release 5 albums and receive dozens of awards for his influence on Latin rock. His larger-than-life musical persona was so beloved that his passing in 2014 inspired tributes from musicians like Shakira and U2.
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Aug 5, 2015
101st Anniversary of the First Electric Traffic Signal System
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...19648-hp2x.gif
The early twentieth-century intersection was a strange scene. While the world’s largest automobile manufacturer sold over 20,000 cars a month in 1914, horse-drawn wagons and carts still crowded the streets, and accidents became increasingly frequent. Intersections in major cities were congested, and traffic was directed by police officers who stood in the middle of chaotic highways waving their arms--an unenviable beat, to say the least, especially during a blustery winter in the Midwest.
A solution to the problem was woefully overdue. Gas-lit stoplights appeared in England before the turn of the century, but these had a tendency to explode, and mechanically operated signs that displayed the words “stop” and “move” still relied on traffic attendants. Enter the inspiration of today’s Doodle, the electric traffic signal, which was first installed at the corner of 105th and Euclid in Cleveland, Ohio on August 5th, 1914.
Doodler Nate Swinehart hearkens back to an earlier time with shades of black and white, and uses the background colors to make the red and green signals particularly luminous. It’s not an artistic coincidence that the cars leap forward and screech wildly to a halt, either--the yellow light wouldn’t appear for several years, and overzealous motorists had to stop on a dime.
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May 19, 2014
Rubik's Cube
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YF...-dBdDQvHc=s660
The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980. Rubik's Cube won the 1980 German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle. As of January 2009, 350 million cubes had been sold worldwide, making it the world's top-selling puzzle game. It is widely considered to be the world's best-selling toy.
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March 5, 2015
Momofuku Ando’s 105th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6x...i3G1o2xV8=s660
If you’ve ever needed to eat something quickly and cheaply, you may be familiar with this mantra:
"Peel off the lid.Pour boiling water into the cup.Let sit for three minutes.Stir well and serve.”
With these four simple steps, Taiwanese-Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando introduced to the world instant ramen, a dish that not only revolutionized food but also serves as a testament to what hard work and perseverance can achieve. Our doodle for the inventor’s 105th birthday showcases Momofuku’s efforts to make instant noodles, but don’t let the speed of the animations fool you – it took Ando years to figure out the recipe!
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7 March 2021
Celebrating Masako Katsura
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Today’s Doodle celebrates ambidextrous Japanese sharpshooter Masako “The First Lady of Billiards” Katsura, who made history as the first woman to compete for an international billiards title on this day in 1952.
Born in Tokyo in 1913, Katsura picked up billiards at age 12 from her brother-in-law, a game room owner, and by 15 she was the Japanese women’s champion in straight rail—a challenging variation of carom billiards in which the cue ball must hit two balls in a row to score points. After 19, she only competed in men’s tournaments; racking up 10,000 points at one exhibition in a mind-boggling four and a half hour run.
By the time Katsura moved to the United States in 1937, word of her unprecedented talent had reached eight-time world champion Welker Cochran. He came out of retirement to challenge her in a series of three-cushion matches, an even tougher version of carom billiards, depicted in the Doodle artwork, that calls for the cue ball to hit at least three cushions before striking the two object balls for points. Katsura so impressed Welker, he organized the World Championship Billiards tournament in 1952 to watch her compete against world’s foremost billiards aficionados. Katsura upset some of the sport’s best players to finish seventh in the tournament, while the progress she made for women in a traditionally male-dominated game was a first.
To celebrate her historic achievements, Katsura was inducted into the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Hall of Fame in 1976 as one of the sport’s all-time greatest players.
So here’s to you, First Lady of Billiards! Thanks for cueing up this sport for generations of women to come.
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Mar 7, 2011
Sendung mit der Maus 40th Anniversary
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ok...d2blhwz0g=s660
Die Sendung mit der Maus [The Show with the Mouse] is a children's series on German television that has been called "the school of the nation". The show first aired on 7 March 1971. Originally called Lach- und Sachgeschichten für Fernsehanfänger ["Laughing and Learning Stories for Television Beginners"], it was controversial because German law prohibited television for children under six years of age.The program was initially condemned by teachers and childcare professionals as bad for children's development, but is now hailed for its ability to convey information to children. The show has received over 75 awards. The first doctoral dissertation on the program was written in 1991. On 7 March 1999 the program's Internet site was launched and received 2,400 e-mails and 4 million hits on the first day.
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7 December 2015
Matilde Pérez's 99th Birthday
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Borrowing ideas from the kinetic style that made Matilde Pérez an internationally recognized artist, Nate Swinehart added some movement to today’s homepage. Born in 1916, Pérez painted and sculpted into her nineties, using the interplay of abstract shapes and sharp colors to create optical and aesthetic effects of motion. Today would have been her 99th birthday. Feliz cumpleaños, Matilde.
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9 Dec 2015
Whina Cooper’s 120th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...44384-hp2x.png
When she was 18, Whina Cooper organized her first demonstration, rallying a small group to protest the leasing of land where the Maori people traditionally fished. When she was close to 80, Cooper led another protest, this time organizing thousands of people on a landmark march from the Far North to Parliament in Wellington to publicly decry the loss of millions of acres of Maori land. Not only did the march unite many different groups--a major feat at the time--, but it also attracted significant national attention, taking public awareness of Maori land rights to new heights.
Whina Cooper was an activist for most of her life. She fought tirelessly for the rights of Maori people, especially women, serving as the first president of the Maori Women’s Welfare League. In recognition of her efforts, she was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1981, and a member of the Order of New Zealand in 1991. Today, on what would have been her 120th birthday, we honor Dame Whina Cooper with a Doodle that pays tribute to her most historic achievement, that famous land march. Doodler Olivia When took inspiration from photos of the time, highlighting the fact that the march involved people of all ages, all brought together by a passionate and tenacious leader: Whina Cooper.
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9 December 2018
Sir Douglas Nicholls’ 112th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...55328.2-2x.png
Today’s Doodle celebrates Sir Douglas Nicholls, the athlete, pastor, and political leader who championed the upliftment of Australia’s Indigenous people and went on to become the first Aboriginal Australian to be knighted by the Queen of England.
Born in Yorta Yorta Country, New South Wales, on this day in 1906, Nicholls was raised in Cummeragunga Mission Station, an Aboriginal reserve on the Murray River. After receiving a basic education he worked as a “tar boy,” preparing sheep for shearing, and later joined a dredging team building levees on the river.
Although he stood just 5’2” Nicholls was a gifted athlete who won various sprinting titles, was an expert boomerang thrower, and who excelled in football. As the first Indigenous Australian to play football professionally, Nicholls endured scorn from teammates and trainers, but eventually found his team and helped the Northcote club reach the grand finals for three seasons—winning the title in 1929.
Motivated by the founder of the Australian Aborigines’ League, Sir Nicholls got involved in politics and began speaking out for the rights of Indigenous people. “I know we can proudly hold our own with others if given the chance,” Nicholls proclaimed in 1938 at Australia’s first gathering to advance the cause of Aboriginal civil rights.
In 1940, Nicholls retired as a football player due to knee injuries. Drawn to the church after the loss of his mother, he became the first pastor of Aboriginal Church of Christ in Australia. “Pastor Doug” held regular meetings that led to a thriving community center. He was appointed to a parliamentary committee which investigated abuses towards Indigenous people and edited Smoke Signals, the journal of the Aboriginal Advancement League.
In 1976 Nicholls was appointed governor of South Australia, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to hold the office. Nicholls was named a Member of the British Empire, Victorian Father of the Year, Order of the British Empire, and in 1972 traveled to London to be knighted by the Queen of England.
Happy Birthday, Sir Douglas Nicholls!
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20 December 2010
Mehmet Akif Ersoy's Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rG...XGTWecMxv=s660
Mehmet Akif Ersoy [20 December 1873 – 27 December 1936] was a Turkish poet, writer, academic, politician, and the author of the Turkish National Anthem. Widely regarded as one of the premiere literary minds of his time, Ersoy is noted for his command of the Turkish language, as well as his patriotism and role in the Turkish War of Independence.
A framed version of the national anthem by Ersoy typically occupies the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of every public as well as most private schools around Turkey, along with a Turkish flag, a photograph of the country's founding father Atatürk, and a copy of Atatürk's speech to the nation's youth.
A university in Burdur was named after him. Ersoy's portrait was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 lira banknotes of 1983–1989.
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14 Dec 2008
Shinkansen 2008
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/C4...elq_ex-Fg=s660
The Shinkansen, colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is operated by five Japan Railways Group companies.
Over the Shinkansen's 50-plus-year history, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there has been not a single passenger fatality or injury on board due to derailments or collisions.
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14 December 2012
Xul Solar's 125th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0K...YHFC5pMIQ=s660
Xul Solar was the adopted name of Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solari, Argentine painter, sculptor, writer, and inventor of imaginary languages.
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7 December 2014
250th Anniversary of the Hermitage Museum
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/k6...Ekp0Cpe-j=s660
The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest art museum in the world by gallery space. it was founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year on 7 December, Saint Catherine's Day. It has been open to the public since 1852. It attracted 968,604 visitors in 2020, a drop of eighty percent from 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 it ranked eleventh on the list of most visited art museums in the world.
Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items [the numismatic collection accounts for about one-third of them].The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. Apart from them, the Menshikov Palace, Museum of Porcelain, Storage Facility at Staraya Derevnya, and the eastern wing of the General Staff Building are also part of the museum. The museum has several exhibition centers abroad. The Hermitage is a federal state property. Since July 1992, the director of the museum has been Mikhail Piotrovsky.
Of the six buildings in the main museum complex, five—namely the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage, and Hermitage Theatre—are open to the public. The entrance ticket for foreign tourists costs more than the fee paid by citizens of Russia and Belarus. However, entrance is free of charge the third Thursday of every month for all visitors, and free daily for students and children. The museum is closed on Mondays. The entrance for individual visitors is located in the Winter Palace, accessible from the Courtyard.
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7 December 2016
Abd al-Rahman Al-Sufi's [Azophi] 1113th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...87520-hp2x.jpg
Abd al-Rahman Al-Sufi forever changed the way we look at the stars in the sky. As one of the world’s most influential astronomers, he dedicated his life to furthering our understanding of the stars and constellations. The lunar crater "Azophi" and the minor planet "12621 Alsufi" are named after him.
One of Al-Sufi's greatest works involved fact-checking the Greek astronomer Ptolemy's measurements of the brightness and size of stars. In the year 964 AD, Al-Sufi published his findings in a book titled Kitab al-Kawatib al-Thabit al-Musawwar, or The Book of Fixed Stars. In many cases, he confirmed Ptolemy’s discoveries, but he also improved upon his work by illustrating the constellations and correcting some of Ptolemy’s observations about the brightness of stars.
Today's Doodle celebrates Al-Sufi on what would be his 1,113th birthday with a representation of the constellation Cancer, also known as “the crab.” The artwork closely mirrors what appeared in Al-Sufi’s manuscript, The Book of Fixed Stars.The words around the crabs indicate the cardinal directions of North, South, East, and West, with the smaller labels providing additional assistance in viewing the constellations.
More than a millennium later, Al-Sufi's keen observations and detailed work still informs our view of the night sky.
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4 May 2012
Keith Haring's 54th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ce...iwigYXAI5=s660
In the early 1980s, as a native Manhattanite raised by and among artists, I was aware of Keith Haring and his work, but my 1984 job interview would be the first time we would meet. After some awkward small talk, we quickly realized that we had many friends and social activities in common. At that age [we were both just 25], such things meant a great deal. He hired me as his personal assistant and studio manager, and I worked alongside him until his premature death from AIDS-related illnesses in 1990. We shared many interests, worked well together, and established a deep, reciprocal trust. When he became ill and decided to create the Keith Haring Foundation, I was honored to accept his offer to be its executive director. I have now held that position for 23 years, and my responsibility and privilege is to promote and manage a legacy: respecting past connections and relationships, cultivating and nurturing new ones, staying true to Keith's artistic and philanthropic goals, and doing whatever is needed to ensure his place in history.
Keith tapped into the collective unconscious and expanded upon a universal language of symbols and messages – executed in simple lines, energized by the spirit [and for a time, context] of graffiti and fueled by his intense commitment to make his work as accessible as possible. Although he first came to the public’s attention through his chalk drawings in the New York City subway stations, he utilized the same graphically compelling visual vocabulary in thousands of works on paper, canvas, limited edition prints and multiples, sculpture, public murals and, eventually, merchandise – avenues of dissemination that to him were all of equal importance. This ambitious, populist spirit and prolific output brought his work to the widest audience imaginable.
Curious and cautious about the role technology was beginning to play in our society, Keith often included images of computers in his work. He was both excited by and nervous about the impact of the personal computer on our daily lives. Using his art to convey these and other social concerns was at the root of his ever-increasing popularity. Over the past 30 years, images he created that speak about racism, drug addiction, AIDS and tolerance have become iconic.
Keith once expressed his fantasy that in the future, his images might be "beamed" around the world in seconds. That future is now, and I firmly believe that for Keith, the Internet would have been a realization of that excitement and cautious curiosity. That the world’s largest search engine is honoring Keith's birthday is nevertheless a perfect, 21st century, tribute to his art and ambitions. As Keith himself said in 1984, "Art lives through the imaginations of the people who are seeing it. Without that contact, there is no art. I have made myself a role as an image-maker of the twentieth century and I daily try to understand the responsibilities and implications of that position. It has become increasingly clear to me that art is not an elitist activity reserved for the appreciation of a few, but for everyone, and that is the end toward which I will continue to work."
Julia Gruen, Executive Direct of the Keith Haring Foundation
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Tower [1987] mural at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris, France
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The Boxers [1987] sculpture in Berlin, Germany
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Barking dog sculpture by Haring in Dortmund, Germany
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Tuttomondo [1989] mural at the church of Sant'Antonio Abate in Pisa, Italy
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Haring painting a mural at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1986
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4 May 2016
Jane Jacobs’ 100th birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...67648-hp2x.jpg
Happy Birthday Jane Jacobs!
“Why have cities not, long since, been identified, understood and treated as problems of organized complexity?”
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uc...OsF6lB3n-E4=s0
Jane Jacobs was a self-taught journalist and community organizer that supported keeping the city of New York diverse in shape and function. She stood by beloved neighborhoods that were unjustly slated for "renewal" and revealed political biases in the permit process for new projects. In Jacob's opinion, cities are for the people, and they're safest when residents mingle on the street and in local businesses.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_N...NIKe5ikoZTC=s0
Jacobs developed her philosophy through living and interacting with the city itself, and described life on the city streets as a kind of social ballet. Her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities [1961] still sits in the American Library of Congress. Today's Doodle honors the 100th birthday of this fierce protector of New York City's urban landscape.
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18 Sept 2017
55th Anniversary of Khao Yai National Park
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6n...xqtpp899CH1898
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5rvVBKs3dA
Today we celebrate the 55th anniversary of one of Thailand’s treasures, Khao Yai National Park. Khao Yai is the oldest national Park in Thailand, nestled in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, about 3 hours outside of Bangkok. With the help of renowned Thai conservationist, Boonsong Lekakul, the Thai government declared the park protected land on September 18, 1962. The sprawling 837 square mile park is a treasure to visitors from around the world.
Today’s slideshow Doodle will take you on a journey through the park to catch a glimpse of wildlife unique to Thailand, such as gaurs, ottors, and gibbons. Khao Yai is a sanctuary for over 70 types of mammals, including elephants, bears, and deer, as well as hundreds of species of birds. Visitors are even known to come across macaque monkeys in the winding roads as they venture into the park! Khao Yai is also home to magnificent waterfalls, hiking trails, and even white water rafting.
If you’re planning a visit to the park, you’re not alone – Khao Yai welcomes over a million visitors each year to take in nature, seek out wildlife sightings, and sleep under the stars. As a place with so many natural wonders to behold, we celebrate the 55 years of Khao Yai and hope for many more to come.
Today we celebrate the 55th anniversary of one of Thailand’s treasures, Khao Yai National Park. Khao Yai is the oldest national Park in Thailand, nestled in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, about 3 hours outside of Bangkok. With the help of renowned Thai conservationist, Boonsong Lekakul, the Thai government declared the park protected land on September 18, 1962. The sprawling 837 square mile park is a treasure to visitors from around the world.
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1 Jul 2017
Canada National Day 2017
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...7840.2-2xa.gif
On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act was passed, uniting the three distinct colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Originally called Dominion Day, Canada Day was not officially celebrated until its 50th anniversary in 1917.
The diversity of those three distinct colonies was not lost or diminished. Canadians take great pride in their country’s multicultural, integrated, and inclusive citizenship. In recognition of these fundamental beliefs, Canada enacted the Multiculturalism Policy of Canada in 1971. The first of its kind in the world, this policy confirmed the rights of Aboriginal peoples and the status of Canada’s two official languages.
Today’s Doodle depicts celebratory desserts that reflect the country’s vast regional and ethnic diversity by highlighting the 13 provinces and territories. Bonne Fête Canada! Indulge your sweet tooth with the delights depicted in the Doodle:
German krapfen
Chinese mooncake
Portuguese pasteis
Italian tiramisu
English jelly
French chocolate eclairs
Turkish delight
Spanish churros
Inuit bannock
Punjab jalebi
American doughnuts
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23 March 2017
Hassan Fathy’s 117th birthday
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Today's Doodle celebrates Hassan Fathy, an Egyptian architect known for pioneering new methods, respecting tradition, and valuing all walks of life. Fathy is known to be a poet, musician, and inventor, but he spent his life's work in architecture, after training in Cairo.
At the beginning of his career, Fathy focused on teaching architecture to others, but soon began to take on architectural projects of his own. He was convinced that Egypt could look to its past to create a valuable future. He researched ancient methods of building, and began working with traditional materials like mud and earth. He made use of traditional structures as well, relying on archways for strong support and malqaf, or windcatchers, which take in natural ventilation through open windows and direct air throughout a home.
Beyond preserving Egypt's architectural legacy, Fathy trusted in the power of community to look after itself. He trained community members to create their own materials from scratch and build their own structures, so that they would be able to sustain their homes long after Fathy was gone. In this way, he was invested in more than building homes - he was building communities. For his ambitious New Gourna project in Luxor, he built diverse homes with the understanding that different families would have different needs. He also built a theater, school, market, and mosque, since a community is based on more than houses. His work in Egypt and beyond inspired others all over the world to find innovative ways to respect their local traditions and resources.
Today’s Doodle honors Fathy’s legacy on what would have been his 117th birthday. In the Doodle, see if you can find the traditional adobe process, a woman planting shrubs, geese and cows, and Hassan Fathy himself shaking hands with a member of his community!
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28 Apr 2017
Marie Harel’s 256th birthday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK2eUBouGp8
If not for Marie Harel, born April 28, 1761, brie might have no gooey counterpart. Harel, who’s credited with creating the first camembert in 1791, is said to have encountered a cheese whisperer at the Normandy manor where she worked as a dairymaid. According to legend, a priest [[purportedly from the region of Brie) took shelter at Beaumoncel near Vimoutiers during the French Revolution, and he shared his secret for making the now-famous soft-centered cheese. Harel added her own signature, packaging the cheese in its iconic wooden boxes.
Like brie, camembert is made from raw cow’s milk, but without cream. The cheese is yellow in color, with an earthy aroma, creamy taste, and an edible white rind. Today, only camembert made from unpasteurized milk receives the designation Camembert de Normandie. The village of Vimoutiers, home of the Camembert Museum, boasts a statue of a cow — as well as one of Harel, who made such a delicious contribution to French cheese culture.
Our Doodle celebrates Harel’s 256th birthday with a slideshow that illustrates how camembert is made, step by step. It's drawn in a charming, nostalgic style reminiscent of early 20th-century French poster artists, such as Hervé Morvan and Raymond Savignac.
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11 Apr 2017
Jamini Roy’s 130th birthday
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Celebrated modernist Jamini Roy is famous for creating bold artworks reimagining traditional South Asian folk art. During his lifetime he was honored with the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, and his works are considered national treasures of India.
Born in 1887, he spent his early artistic career studying at the Government School of Art in Kolkata, and by mid-century was exhibiting his distinctive paintings in London and New York. His simplistic style evolved throughout the years, from post-impressionist to paintings created on woven fabrics and inspired by Bengali tribal art.
On what would be Jamini Roy’s 130th birthday, we celebrate his significant contribution to the global art world with this Doodle homage, featuring one of his popular subjects.
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Apr 2017
Chu Ming Silveira’s 76th Birthday
https://www.google.com/logos/doodles...04992-hp2x.png
“Hello? Can you hear me?” In Brazil’s phone booths before 1971, the answer was usually, “No.” Chu Ming Silveira, an architect, answered her country’s call to design a better payphone booth. Durable yet lightweight, and inexpensive to manufacture, install, and maintain, her Orelhão has become one of the country’s most recognizable and beloved pieces of “street furniture.”
Orelhão, which is Portuguese for “big ear,” shelter callers from Brazil’s baking sun and torrential downpours, as well as a wide range of temperatures. Best of all? Callers can actually hear the person on the other end of the line. Chu Ming drew her inspiration from the shape of an egg, which provides excellent acoustics and has a pleasing natural form.
There are more than 52,000 Orelhão in Brazil today, and adaptations of Chu Ming’s design can be found in Peru, Colombia, Angola, Mozambique, and China.
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1 Apr 2017
Payut Ngaokrachang’s 88th birthday
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Today’s Doodle celebrates renowned Thai cartoonist and animation pioneer Payut Ngaokrachang with a depiction of one of his best-known animations, and Thai cinema's first cel-animated feature film, “The Adventure of Sudsakorn.”
Released in 1979, “Sudsakorn” was one of Thailand’s earliest full-length animations, and was based on author Sudthornpu’s book Pra Apai Manee. It follows the exploits of the boy hero as he battles with mythical creatures and other dangerous adversaries. The animation was created on a very tight budget, and the innovative Payut was said to have crafted some of his movie-making equipment using discarded military machinery to keep costs low.
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30 Sept 2010
Flintstones' 50th Anniversary
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Gu...OOLtarppo=s660
As a young kid, I drew a lot of dinosaurs. My dad would bring home reams of dot matrix printer paper from work, which I'd take, fold into stapled booklets, and then fill with dinosaurs doing what dinosaurs did best — eating, leaping about, facing off in epic combat on top of spewing volcanoes. What I didn't know was that dinosaurs were also quite handy. A brontosaurus tail made an excellent water slide, you could walk up a row of plates on a stegosaurus' back like a flight of stairs, and the triceratops' horns were actually cutting-edge can openers. For these paleontological insights into Stone Aged innovation, I have the Flintstones to thank.
The Flintstones may have lived in the prehistoric town of Bedrock, but their technology was on par with much of what we use today. Everyone drove human-powered vehicles [zero emissions!], composted scraps in a dinosaur under the kitchen sink, and even wore solar powered watches—that is, if you count sundials. In short, Bedrock was the modern city of the past... and I wanted to live in it! Unfortunately, that didn’t quite pan out, but to be able to pay tribute to one of my favorite childhood TV shows in the form of a Google doodle is easily the next best thing.
On the 50th anniversary of its first airing, we gladly salute “The Flintstones” for inspiring our imaginations and encouraging us to think outside of the box, even if it means taking a look back now and then. I hope you’ll join the rest of us here at Google in a little nostalgia to mark this fun occasion!
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17 Apr 2010
Karen Blixen's 125th Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/x5...gtTBGtj3A=s660
Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke [born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962] was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countries, Tania Blixen, used in German-speaking countries, Osceola, and Pierre Andrézel.
Blixen is best known for Out of Africa, an account of her life while living in Kenya, and for one of her stories, Babette's Feast, both of which have been adapted into Academy Award-winning motion pictures. She is also noted, particularly in Denmark, for her Seven Gothic Tales. Among her later stories should be mentioned Winter’s Tales [1942], Last Tales [1957], Anecdotes of Destiny [1958] and Ehrengard [1963].
Blixen was considered several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, though wasn't awarded because judges were reportedly concerned about showing favoritism to Scandinavian writers, according to Danish reports.
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6 Mar 2010
Vasaloppet 2010
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1o...Q2mGpclKe=s660
Vasaloppet [Swedish for 'the Vasa-race'] is an annual long distance cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March. The 90 km [56 mi] course starts in the village of Sälen and ends in the town of Mora in northwestern Dalarna, Sweden. It is the oldest cross-country ski race in the world, as well as the one with the highest number of participants.
The race was inspired by a notable journey King Gustav Vasa made from Mora to Sälen when he was fleeing from Christian II's soldiers during the winter of 1520–1521. According to legend, he fled on skis. The modern competition started in 1922 and it has been a part of the Worldloppet events since 1979.
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8 Dec 2009
E.C. Segar's Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/os...zGOEz96uz=s660
Elzie Crisler Segar [December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938], known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre.
In 1971, the National Cartoonists Society created the Elzie Segar Award in his honor. According to the Society's website, the award was "presented to a person who has made a unique and outstanding contribution to the profession of cartooning." The NCS board of directors chose the first winners, while King Features selected recipients in later years. Honorees have included Charles Schulz, Bil Keane, Al Capp, Bill Gallo and Mort Walker. The award was discontinued in 1999
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17 Nov 2009
Isamu Noguchi's Birthday
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/P2...SdbUW_fMQ=s660
Isamu Noguchi [November 17, 1904 – December 30, 1988] was a Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold.