Google doodles

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16 September 2021

Mexico Independence Day 2021





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Mexico-based guest artist Magdiel Herrerra, depicts a collection of elements symbolizing Mexico’s rich, cultural heritage in honor of its Independence Day. This year’s holiday holds special significance for the international Mexican community as it commemorates the 200th anniversary of the nation’s step toward independence—officially declared on September 27, 1821.

On the left of the Doodle artwork, a folklórico [folkloric] dancer is dressed in the emblematic red, green, and white of the Mexican flag. A common meal prepared to celebrate this holiday is pozole, a spiced soup traditionally made with hominy and pork that is depicted in the red bowl with radishes and lime. In the center, the artwork recreates a bell that rang before El Grito de la Independencia [The Cry for Independence], a famous speech considered the spark of the Mexican independence movement. A sombrero follows with a handwoven rebozo scarf, next to a cactus standing tall.

On the far right of the artwork, an Indigenous musician [known as a quiquizoani in the Uto-Aztecan language of Nahuatl] blows into a conch shell—a scene similar to an image found in the ancient Aztec Codex Magliabechi—filling the air with the sounds of celebration.

Happy Independence Day, Mexico!

[9A]

30 Sept 2010

Flintstones' 50th Anniversary


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!

Oh, and if you know any saber-toothed tigers looking for an internship as a hole puncher, give me a buzz.

posted by Mike Dutton

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30 September 2016

Andrejs Jurjans’s 160th birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates a man who, in many ways, carried Latvian music forward into the 20th century.

As the country’s first professional composer and musicologist, Andrejs Jurjāns delved into the Latvian folk music of the past while taking the sounds of his homeland to new heights. Throughout his lifetime, he collected and analyzed thousands of folk melodies, organizing them into an anthology that was published across six volumes. He also composed the first-ever Latvian symphonic works, including an instrumental concerto and a cantata, and was well-known for his choir arrangements.

When Jurjāns wasn’t crafting original pieces, he spent much of his time teaching. From 1882 — the year he finished his own schooling at the St. Petersburg Conservatory — to 1916, he shared his knowledge of music theory and more with students. Through his instruction, research, and composition, Jurjāns inspired many of the Latvian musicians who came after him. Today we pay tribute to that legacy on what would have been the composer’s 160th birthday.

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30 September 2020

Eileen Chang’s 100th birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the centennial birthday of Chinese-born writer and translator Eileen Chang. Lauded for her graceful writing style, intimate understanding of human psychology, and exploration of themes like loneliness and embittered romance, Chang is widely recognized as one of the great writers of modern Chinese literature.

Eileen Chang was born Zhang Ying into an aristocratic family in Shanghai, China on this day in 1920. By the time she was in high school, Chang earned notice for her rare literary talent, and some of her first work was published in the school’s magazine. She went on to study literature at the University of Hong Kong before returning to Shanghai in 1941.

In her early twenties Chang forged her path as a writer, and her short stories and essays, as well as her 1943 novella “The Golden Cangue,” established her as one of China’s most heralded new voices. Among her beloved works from this period are the novellas “Love in a Fallen City” [1943] and “Red Rose, White Rose” [1944], both of which are depicted in today’s Doodle. In 1955, Chang moved to the U.S., where she continued to write across a variety of mediums, from novels to screenplays for Hong Kong films. Her work exploded in popularity across the Chinese-speaking world in the 1970s, but Chang remained a modest and private person throughout her life.

Happy birthday, Eileen Chang, and thank you for your providing a novel lens into life and love through your decades of literary contributions.

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4 May 2019

Eddie Aikau’s 73rd Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Eddie Aikau, big wave surfer, lifeguard, and enduring symbol of Hawaiian heritage. Born on the island of Maui on this day in 1946, Eddie moved to Oahu with his family in 1959 and went on to become the first lifeguard hired by Honolulu officials to work on the North Shore of the island.

Not a single life was lost while he served as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay, making some 500 rescues without the assistance of a jet ski or any modern equipment. Eddie was famous for making rescues even in surf that reached 30 feet high. His fearlessness went on to inspire the slogan “Eddie would go.”

Hailing from a surfing family, Eddie was one of the first native Hawaiians to win the prestigious Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship in 1977, just four years after his older brother Clyde, who was the very first. Aside from his distinguished surfing career, Eddie found other ways to represent the culture of his native island. In 1978, Eddie joined the crew of the Hokule'a, a historically accurate double-hulled canoe retracing the ancient Polynesian migration route to Hawaii. The vessel sprung a leak and capsized in rough waters. Eddie was last seen heroically paddling off on his surfboard towards the nearest island to seek help for the crew, who were later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Today, Eddie’s legacy lives on through the Eddie Aikau Foundation as well as the prestigious Eddie Aikau Invitational, which has seen some of big-wave surfing’s greatest names competing with maximum respect for the authenticity of surf culture.

Here’s to you, Eddie.

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1 October 2018

Mary Prince’s 230th Birthday




On this day in 1788, Mary Prince was born in Brackish Pond, Bermuda. Sold from master to master throughout her life, Prince ended up on the island of Antigua in 1815 where she joined the Moravian church in 1817 and learned to read. Despite not having received a formal education, Prince went on to be recognized as a National Hero of Bermuda for her work to abolish slavery.

In December 1826 Prince married Daniel James, a former slave who had managed to buy his freedom. Her master at the time punished her for marrying a free black man with permission and in two years time the husband and wife were separated because Prince’s family moved to England taking her with them.

After the passage of Great Britain’s Slave Trade Act in 1807, slavery was no longer allowed in England, although the institution of slavery continued in the British colonies. Prince was legally free on British soil, but she had no means to support herself. Under the prevailing rules of the time, if she tried to return home to her husband, she would risk being enslaved again.

In 1829 Prince became the first woman to present a petition to Parliament, arguing for her human right to freedom. That same year some of her associates in the anti-slavery “abolitionist” movement introduced a bill proposing that any West Indian slave brought to England by his or her owners must be freed. It did not pass, but momentum was beginning to shift in favor of the abolitionist cause.

Two years later Prince published her autobiography, making her the first black woman to publish a slave narrative in England. Her book played a decisive role in turning British public opinion against the centuries-old institution of human enslavement.

“I have been a slave myself,” Prince wrote in The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave. “I know what slaves feel—I can tell by myself what other slaves feel, and by what they have told me. The man that says slaves be quite happy in slavery—that they don't want to be free—that man is either ignorant or a lying person. I never heard a slave say so.”

Published in 1831, the book caused a sensation, going through three printings in the first year alone. In one of the book’s many heartbreaking passages, Prince recalled being sold “like sheep or cattle” on the same day as her younger sisters Hannah and Dina were sold to different masters. “When the sale was over, my mother hugged and kissed us, and mourned over us, begging of us to keep up a good heart, and do our duty to our new masters. It was a sad parting; one went one way, one another, and our poor mammy went home with nothing.”

Two lawsuits for libel were filed against the book’s publisher in 1833, and Mary Prince testified at both, effectively rebuking any claims that the book was inaccurate or defamatory. After that there is no record of her movements—she may have stayed in England or returned home to her husband in Bermuda.

On August 1, 1838, some 800,000 slaves living in British colonies throughout the Caribbean were finally set free, following the passage of Great Britain’s Slavery Abolition Act, which was passed by Parliament two years after the publication of Mary Prince’s book.

Happy Birthday Mary Prince!

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1 October 2015

Annie Besant’s 168th Birthday



A fierce advocate of Indian self-rule, Annie Besant loved the language, and over a lifetime of vigorous study cultivated tremendous abilities as a writer and orator. She published mountains of essays, wrote a textbook, curated anthologies of classic literature for young adults and eventually became editor of the New India newspaper, a periodical dedicated to the cause of Indian Autonomy and featured in today’s Doodle by artist Lydia Nichols.

While the woman at the center of our logo looks perfectly content rocking sweetly in her chair, her powerful speeches could whip an audience of thousands into a frenzy.

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1 Oct 2015

Nigeria National Day 2015





A country of enormous diversity where over 500 languages are spoken, Nigeria is home to Africa’s largest population and a dizzying array of ancient cultural traditions. Drawing inspiration from the Nigerian coat of arms, today’s Doodle features the mighty Niger and Benue rivers that wind across the country’s fertile plains before merging and flowing into the Atlantic. Symbolic of resoluteness and strength, an eagle cuts across a vast Nigerian sky at the center of today’s logo, which Doodler Robinson Wood has washed in the colors of the Nigerian flag.

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3 Oct 2021

Dr María de los Ángeles Alvariño González's 105th birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the 105th birthday of Spanish-American professor and marine research biologist Dr. María de los Ángeles Alvariño González, who is widely regarded as one of the most important Spanish scientists of all time.

María de los Ángeles Alvariño González was born on this day in 1916 in Serantes, a small coastal town in northern Spain’s Galician coast. Ángeles Alvariño’s love of natural history began with her father’s library and deepened as she pursued coastline oceanography research. Although the Spanish Institute of Oceanography [IEO] only accepted men at the time, Ángeles Alvariño’s university work impressed the organization that they appointed her as a marine biologist in 1952.

At IEO’s Vigo Oceanographic Center, she began her pioneering research on zooplankton, tiny organisms that serve as the foundation of the oceanic food chain and identified some species to be the best indicators of ocean health. In 1953, the British Council awarded Ángeles Alvariño a fellowship that resulted in her becoming the first woman to work as a scientist aboard a British research vessel. Following several expeditions, she furthered her studies in the U.S., where she retired as one of the world’s most prestigious marine biologists in 1987.

In addition to Ángeles Alvariño’s rigorous research, including the discovery of 22 new species of zooplankton and the publication of over 100 scientific papers, she held professorships in Brazil, the U.S., and Mexico. Today, Ángeles Alvariño is the only Spanish scientist of 1,000 in the “Encyclopedia of World Scientists,” and a modern research vessel in IEO’s fleet bears her name.

Happy birthday, Dr. María de los Ángeles Alvariño González!

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1 October 2013

Emilio Pettoruti's 121st Birthday






Emilio Pettoruti was an Argentine painter, who caused a scandal with his avant-garde cubist exhibition in 1924 in Buenos Aires. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Buenos Aires was a city full of artistic development. Pettoruti's career was thriving during the 1920s when "Argentina witnessed a decade of dynamic artistic activity; it was an era of euphoria, a time when the definition of modernity was developed." While Pettoruti was influenced by Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, and Abstraction, he did not claim to paint in any of those styles in particular. Exhibiting all over Europe and Argentina, Emilio Pettoruti is remembered as one of the most influential artists in Argentina in the 20th century for his unique style and vision.

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1 October 2011

Grete Waitz's 58th Birthday






Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. She won nine New York City Marathons, women's division, between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history. She won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Her other marathon victories included winning the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986. She was also a five-time winner of the World Cross Country Championships.

Waitz won 12 World Marathon Majors, the most for any runner, earning her a place in the Guinness World Records.

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1 October 2016

Nigeria Independence Day 2016





This year on National Day, Nigeria celebrates 56 years of independence. Annual celebrations usually start with the President’s speech and continue with patriotic parades and festivities. In Nigeria and all over the world, people host parties festooned with green and white flags, play games, and enjoy traditional, home-cooked foods.

Today’s Doodle showcases sectors that Nigeria is developing and takes great pride in, such as agriculture, science, literature, engineering, and culture including Naija music and the Nollywood industry. Young people are key to the country’s future and are shown here celebrating in patriotic green and white fashions.

Happy Independence Day, Nigeria!

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28 Sept 2013

Teacher's Day 2013 [Taiwan]

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28 September 2021

Teachers' Day 2021 [28 September] [Taiwan]

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1 October 2016

Children's Day 2016 [El Salvador, Guatemala]

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10 September 2022

Chuseok 2022



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Seoul-based guest artist ​​Dasom Yun, celebrates Chuseok. Also known as the full moon festival, this three-day holiday always begins on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. This year, September 10th marks the day when Koreans return to their ancestral hometowns and celebrate with loved ones.

Chuseok, meaning autumn evening, originated from Korea’s past as an agricultural society. Whenever a full moon appears in a mid-autumn sky, it signals that the harvest season has ended—it’s now time to relax and thank their ancestors for an abundant harvest.

Traditionally, Koreans celebrate Chuseok with special meals and folk games. In the morning, many families hold a memorial service called charye to honor their ancestors with offerings like freshly harvested rice and songpyeon [bite-sized rice cakes]. People also enjoy delicious meals with foods like jeon—a pancake-like dish that can be made with fish, meat or vegetables. In modern times, gift-giving has become a new way for Koreans to show their appreciation for relatives, friends and co-workers.

Happy Chuseok, everyone!

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1 October 2021

Children's Day 2021 [1 October]

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29 May 2017

Hibari Misora’s 80th birthday




In 1945, 8-year-old Hibari Misora sang before an audience at a concert hall in Yokohama. So went the debut of a long and storied musical career spanning nearly 45 years, 1,200 recorded songs, and 80 million records sold worldwide.

Over the decades, Misora became a beloved figure of modern Japanese pop culture, acting in more than 150 movies while continuing her extensive musical pursuits. Her status as a cultural icon has inspired museums, monuments, tributes, movies, and other homages to her life and work.

Though today’s Doodle depicts Misora in her most well-known costume, the Doodler considered an early draft that highlighted her career from start to finish, through album covers and movie posters. The final Doodle shows Misora donning her phoenix wings to showcase her larger-than-life personality.

Doodle by Hélène Leroux

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29 May 2014

Norman Frederick Hetherington's 93rd Birthday





Mr. Squiggle and Friends are up to their old tricks on our homepage in Australia for Norman Frederick Hetherington’s 93rd birthday. Hetherington was a cartoonist and puppeteer, best known for creating Mr. Squiggle, Australia's longest-running children's television series.

Doodler Sophie Diao was particularly drawn to the cast of characters in Mr. Squiggle. “I loved how varied and imaginative they were, and tried to capture the same life-like quality that Norman breathed into them.”

Asked if she had a favorite, she replied,”All of them! But if I had to choose, it’d be Gus the Snail. He has a TV on his shell!”

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29 May 2015

Nepal Republic Day 2015



Today, we honor the strength and resilience of the people of Nepal. On May 28th, 2008, after decades of revolution and protests, Nepal became the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Seven years later, this country is an international symbol of splendor, peace, and tenacity.

In the aftermath of the recent devastating and tragic earthquakes our hearts and minds are with the people of Nepal and the aid workers there helping to heal and mend families as they regain their footing, standing again as their world shifts beneath their feet.

We hope today's Doodle will remind the people of Nepal that they are an inspiration to the entire world, and that their burning perseverance lights the way for us all. The concept of light in this Doodle means three things for Nepal: celebration of this National day, prayers to Buddha, and a guiding light on the way home.


Google is committed to supporting efforts to rebuild, and to help carry the load on the difficult climb to recovery. Google Crisis Response map can help get the lay of the land and the Person Finder can help locate friends and loved ones.




We'll see you at the peak, again, Nepal.

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29 May 2010

John Harsányi's Birthday





John Charles Harsanyi was a Hungarian Nobel Prize laureate economist. He moved to the United States in 1956, and spent most of his life there.

He is best known for his contributions to the study of game theory and its application to economics, specifically for his developing the highly innovative analysis of games of incomplete information, so-called Bayesian games. He also made important contributions to the use of game theory and economic reasoning in political and moral philosophy [specifically utilitarian ethics] as well as contributing to the study of equilibrium selection. For his work, he was a co-recipient along with John Nash and Reinhard Selten of the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. According to György Marx, he was one of The Martians.

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2 October 2009

Brazil Wins 2016 Olympics



Christ the Redeemer is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida fashioned the face. Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is 30 metres [98 ft] high, excluding its 8-metre [26 ft] pedestal. The arms stretch 28 metres [92 ft] wide. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.


A panoramic view of the statue at the top of
Corcovado Mountain with Sugarloaf Mountain [centre]
and Guanabara Bay in the background.

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3 Oct 2009

Moon Viewing Day [Tsukimi] 2009




Tsukimi or Otsukimi, meaning, "moon-viewing", are Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon, a variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese calendar. These days normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar.

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3 October 2017

German Reunification Day 2017



It began with the Peaceful Revolution. The movement started with prayers at churches around the country and spilled out into the streets. Following months of this, the Berlin Wall fell in November of 1989. Less than a year later in October of 1990, Germany became a unified nation again, after four decades of separation. Families were reunited, travel was reinstated, and the border that separated a people was dissolved.

German Reunification Day is still a relatively young holiday! Today’s Doodle, by guest artist Andreas Preis, symbolizes the joyous reunion between East and West, as the characteristic cars continue down the road side by side.

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3 October 2015

German Reunification Day 2015





On October 3rd 2015, people will come together for the 25th anniversary of a reunited Germany. To celebrate this important cultural moment we invited Anton Hallmann to be our guest Doodler. Anton is also part of #Deutschland25, a portrait of Germany’s next generation, born around and after 1989.

He shared his thoughts about the German reunification and how this year’s Doodle originated:

“This year’s German reunification celebrates the 25th anniversary and well, my life would have definitely been a lot different, if that day had not happened. I was born and raised in the east of Germany [Brandenburg] and without the reunification I would have missed the opportunity to get to know lots of wonderful people.

I was too young to be directly influenced by any of the years before the reunification - I never even had the feeling or idea of a split Germany in mind. But I noticed the steady positive changes and the progress throughout the years after reunification. That’s how the idea of portraying people who built up Germany together was born."

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3 October 2007

Sputnik - 50th Anniversary



Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for three weeks before its three silver-zinc batteries ran out, and continued in orbit for two months until aerodynamic drag caused it to fall back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.

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3 October 2022

German Unity Day 2022





Today’s Doodle celebrates German Unity Day, which marks the day when East and West Germany reunited.

Following WWII, Germany was divided into East and West sectors by the occupying forces. After the founding of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, the government built the Berlin wall 1961 and closed all borders to prevent its population from escaping the country. When the GDR opened up its borders for travel again—after months long peaceful protests by citizens in 1989—German people tore down the structure until the wall was no more. Almost a year later, a unification treaty was signed and it went into effect on this day in 1990. As a result, The German Unification spurred nationwide celebrations and ended the period of protests.

After decades of separation, cultural and economic gaps between East and West Germany became apparent. Following reunification, Germans grow closer each year, creating a woven culture and shared understanding. Today, many Germans gather to reflect on the significance of their hard-earned reunification. No matter the differences in views, East and West Germans will always be banded together by history. Today’s Doodle artwork represents this sense of unification and togetherness.

Happy German Unity Day to all!

[9A]

3 October 2009

Moon Festival/Mid-Autumn Festival 2009




The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan [Tsukimi], Korea [Chuseok], Vietnam [Tết Trung Thu], and other countries in East and Southeast Asia.

It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture; its popularity is on par with that of Chinese New Year. The history of the Mid-Autumn Festival dates back over 3,000 years. The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, the Chinese believe that the Moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of Autumn.

Lanterns of all size and shapes, are carried and displayed – symbolic beacons that light people's path to prosperity and good fortune. Mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean, egg yolk, meat or lotus-seed paste, are traditionally eaten during this festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the legend of Chang'e, the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology.

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3 October 2014

German Reunification Day 2014

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3 October 2012

Anton Bernolak's 250th Birthday





Anton Dif Bernolák was a Slovak linguist and Catholic priest, and the author of the first Slovak language standard.

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3 October 2014

Kenojuak Ashevak's 87th Birthday




Our doodle in Canada pays tribute to Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak, who would have been 87 today. Ashevak’s work brought national attention to indigenous art and thrusted the ever-humble artist into the spotlight. For her contribution to art and Canadian culture, Ashevak was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

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2 October 2019

Sir William Ramsay’s 167th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and work of Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsey, whose research led to the discovery of an unknown group of elements known as the noble gases. Born in Glasgow on this day in 1852, Sir Ramsay’s work led to groundbreaking advances in thermodynamics and nuclear physics.

After traveling to Germany, where he earned his doctorate at the University of Tübingen, Ramsay returned home with a reputation for innovative experimental techniques. As chair of chemistry at University College, London, he published numerous papers and books on liquids and vapors.

Ramsay was intrigued when another British physicist, Lord Rayleigh, observed that nitrogen in the earth’s atmosphere had a higher atomic weight than nitrogen in the laboratory. In 1894, he and Lord Rayleigh announced the discovery of a chemically inert gas, which they named argon.

While searching for argon, Ramsay found helium, which had been previously thought to exist only in the sun. Ramsay’s 1896 book The Gases of the Atmosphere predicted the existence of at least 3 more noble gases. Reducing air to low temperatures at high pressure, his team proceeded to identify neon, krypton, and xenon, reshaping the periodic table of elements forever.

Because of their chemical inertness, noble gases proved useful in many ways. For instance, helium replaced flammable hydrogen for lighter-than-air travel, and argon was used in lightbulbs.

Described by many as the “greatest chemical discoverer of his time,” Ramsay became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1888, was knighted in 1902, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904.

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2 October 2019

Bill Robinson’s 81st Birthday





“There’s only one rule, and that is ‘Try, try, try,’” said Dr. William Robinson, widely hailed as one of New Zealand’s most versatile and accomplished scientists. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Wellington-based guest artist Jez Tuya, celebrates the inventor of the “quake breaker,” a lead-rubber bearing that is still used to protect large buildings from seismic waves, preventing earthquake damage.

Born on this day in 1938 into a working-class family, Robinson went on to study Mechanical Engineering at Auckland University. In 1974, Robinson designed a device made from rubber and steel with lead at its core, intending to fit his invention to the foundations of large structures in order to isolate them from ground movements.

Robinson’s invention is now used on many buildings and bridges around the world, including Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the device saved many lives at Christchurch Women’s Hospital, as the building’s foundation swayed gently instead of collapsing in the quake.

In 1995, Robinson founded Robinson Seismic, a company specialising in isolation technology. He also pursued research in other fields, including high-temperature superconductivity. A fellow of New Zealand’s Royal Society, in 1998 Robinson received the Rutherford Medal, his country’s most prestigious science and technology award. In 2014, the Robinson Research Institute was established in his honor at Victoria University in his hometown of Wellington.

“I’ve invented more devices which have failed than devices which have been a success,” said Robinson in a 2007 interview. “You’ve gotta be willing to actually try and fail and learn from your failure.”

Thanks to an innovator who never stopped trying—and whose work will continue saving lives for many decades to come.

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2 October 2020

Grandparents' Day 2020 [2 October] [Italy]

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2 October 2009

Birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi





The doodle to celebrate of Mohandas Gandhi's birthday is both my first illustration since joining the doodle team and a project that is very dear to me. As a prominent figure for peace and non-violent resistance, Gandhi is an icon whose legacy I could not readily distill into one representation. The early stages of the project saw the development of a second version that depicted Gandhi journeying through the desert with his signature walking stick. In order to decide which doodle best portrayed him, I consulted hundreds of Google employees both in the US and in our offices in India. The simple indigo drawing of Gandhi on khadi cloth made it to our homepage, but the alternate version can still live here!

posted by Jennifer Hom

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3 Oct 2009


Moon Viewing Day [Tsukimi] 2009 [Japan]

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3 October 2019

180th Anniversary of the First Italian Railroad Inauguration




On this day in 1839, a steam locomotive called Vesuvio pulled an eight-carriage train from Portici to Naples, inaugurating the first Italian Railroad. Today’s Doodle celebrates the historic event that ushered a new era in transportation and put Italy on the fast track to unification.

Departing at noon, the train completed the four-and-a-half-mile journey to Naples in less than 10 minutes, carrying passengers including King Ferdinand II of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies—or Regno delle Due Sicilie as Naples and Sicily were then known—as well as the French engineer Armando Giuseppe Bayard de la Vingtrie, whom King Ferdinand hired to construct the railway.

More than 85,000 passengers rode the line during the following two months, proving that there was public demand. In years to come, new ferrovie [or “iron ways”] were laid down, connecting the capital city of Naples to Caserta in the north as far south as Salerno.

When Vesuvio made its maiden voyage, the Italian peninsula was still divided territory—but the establishment of railways helped to unite the Kingdom of Italy. By the time of unification in 1861, over 1400 miles of railway crisscrossed the country. The new government expanded the national railway network, and by 1875, some 5,600 miles [about 9,012 kilometers] of track connected most of Italy’s major cities. In years to come railways would provide a means of transporting perishable food in refrigerated cars, facilitating trade between regions.

Trains have played a vital role in Italian history and culture, inspiring art from folk songs to posters, showing the profound impact of train travel.

Tutti a bordo!

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4 October 2016

434th Anniversary of the Introduction of the Gregorian Calendar




From October 5–October 14, 1582, time was erased. Not literally, of course; just on the calendar. These ten days were declared non-existent by then-pope Gregory XIII as part of a realignment of the Julian calendar, implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. In the mid-1570s, it was discovered that the Julian calendar was actually 10 days behind the seasons of the year. For example, Easter began falling later in the spring than it should have and eventually would have drifted into summer. The calendar creep was the result of the solar year [the time it takes Earth to make one revolution around the sun] being around 11 minutes shy of the full Julian calendar. To be precise, the solar year is actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds.

Pope Gregory saved the day [and season] by appointing a commission to solve the problem. It took five years, but eventually the group, led by physician Aloysius Lilius and astronomer Christopher Clavius, proposed eliminating three leap years every 400 years to keep the calendar on track. To transition to the Gregorian calendar, ten days were declared officially non-existent, with the day after October 4, 1582 declared October 15th. First implemented by Italy, Spain, and Portugal, the Gregorian calendar is today’s most widely used system.

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4 October 2017

Chuseok 2017




Today marks the start of Chuseok [also called Hangawi], the three-day autumnal harvest festival celebrated across Korea. On this day, families honor their ancestors by making food offerings [charye] and visiting ancestral graves [beolcheo and seongmyo].

Today’s Doodle showcases Korea’s rich culture through the panels of a traditional byungpoong. The first panel shows young children in the hanbok, Korea’s colorful national dress. The second panel depicts a persimmon tree, which symbolizes the importance of education and transformation and carries deep cultural significance in Korea. Half moon shaped sweet rice cakes called songpyeon [on the third panel] form part of the ritual ancestral offerings. Traditional games are a fundamental aspect of Chuseok celebrations. The remaining three panels depict the games of yut nori [a traditional board game], tuho [in which one throw sticks in a jar from a distance], and neolttwigi [which involves jumping high in the air on a seesaw].

On this important day of the autumn harvest, these traditions celebrate and honor the cornerstone of Korean life — family. Wishing everyone a Happy Chuseok!

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4 October 2017

Violeta Parra’s 100th Birthday




Today we celebrate the 100th birthday of Violeta Parra, the Chilean composer, folk singer, social activist, author, and artist.

Born in the small, southern Chilean town of San Fabián de Alico, Parra picked up the guitar at an early age and began writing songs with her siblings. She started her career performing in small venues, later traveling across Chile to record a large breadth of traditional Chilean folk music. Her increasing popularity eventually earned her her own radio show and an invitation to perform at a youth festival in Poland. While in Europe, she also explored the visual arts, creating oil paintings, wire sculptures, ceramics, and burlap tapestries called arpilleras which were exhibited in the Louvre Palace in Paris in 1964.

She is perhaps best remembered as the “Mother of Latin American folk,” pioneering the Nueva canción chilena, a renewal of Chilean folk traditions that blossomed into a movement which celebrated the fight for social justice throughout Latin America. Upon her return to Chile in 1965, she established Centro Cultural La Carpa de La Reina, a community center for the arts and political activism.

Violeta’s artistic legacy shines through in this selection from “Gracias a la vida”:

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me two stars, which when I open them,
Perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the tall sky its starry backdrop,
And within the multitudes the one that I love.

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4 October 2004

Lunar X Prize




XPRIZE is a non-profit organization that designs and hosts public competitions intended to encourage technological development to benefit humanity

The Ansari XPRIZE for Suborbital Spaceflight was the first prize from the foundation. It successfully challenged teams to build private spaceships capable of carrying three people and fly two times within two weeks to open the space frontier. The first part of the Ansari XPRIZE requirements was fulfilled by Mike Melvill on September 29, 2004, On SpaceShipOne, a spacecraft designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Paul Allen, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft. On that ship, Melvill broke the 100-kilometer [62.5 mi] mark, internationally recognized as the boundary of outer space, winning the prize. Brian Binnie completed the second part of the requirements on October 4, 2004. As a result, US$10 million was awarded to the winner, but more than $100 million was invested in new technologies in pursuit of the prize.

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4 October 2009

Korean Thanksgiving 2009





Chuseok is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month according to the lunar calendar. Although the exact day changes each year, Korean thanksgiving day is celebrated typically in September and October.

Although it occurred in September this year, Chuseok is the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving that spans over 3 days and is an important holiday in Korea. Chuseok consists of making platefuls of food and coming together with family members to remember ancestors to show gratitude for the past and future.

Koreans celebrate Chuseok by making special foods, particularly a certain kind of rice cake called songpyeon. Songpyeon is made with finely ground new rice and the dough is kneaded into small round shapes and filled with sesame seeds, chestnuts, red beans, or other similar ingredients.

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4 October 2017

Mid-Autumn Festival 2017





Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Traditionally, this is the time for Chinese people worldwide to give thanks to the harvest and hope for community as well as prosperity. Under the bright moon, friends and family feast upon traditional round mooncakes and symbolically arranged nine-jointed lotus roots and watermelon, chatting away and lighting lanterns.

Stretching back thousands of years, this tradition is rooted in the folklore of Hou Yi and Chang’e. Many, many ages ago, people everywhere were suffering from the heat of 10 suns. Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns and was rewarded with an elixir of immortality from the Jade Emperor. When a friend tried to take the elixir, Hou Yi’s wife, Chang’e, tried to prevent this and ended up drinking the elixir herself. She then floated up to the moon. When Chang’e coughed up the elixir, it turned into a rabbit.

Legend says the loving couple are reunited once a month on the 15th when the moon burns brightly enough for them to spot each other. Venture outside to celebrate “the fifteenth of the eighth [lunar] month” and try to trace the shadow of Chang’e and her rabbit!

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28 February 2019

Weiberfastnacht 2019





Today, all throughout Germany’s Rhineland region, you can find locals celebrating Weiberfastnacht, or Women’s Carnival Day. During these celebrations of the Carnival, women in cities like Mainz, Cologne, and Düsseldorf enjoy the unofficial holiday by partaking in customs ranging from snipping off men’s ties to storming town halls.

The Weiberfastnacht tradition dates back to a 19th-century uprising in the small town of Beuel where a group of washerwomen grew tired of working 16 hour days, while the men got to go out and celebrate Carnival. In 1824 they founded the Beuel Ladies’ Committee and stormed city hall, an early expression of women’s rights in Germany. Their legacy lives on with celebrations all along the Rhine River.

The festivities begin precisely at 11:11 am when parades move through the streets to a soundtrack of light-hearted Schlager music as everyone enjoys food, drinks, and fun. Women also dress in vibrant and eclectic costumes, as depicted in today’s Doodle by Hamburg-based guest artist Christina Gransow.

Happy Weiberfastnacht 2019!

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7 December 2020

Kateryna Bilokur's 120th birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the 120th birthday of Ukrainian painter Kateryna Bilokur, a self-taught virtuoso who earned international renown for her detailed and vivid paintings, especially those featuring her signature focus on flowers. Through a courageous devotion to her craft, Bilokur overcame great adversity to earn recognition alongside the master artists of her time.

Kateryna Bilokur was born on this day in 1900 in Bohdanivka, a village in Ukraine’s Kyiv region. She was denied a primary education and spent her days as a farm worker, but she refused to let this stand in her way. She crafted brushes out of raw materials and paints out of foods like beets and elderberries to pursue her artistic passion in her free time, with nature as her muse.

Then when she was nearly 40, her life took a fortuitous turn. Inspired by a song on the radio, Bilokur wrote a letter of admiration to the Ukrainian singer Oksana Petrusenko with an original work attached. Petrusenko was so impressed that she helped pave the way for the first exhibitions of Bilokur’s work. Over the next two decades, her unique depictions of transcendent natural beauty reached an international audience, notably earning huge praise from the Spanish master Pablo Picasso at a 1954 exhibition in Paris.

For her lifetime achievements, Bilokur was named a People’s Artist of Ukraine, the highest arts award for Ukrainian citizens.

Happy birthday to an artist who proved it’s never too late to blossom into your potential.

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3 October 2021

Grandparents' Day 2021 [3 October]

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3 October 2016

German Reunification Day 2016




On this day in 1990, East Germany and West Germany officially joined together as one for the first time since 1945. Though the Berlin Wall separating the two countries fell in 1989, it wasn't until 1990 that East and West Germany signed a treaty to re-unify and on October 3, East Germany formally joined West Germany.

To celebrate the Day of German Unity, festivals are held all over the country, with traditional food, drink, concerts, and horse racing. In addition to a large celebration at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the headquarters of German Unity Day change every year. The headquarters of the celebration always takes place in the state home of the current president of the Bundesrat, the legislative body of Germany. This year, Saxony hosts the celebration.

The artist collective WRK collaborated with the Doodle Team today to celebrate the union of East and West Germany. The colors of the German flag come together today, as the country comes together to commemorate this unity.

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10 December 2019

Anatoly Tarasov’s 101st Birthday





"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.

С днём ​​рождения, Anatoly Tarasov!

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5 Dec 2019

Celebrating Wellies






On the anniversary of the rainiest day in the history of the U.K., today’s Doodle celebrates Wellington boots, or “wellies,” a rainy day staple for centuries. Over the course of 24 hours on this day in 2015, an area of the northwestern county of Cumbria, England, recorded over 34 centimeters [13 inches] of rain. What better way to commemorate this deluge than to pay homage to the wellie, for keeping feet warm and dry during the heaviest downpours?

Conceived by Arthur Wellesley, the First Duke of Wellington, in the early 1800s, wellies evolved from modified military issue Hessian boots. By asking his London shoemaker to make a shorter boot that would be easier to wear with trousers and to switch from polished to waxed calfskin leather, a stylish waterproof boot was created.

Named after the Duke, the Wellington boot was further revolutionized with the arrival of vulcanized rubber in the mid-19th century. Rubber’s waterproof capabilities made the wellie a must-have for the typical British weather and its popularity soon spread across the world.

Today the wellie sparks joy in the hearts of children as they think about all the puddles they can jump in, and can be found in all the colors of the rainbow to make the grayest days bright and cheerful. Hopefully, not as gray and rainy as it was in Cumbria on that record-setting day.

Rain or shine, have an O so lovely time!

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5 December 2017

Veronika Dudarova’s 101st Birthday





In today’s Doodle, Google-hued lights shine on a group of musicians led by Veronika Dudarova, the first Russian woman to conduct an orchestra.

Born in 1916, Dudarova spent her formative years studying piano and musicology in the company of some of Russia’s most renowned musical talents. In 1947, she graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, joining the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra as a junior conductor. She spent 13 years in that role before taking over as principal conductor in 1960. In 1991, Dudarova formed the Symphony Orchestra of Russia, which she led until 2003.

One of the very few female conductors in the world, Dudarova holds the Guinness World Record as the only woman to lead a major symphony orchestra for more than 50 years. During her career, she won the State Russian Music Award, was named the People’s Artist of the USSR, and even had a minor planet named after her.

On what would’ve been Dudarova’s 101st birthday, we honor the conductor’s dramatic style as she leads the Google letters in a passionate, homepage-worthy performance.