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Thread: Google doodles

  1. #3051
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    22 Apr 2014

    Earth Day 2014






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    27 Apr 2014
    South Africa Freedom Day



    Freedom Day is a public holiday in South Africa celebrated on the 27th of April. It celebrates freedom and commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held on that day in 1994. The elections were the first non-racial national elections where everyone of voting age of over 18 from any race group, including foreign citizens permanently resident in South Africa, were allowed to vote. Previously, under the apartheid regime, non-whites in general had only limited rights to vote while black South Africans had no voting rights whatsoever.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-13-2021 at 09:25 PM.

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    28 Apr 2014
    Cinecittą's 77 anniversary





    Cinecittą Studios [Italian for Cinema City Studios], is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres [99 acres], it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constructed during the Fascist era as part of a plan to revive the Italian film industry.

    Filmmakers such as Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Mel Gibson have worked at Cinecittą. More than 3,000 movies have been filmed there, of which 90 received an Academy Award nomination and 47 of these won it. In the 1950s, the number of international productions being made there led to Rome being dubbed "Hollywood on the Tiber."

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    1 May 2014
    Spring and Labour Day – Russia





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    1 May 2015
    Labour Day 2015 [France]




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    4 May 2015

    Bartolomeo Cristofori’s 360th Birthday











    You may have never heard of Bartolomeo Cristofori, but you definitely know his invention. Cristofori was an Italian musical instrument maker credited with inventing the pianoforte, or: the piano. One of his biggest innovations was creating a hammer mechanism that struck the strings on a keyboard to create sound. The use of a hammer made it possible to produce softer or louder sounds depending upon how light or hard a player pressed on the keys. In fact, that’s how Cristofori’s new instrument got its name -- in Italian, piano means soft, while forte means loud. Being able to change the volume was a major breakthrough. And that’s exactly what Doodler Leon Hong wanted to highlight in this interactive Doodle. We talked to Hong to get the inside scoop on how this musical Doodle came to be.

    Though the piano is one of the most popular instruments, the name Bartolomeo Cristofori isn’t widely known. How did you first learn of him?

    The topic was first suggested by the Google team in Italy. I was also astonished I had never heard of him given that he'd had such a large impact on music. We're always trying to find topics that are educational, fun, and surprising – Cristofori is an ideal topic. Hopefully after the doodle, people will think of Cristofori everytime they see a piano.

    What music is playing in the doodle ? How did you go about recording it?

    The melody is from Johann Sebastian Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. It was important to me to have a piece that was from the same time period as Cristofori's life. In addition, I was also looking for a memorable tune composed of notes with all the same duration so it would fit nicely with the animations. The timing and loudness had to be precise and consistent so I plotted the notes using software and rendered the sound files with a virtual piano instrument.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-13-2021 at 09:36 PM.

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    8 May 2015
    Parents' Day 2015






    South Korea celebrates Parent’s Day every year on May 8 -- but did you know the holiday was known as Mother’s Day until 1973? Today, sons and daughters around the country -- and in our Doodle -- thank both parents [as well as grandparents] with carnations and other tokens of appreciation.

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    13 May 2015
    Inge Lehmann’s 127th Birthday




    Editor’s note: News of a second major earthquake within a short time in Nepal today provides a sad context to this post -- and reminds us of the importance of science in predicting earthquakes so that more lives can be saved.
    ---
    At the turn of the twentieth century, a teenager in Ųsterbro, Denmark felt the ground move beneath her feet. It was her first earthquake, but it wouldn’t be her last.

    More than two decades of study and observation later, Inge Lehmann’s work sent shockwaves through the scientific community. By observing earthquakes, she discovered the earth has both inner and outer cores. Her work has withstood the test of time. In fact, it’s still the foundation for seismological science today.

    Inge used deduction and evidence to discover something unseeable. Today’s Doodle sheds light on her powerful but invisible discovery. Doodler Kevin Laughlin helps us experience the gift Inge illuminated for the world by revealing it as a glowing orb. Not all of his early drafts looked the same, but the earth’s inner core glowed at the center of each.

    Pioneers like Inge make this world a better place by helping us understand it from the inside out. But Lehmann’s legacy isn’t just scientific. Having been educated at a very young age in a Copenhagen school that treated female and male students as absolute equals, she was a strong proponent of gender equality. Her pioneering spirit is an inspiration to us as we continue to do more on diversity.

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    15 May 2015
    80th anniversary of the opening of the Moscow Metro







    All aboard! When you take a ride on the Moscow Metro, you’re not just commuting, you’re also going on a trip through time. One of the busiest public transport systems in the world, the vast network of Russian metro stations double as a world-class museum. From the mosaics and frescoes of Kiyevskaya through the stained glass of Novoslobodskaya, the ornate chandeliers of Komsomolskaya and to the modern homage to Dostoyevsky in Dostoyevskaya -- it’s an experience far beyond a daily commute. Since it was developed throughout 8 decades, Russia’s phases in art, poetry and science all shine through as an organic retelling of the nation’s past.

    80 years ago today, hundreds camped out on the streets overnight hoping to be on the very first metro train at 7am. It took more than 30 years to come up with a solution to the city’s transport problems, but the final result was a feat of engineering to be able to tunnel through the city’s challenging soils and rivers. The first train travelled along an 11-km route, with one line and 13 stations. Fast forward 80 years, it now travels along 327.5 km, with 12 lines and 196 stations, and almost 10 million passengers a day.

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    17 May 2015
    Norway National Day 2015





    Ushered in by marching bands and children’s parades, May 17th celebrates the 1814 signing of Norway’s constitution [2nd oldest in the world!], which announced its singular identity and independence from the Kingdom of Sweden. On this day Norwegians hit the streets dressed in national costumes or their Sunday best.

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    19 May 2015
    45th Anniversary of the creation of Barbapapa





    "Clickety Click—Barba Trick”

    If you recognize today's doodle, then you probably know what that sound is: Barbapapa is changing forms again! For those of us who are new to the magic of this wonderful family of technicolor shapes, Barbapapa is a series of children's books, started in Paris, France 45 years ago on a beautiful day in May. The authors were a French-American couple, Annette Tison and Talus Taylor.

    The pair came up with the concept for these kooky characters at the Luxembourg Gardens when Taylor, a non-french-speaker, overhead a nearby child asking for "baa baa paa paa." Confused, Taylor asked his wife, Annette what the child meant. She explained that barbe ą papa, is literally translated as "father's beard," but also means cotton candy. Later, inspired by the adorable jumble of sounds and the image of a pink-candy-floss beardy-fellow, the couple sketched out a rotund character on a napkin: Barbapapa was born.

    Barbapapa is a friendly and caring creature, always ready to help and use his powers of shapeshifting to benefit others. His adventures lead him to become a town hero and meet a lovely she-barba, a lady in black named Barbamama. In the doodle you can see Barbapapa and Barbamama proudly standing behind their children. Each of the children have a special talent or interest:


    Barbabelle, the beauty queen [purple]
    Barbabravo, an athlete and mystery buff [red]
    Barbalib, an academic [orange]
    Barbabright, a scientist [blue]
    Barbabeau, an artist [black and furry]
    Barbalala, a musician [green]
    Barbazoo, a nature lover [yellow]

    Today's doodle is important not just because Barbapapa has brought joy to families all over the world. We also want to memorialize Talus Taylor, who passed away this year. The beautiful books he created with his wife, Annette have been translated into over 30 languages worldwide, and transformed into comics and a television series, delighting us all with reminders of family, love, kindness and a deep respect for the environment.



    Last edited by 9A; 05-13-2021 at 10:09 PM.

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    6 June 2012

    79th Anniversary of the First Drive-in Movie









    A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches.
    The screen can be as simple as a wall that is painted white or it can be a steel truss structure with a complex finish.

    Originally, the movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by individual speakers hung from the window of each car, which were attached to a small pole by a wire. These speaker systems were superseded by the more practical method of microbroadcasting the soundtrack to car radios. This also has the advantage of the film soundtrack to be heard in stereo on car stereo systems, which are typically of much higher quality and fidelity than the basic small mono speakers used in the old systems.

    Beginning in the late 1960s, drive-in attendance began to decline as the result of improvements and changes to home entertainment, from color television to cable TV, VCRs and video rental. Additionally, the 1970s energy crisis led to the widespread adoption of daylight saving time [[which caused drive-in movies to start an hour later) and lower use of automobiles, making it increasingly difficult for drive-ins to remain profitable.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 04:09 AM.

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    8 Jun 2012
    Doodle 4 Google 2012 - Poland Winner




    Doodle 4 Google, also stylized Doodle4Google, is an annual competition in various countries, held by Google, to have children create a Google doodle that will be featured on the local Google homepage as a doodle.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 04:13 AM.

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    23 September 2020
    Doodle for Google 2020 – US Winner





    Congratulations to Texas 5th grader Sharon Sara, winner of the US 2020 Doodle for Google contest, whose Doodle is featured on the US homepage today! Sharon was one of tens of thousands of students from across the country who entered the contest this year answering the prompt “I show kindness by…”

    In her artist’s statement, Sharon describes how kindness can be practiced through friendship and inclusion: “I show kindness by sticking together with my friends in tough times. I drew people coming together and not thinking about the outside but being together because of their personality.”

    Sharon’s interest in art started when she was just 4 years old, and her passion continues to grow today. As the US 2020 Doodle for Google contest national winner, Sharon has won a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology package for her elementary school.

    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 04:22 AM.

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    9 June 2014
    Doodle 4 Google 2014 – U.S. Winner






    For our 7th annual Doodle 4 Google competition, we asked kids, grades K-12, to draw an invention that would make the world a better place. Out of more than 100,000 submissions, 250 state finalists, 50 state winners, and 5 national age group winners, we are excited to present the 2014 Doodle 4 Google winner: 11-year old Audrey Zhang of New York!

    "To make the world a better place, I invented a transformative water purifier. It takes in dirty and polluted water from rivers, lakes, and even oceans, then massively transforms the water into clean, safe and sanitary water, when humans and animals drink this water, they will live a healthier life."
    - Audrey Zhang, 11

    We quickly lost count of all the delightful elements of Audrey’s doodle. So in the spirit of this year’s theme, we asked Audrey to spend a day with the doodlers to turn her illustration into a moving animation. As an animator and director for a day, she made sure we twinkled each light and cleaned the water just right and took extra care for the illustration’s dragons—about whom she is also writing a novel.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 09:08 AM.

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    23 May 2013
    Doodle 4 Google 2013 - US Winner





    “Coming Home” by Wisconsin student wins U.S. 2013 Doodle 4 Google competition. After 130,000 submissions and millions of votes cast, Sabrina Brady of Sparta, Wisc. has been named the 2013 U.S. Doodle 4 Google National Winner.May 22, 2013 Sabrina’s doodle stood out in the crowd; it tells the story of her reunion with her father as he returned from an 18 month deployment in Iraq. Her creative use of the Google letters to illustrate this heartfelt moment clearly resonated with voters across the country and all of us at Google.

    In addition to seeing her artwork on the Google homepage, Sabrina—who is in 12th grade at Sparta High School—will receive a $30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook computer and a $50,000 technology grant for her school. She will attend Minneapolis College of Art and Design this coming fall, where she will continue her artistic pursuits. Congratulations Sabrina!
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 09:19 AM.

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    21 March 2016
    Doodle 4 Google 2016 – US Winner






    Akilah Johnson, a 10th grader from Washington, D.C., was named Google's 2016 Doodle 4 Google national award winner for her artwork honoring her African heritage and Afrocentric lifestyle.

    My goal with my art was to not only turn heads but souls as well — not only for someone to see it and be amazed by it but also to have them understand and connect with it.

    Akilah Johnson, Doodle 4 Google National Winner
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 03:45 PM.

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    21 Jun 2012

    Yuri Kondratyuk's 115th Birthday







    Yuri Kondratyuk was a self-educated mechanic who, 50 years before lunar flights, foresaw ways of reaching the moon, calculating the best means of achieving a lunar landing. His theory of the gravitational slingshot trajectory to accelerate a spacecraft, known today as the "Kondratyuk Route", was eventually adopted by the engineers of the Apollo program for American lunar expeditions.

    His personal story is also fascinating, though ultimately heartbreaking. Yuri's developing theories on space travel were happening during a time when such pursuits were considered "absurd", and consequently were prohibited by the ruling government of his time. Because of this, his work – and much of his life – was shrouded in secrecy. Even his real name was a secret [it was Aleksandr Gnatovich Shargei]. Fortunately, history has been much kinder to his legacy, and today he is considered an early pioneer of space exploration. For his doodle, we felt that while it is not quite the real thing, it was only right to show an aspirational Kondratyuk gazing about – and amongst – the stars.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 03:45 PM.

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    9 October 2020
    Hangul Day 2020






    Today’s Doodle, illustrated by South Korea-based artist Jisu Choi, commemorates Korea’s Hangul Day . One of the world’s only official holidays dedicated to a writing system, Hangul Day celebrates the invention of Korea’s alphabet known as Hangul.

    The Hangul alphabet was first unveiled in 1446 by the Choson dynasty’s King Sejong. More than 500 years later, it is still considered a remarkable achievement, even by modern linguistic standards. The 24-letter alphabet remains the only writing system in the world that separates sentences into words, syllables, individual sounds, and elements of articulation like exhalation or voicing. Despite its sophisticated representation of complex spoken language, the writing system is noted for its elegance and simplicity; in fact, it’s said that a dedicated beginner could learn Hangul in just a few hours!

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    22 Jun 2012
    Teachers' Day 2012 [El Salvador]




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    28 Jun 2012
    Sergiu Celibidache's 100th Birthday




    Sergiu Celibidache was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures as principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Sicilian Symphony Orchestra and several other European orchestras. Later in life, he taught at Mainz University in Germany and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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    28 Jun 2012
    J.J. Rousseau's 300th Birthday





    Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic and educational thought.

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    28 Jun 2012
    Luigi Pirandello's 145th Birthday








    Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power to turn psychological analysis into good theatre." He was an Italian nationalist and supported Fascism in a moderate way, at one point giving his Nobel Prize medal to the Fascist government to be melted down as part of the 1935 Oro alla Patria ["Gold to the Fatherland"] campaign during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

    Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written in Sicilian. Pirandello's tragic farces are often seen as forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd.

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    9 Jun 2012
    José Pablo Moncayo's 100th Birthday







    José Pablo Moncayo Garcķa was a Mexican pianist, percussionist, music teacher, composer and conductor. "As composer, José Pablo Moncayo represents one of the most important legacies of the Mexican nationalism in art music, after Silvestre Revueltas and Carlos Chįvez." He produced some of the masterworks that best symbolize the essence of the national aspirations and contradictions of Mexico in the 20th century.

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    4 Jul 2012
    Inauguration of Hartland Bridge





    The Hartland Covered Bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick, is the world's longest covered bridge, at 1,282 feet [391 m] long. It crosses the Saint John River from Hartland to Somerville, New Brunswick, Canada. The framework consists of seven small Howe Truss bridges joined together on six piers.

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    5 Jul 2012
    Algeria Independence Day 2012





    Independence Day, observed annually on July 5 every year, is a National Holiday in Algeria commemorating Algeria's independence from France on July 5, 1962.

  27. #3077
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    6 Jul 2012
    José Marķa Velasco's 172nd Birthday






    José Marķa Tranquilino Francisco de Jesśs Velasco Gómez Obregón, generally known as José Marķa Velasco, was a 19th-century Mexican polymath, most famous as a painter who made Mexican geography a symbol of national identity through his paintings. He was both one of the most popular artists of the time and internationally renowned. He received many distinctions such as the gold medal of the Mexican National Expositions of Bellas Artes in 1874 and 1876; the gold medal of the Philadelphia International Exposition in 1876, on the centenary of U.S. independence; and the medal of the Paris Universal Exposition in 1889, on the centenary of the outbreak of the French Revolution. His painting El valle de México is considered Velasco's masterpiece, of which he created seven different renditions. Of all the nineteenth-century painters, Velasco was the "first to be elevated in the post-Revolutionary period as an exemplar of nationalism."

  28. #3078
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    13 Aug 2012
    Cassiano Branco's 115th Birthday







    Cassiano Viriato Branco was a Portuguese architect. He is one of the most important architects of the first half of the 20th century in Portugal. Some of his projects include the Coliseu do Porto, Hotel Vitória and the Portugal dos Pequenitos theme park.

  29. #3079
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    15 Aug 2012
    National Liberation Day of Korea 2012







    As is true of many wildcats in cultures across the world, the tiger holds special significance in Korean myth and legend. [One of my favorite folktales is “The Tiger and the Persimmon”--read it if you have a chance!] This year we celebrated Korea’s National Liberation Day with an illustration of kids wearing traditional hanbok, gamboling with a large friendly tiger.

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    17 Aug 2012
    Indonesia Independence Day 2012






    This is the 67th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia's independence in 1945. An archipelago that consists of over 17,000 islands, 33 provinces, hundreds of ethnic groups, dozens of dialects and a diverse culture that influences day-to-day life from dance to cuisine, the world's fourth most populous country is a growing global economic power.

    Independence day celebrations call for a community gathering in village squares or city neighborhoods to partake in various games where children [and adults] compete in sack races, eating krupuk [an Indonesian cracker] or fruit hanging on a string and climbing a pinang tree to reach for a prize, to name a few. Today's Doodle showcases the traditions of this happy occasion.

  31. #3081
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    31 Aug 2012
    Maria Montessori's 142nd Birthday


    Legendary educator Maria Montessori pioneered her self-titled teaching technique in the early 20th century, revolutionizing the classroom. Until then, typical curriculum consisted of lectures, rote memorization, and strict testing. There was little to no chance for children to explore concepts on their own or learn at their own pace. Montessori's innovative contribution to educational philosophy consisted of allowing students to be self-directed in their approach to learning. The teacher's role became less directly didactic, more nurturing – educators were there to enable the discovery of knowledge, not to simply repeat facts.

    Some of the most iconic embodiments of the Montessori method are the materials used in pre-k learning, some of which can be seen above. I attended a Montessori school from preschool to eighth grade, and researching this doodle made for an evocative trip down memory lane. Looking at pictures of her materials immediately called back memories of playing with number beads and trinomial cubes. These simple, brightly-colored objects taught me the foundations of arithmetic, geometry, spelling, and grammar, not to mention [not pictured] geography, biology, and botany.

    Though Maria Montessori's techniques were considered audacious and controversial when she pioneered them, the Montessori method lives on today in more than seven thousand schools worldwide, teaching generation after generation of children to be independent, intellectually curious, and innovative.

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    3 Sept 2012
    Chabuca Granda's 92nd Birthday




    Marķa Isabel Granda Larco, better known as Chabuca Granda, was a Peruvian singer and composer. She created and interpreted a vast number of Criollo waltzes with Afro-Peruvian rhythms. Her best known song is "La flor de la canela" [The Cinnamon Flower].

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    24 Sept 2020
    Arati Saha's 80th birthday






    Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Kolkata native and guest artist Lavanya Naidu, celebrates the 80th birthday of the trailblazing Indian swimmer Arati Saha. On September 29, 1959, Saha covered a breathtaking 42 miles from Cape Gris Nez, France to Sandgate, England [a route depicted in today’s Doodle] to become the first Asian woman to swim across the English Channel—a feat considered the swimming equivalent of climbing Mount Everest.

    Arati Saha was born on this day in 1940 in Calcutta, British India [Kolkata, India]. At four years old, she learned to swim on the banks of the Hooghly River, and her precocious skill in the water soon attracted the mentorship of one of India’s top competitive swimmers, Sachin Nag. Under Nag’s wing, Saha won her first swimming gold medal when she was only five, and it was certainly not her last.

    A record-setting prodigy by just 11 years old, Saha became the youngest member [and one of only four women] on the first team to represent the newly independent India in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. At the age of 18, Saha made her first attempt to cross the English Channel, and though it was unsuccessful, she never gave up. Just over a month later, she conquered miles of churning waves and currents to complete the journey, a historic victory for women across India.

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    13 Sept 2012
    Clara Schumann's 193rd Birthday









    Clara grew up in Leipzig, where her father, Friedrich Wieck, was a professional pianist and teacher, and her mother an accomplished singer. She was a child prodigy, trained by her father. She began touring at age eleven, and was successful in Paris and Vienna, among other cities. She married composer Robert Schumann, and the couple had eight children. Together, they encouraged Johannes Brahms and maintained a close relationship with him. She premiered many works by her husband and by Brahms in public.

    Her first concert was at the age of 11. She was an outspoken and courageous woman who followed her heart and fought for who and what she believed in. In sixty one years of performing, she forever shaped the classical music genre and was one of the first pianists to perform by memory, setting the stage for future performers.


    Beyond her own performance career, Clara was a teacher and a mentor to students. Additionally, her and her husband raised eight children while also developing their own musical careers. I knew Clara was a truly exceptional person when I read that at age 29 she marched to the front lines of the May Uprising in Dresden [one of the final events of the Revolution of 1848], straight past a group of armed men to rescue her children. She then turned around and marched right back through the pack and out of the city. She was truly a dedicated, passionate and strong-willed person and it's evident in her work, how she was with her family, and in her everyday life.


    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 04:08 PM.

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    3 Oct 2012
    Anton Bernolak's 250th Birthday



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

  36. #3086
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    3 October 2014
    German Reunification Day 2014




    It’s true what they say, some things are better together. In Germany, our homepage honors the 24th anniversary of East and West Germany’s reunification.

    Guest doodled by Jens Bonnke, who had this to say about the occasion:
    From my personal view, it has been a true stroke of luck in history that not a single person had to die in these turbulent times before, during and after the fall of the wall until the reunification in 1990. What better reason could exist to have this holiday?

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    6 Oct 2014
    Thor Heyerdahl's 100th Birthday





    What would it take to get you to cross the Pacific Ocean in a handmade wooden raft? It didn’t take a lot of persuading for Norwegian explorer and scientist Thor Heyerdahl to do it—in fact, he did it to prove a point. In 1947, Heyerdahl set off on his Kon-Tiki expedition from Peru to French Polynesia to demonstrate that ancient South Americans could have done the same. The jury is still out on Heyerdahl’s conclusion, but we’re grateful for the remarkable story he left behind. Our doodle around the world marks his 100th birthday.

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    10 Oct 2014
    Francisco Giner de los Rķos' 175th Birthday





    Our homepage in Spain celebrates the 175th birthday of intellectual Francisco Giner de los Rķos. Once described as a Spanish Socrates, de los Rķos advocated for an independent and high quality education in his homeland. His ideas motivated him to establish the “Institución Libre de Enseńanza” [“Free Teaching Institution”], which collaborated with renowned figures like Bertrand Russell, Charles Darwin, León Tolstoi and H. G. Wells.

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    13 Jan 2018
    Zhou Youguang’s 112th Birthday




    The O’s in today’s Doodle flip from Pinyin [Gǔgē] to Chinese characters [谷歌]. Were it not for celebrated linguist Zhou Youguang, this phonetic translation would never have come to life, and the world would still be referring to ‘Beijing’ as ‘Peking,’ and to ‘Chongqing’ as ‘Chungking.’

    Popularly dubbed ‘the Father of Pinyin,’ Youguang spent three years developing the system of ‘spelled sounds’ that is now the international standard for Romanized Chinese. The new system transformed China’s literacy rate, providing more natural passage into the written language, which requires mastering thousands of characters. It bridged multiple Chinese dialects with its shared designations of sound. Today, schoolchildren learn Pinyin before characters, and it is often used to input characters on smartphones and computers.

    Pursuing his love of language throughout his life, Youguang authored more than 40 books and translated the Encyclopedia Britannica into Chinese. Born on this day as Zhou Yaoping, this storied linguist later adopted the pen name ‘Yougang’ because he wanted to ‘bring light’ to the world. Today, we celebrate what would’ve been Yougang’s 112th birthday with a special place in the spotlight.

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    21 Jan 2018
    Eua Sunthornsanan’s 108th Birthday




    Today, we celebrate Eua Sunthornsanan, or “Khru Eua,” the prolific composer and musician behind such popular Thai songs as “Ram Wong Wan Songkran” and “Loy Krathong” and the man credited with pioneering a style of Thai music that struck a chord around the world.

    Born on this day in 1910, Sunthornsanan started playing violin in an orchestra at nine years old. The young musician learned the instrument at a primary school in Bangkok and later sharpened his skills in harmony and arrangement at music school.

    While playing in a big band for the government’s Performance Department, Sunthornsanan noticed the band’s concerts drew far bigger crowds than classical performances. His eclectic musical upbringing led him to experiment with different styles, mixing jazz and Westernized classical music with more traditional Thai classical music to create the romantic style that would earn him international acclaim. With the Suntaraporn band, one of the most prominent Thai big bands, he composed more than 2,000 songs.

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    21 Jun 2009
    Father's Day 2009



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    19 Jul 2019
    50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing






    Fifty years ago, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission changed our world and ideas of what is possible by successfully landing humans on the surface of the moon⁠—and bringing them home safely⁠—for the first time in history. Today’s video Doodle celebrates this moment of human achievement by taking us through the journey to the moon and back, narrated by someone with firsthand knowledge of the epic event: former astronaut and Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins.

    A team of some 400,000 people from around the world worked on Project Apollo—mostly factory workers, scientists, and engineers who never left the ground. Within those 400,000 were the mission’s astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Their historic journey began when a Saturn V rocket blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. After achieving orbit around the moon, the lunar module, known as “the Eagle,” separated for a 13-minute journey to the surface. Meanwhile, astronaut Michael Collins stayed behind in the command module, which would eventually bring all three astronauts back home to Earth.

    Along the way to the moon’s surface, Armstrong and Aldrin lost radio contact with Earth, the onboard computer showed unfamiliar error codes, and fuel ran short. As millions watched on television with anxious anticipation, they successfully steered the module to a safe landing on the crater dubbed the “Sea of Tranquility” on July 20, 1969.

    Not long after, Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the moon, stating the now infamous words “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

    Returning safely to Earth on July 25, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew were followed by 10 more astronauts, with the final mission taking place in 1972. Countless scientific breakthroughs—from CAT scans to freeze-dried food—took place thanks to the mission to the moon.

    Space exploration continues to this day, with milestones such as the International Space Station and plans for a mission to Mars. Most recently, NASA’s Artemis program—named for Apollo’s sister in Greek mythology—aims to bring the first woman to the moon.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 08:55 PM.

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    12 Jul 2019
    René Favaloro’s 96th Birthday



    “‘We’ is more important than ‘I.’ In medicine, the advances are always the result of many efforts accumulated over the years,” wrote Dr. René Favaloro, the Argentinian surgeon who introduced coronary artery bypass surgery into clinical practice and is celebrated in today’s Doodle.

    Born in the city of La Plata on this day in 1923, René Gerónimo Favaloro spent the first 12 years of his medical career as a country doctor in the farming community of Jacinto Arauz. He built an operating room, trained his own nurses, set up a local blood bank, and educated patients on how to prevent common ailments. The experience left him with a lifelong conviction that healthcare was a basic human right, regardless of economic circumstances.

    In 1962, he traveled to the United States to practice at the Cleveland Clinic, where he worked alongside Mason Sones, a pioneer of cineangiography—the reading and interpreting of coronary and ventricular images. After studying angiograms in the Sones Library, Dr. Favalaro was convinced that coronary artery bypass grafting could be an effective therapy.

    On May 9th, 1967, Dr. Favaloro operated on a 51-year-old woman with a blockage in her right coronary artery. Attaching her to a heart-lung machine, he stopped her heart and used a vein from her leg to redirect blood flow around the blockage. The historic operation was a success, and since then, the procedure has saved countless lives during the past half-century.

    Returning to Argentina in the early 1970s, Dr. Favaloro established the Favalaro Foundation in Buenos Aires. The center serves patients based on their medical needs rather than their ability to pay and teaches Dr. Favaloro’s innovative techniques to doctors all over Latin America.


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    1 Jul 2019
    Canada Day 2019




    From Victoria to St. John’s, Iqaluit to Point Pelee, today is a time of celebration for the world’s second-largest country. Today’s Doodle, depicting the Bay of Fundy’s distinctive Hopewell Rocks, honors the 152nd anniversary of “Dominion Day,” a holiday commemorating Canada’s formation through the union of three British colonies. In 1982, the bilingual nation gained full independence from the UK, and the holiday was officially renamed Fźte du Canada, or Canada Day.

    For many Canadians, this festive occasion begins with a traditional pancake breakfast, topped with classic maple syrup. Most towns and cities organize parades and fireworks displays. In the capital city of Ottawa, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Musical Ride performs an intricately choreographed equestrian routine during a sunset flag-lowering ceremony the night before Canada Day, which culminates with a group performance of “O Canada,” the national anthem.

    In the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, July 1st is also Memorial Day, a tribute to the troops who took part in the Battle of the Somme during World War I. Flags fly at half-mast in the morning in honor of their sacrifices before the fźte commences.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-15-2021 at 01:09 AM.

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    30 Jun 2019
    Celebrating Puerto Princesa Underground River






    Something strange happens on the Philippine island of Palawan when the Cabayugan River reaches the 1,000-meter [3,280.8-feet] high limestone mountain called Saint Paul: the flowing water vanishes under the earth. Today’s Doodle celebrates the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a Philippines National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site protected by the Ramsar Convention on this day in 2012.

    An international body created for the conservation of important wetlands, Ramsar designated this underground river as “unique in the biogeographic region because it connects a range of important ecosystems from the mountain-to-the-sea, including a limestone karst landscape with a complex cave system, mangrove forests, lowland evergreen tropical rainforests, and freshwater swamps.”

    The river is one of the world’s longest underground waterways at 8.2-kilometers [5.1-miles]—and one of the few that flows into the sea, creating the largest subterranean estuary in the world. Small boats carry sightseers underground to marvel at dramatic stalactite and stalagmite formations.

    The 24-kilometer [14.9-mile] matrix of caves—including the 360-meter [1181.1-feet] long, 80-meter [262.5-feet] high Italian’s Chamber, one of the largest cave halls in the world—is home to some 800 plant species as well as many animals found nowhere else, including giant spiders, crabs, fish, and snakes, as well as bats, swallows, and fossils dating back millions of years. The critically endangered Philippine cockatoo and Hawksbill turtle, and the endangered Green sea turtle and Nordmann’s greenshank are just a few of the protected species who survive in this one-of-a-kind habitat.
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 09:06 PM.

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    28 Jun 2019
    185th Anniversary of the Publication of Pan Tadeusz Poem






    On this day in 1834, the Polish Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz published his masterpiece, Pan Tadeusz, often considered one of the last great epic poems in European literature. Written in Paris, the 12-part saga captures the spirit of Poland at a time when much of its territory was partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

    Set during the years 1811 and 1812 in a Lithuanian village, the narrative focuses on a feud between two prominent families, complicated by the love between Tadeusz and a daughter of the rival family named Zosia. A revolt against the local Russian garrison brings the families together, inspired by a shared passion to restore Poland to its former glory: “When talk was to raise Poland again from this rubble.”

    Required reading in Polish schools, Pan Tadeusz has been translated into many languages and adapted into TV and film versions, most recently in 1999 by Polish director Andrzej Wajda. Mickiewicz writes with great feeling, expressing his love and longing for all aspects of Polish life from the landscape [“These fields, painted with various grain, gilded with wheat, silvered with rye”], to the food [“mere words cannot tell of its wondrous taste, colour and marvellous smell”], to even the wildlife [“No frogs croak as divinely as Polish ones do”].
    Last edited by 9A; 05-14-2021 at 09:27 PM.

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    23 Jun 2019
    Father's Day 2019 [Poland]




    Last edited by 9A; 05-15-2021 at 01:10 AM.

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    17 Jun 2019
    İlhan Koman’s 98th Birthday





    “Can science and art meet in one place?” asked Turkish artist İlhan Koman, born in Edirne on this day in 1921. “I'm trying to realize this meeting in sculpture… I'm trying to create new forms.”
    Today’s Doodle celebrates the multidisciplinary sculptor whose wide-ranging interests and endless experimentation with various media and techniques, as well as mathematical concepts, led some to call him the “Leonardo Da Vinci of Turkey.”

    As a child, Koman enjoyed playing with bolts and screws, and spent hours at a local blacksmith’s shop, watching the craftsman work with metal. When visiting relatives in the seaside city of Istanbul, he made models of ferry boats in the harbor and planned to become a shipbuilder before deciding to go to art school.

    Upon graduating from Istanbul’s Art Academy, he moved to Paris, where he studied during the 1940s, opened a workshop, exhibited his own abstract sculpture, and spent hours in the Louvre admiring the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian art and the work of modern masters such as Rodin, Brancusi, and Giacometti.

    While representing Turkey in the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, he met the architect Ralph Erskine, who invited him to work in Sweden. It was there that Koman would also teach at Stockholm’s Konstfack School of Applied Art. In the 1960s, he bought a two-masted wooden sailboat called the Hulda, which he adapted into a studio and living space.

    During his time in Sweden, Koman began what he called his ‘Iron Age,’ exploring the malleability of metal. He created many public works, the best known of which is the monumental sculpture Akdeniz in Istanbul. The 4.5 ton figure of a woman with outstretched arms was fashioned from 112 strips of metal.

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    15 Jun 2019
    Celebrating the Jingle Dress Dance





    Dancers move in unison and a sound fills the air, like raindrops falling on a tin roof. Today’s Doodle by Ojibwe guest artist Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley celebrates the Jingle Dress Dance, which originated during the 1920s amongst the Ojibwe tribe somewhere between Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario. The dance lives on today, notably in events such as the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Grand Celebration Pow Wow this weekend in Hinckley, Minnesota.

    According to stories passed throughout generations, the origin of the jingle dress dates back to when an Ojibwe girl fell sick, and the idea for the dress and dance came to her worried father through a vision. Hundreds of metal cones, known as ziibaaska’iganan, were fashioned and sewed onto her dress so that the dance movements would create a jingling sound.

    The girl’s father taught his daughter the sacred dance, instructing her to always keep one foot on the ground—and eventually, her illness was cured. After the girl recovered, she taught her friends to make the dresses. Together, they created the first Jingle Dress Dance Society.

    Over time, the choreography and dress style of the jingle dress has evolved, with increasingly intricate footwork learned through years of practice for the competitive pow wow circuit, as well as garments now ranging from aprons to full-length designs. Many dancers make their own dresses, as taught by parents or tribal elders. Some wear eagle feathers in their hair, or carry a feather fan.

    Despite some changes over the years, what remains constant is the dance’s jingling sound. Today, the dance also serves to affirm the power of Native American women.

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    12 Jun 2019
    Dia dos Namorados 2019







    Love is in the air all over Brazil today as the largest country in Latin America celebrates Dia dos Namorados, which means “the day of the enamored.” Today’s Doodle celebrates Brazil’s most romantic holiday.

    While February 14th is the day when much of the world celebrates loving couples on Valentine’s Day, the date conflicts with Brazil’s Carnival season. June 12th, on the other hand, is the eve before the feast of St. Anthony, one of Brazil’s patron saints, who is sometimes referred to as the “holy matchmaker.” Known for blessing couples with prosperous marriages, the Portuguese friar was said to have reconciled many couples.

    Thoughtful gestures are always appropriate on this special day, from love poems to chocolates [Brazilian brigadeiros to be exact], or a bouquet of flowers—white lilies are St. Anthony’s favorite, but you can’t go wrong with red roses. And there’s no shortage of romantic settings for an intimate getaway, from the beaches of Fernando de Noronha to the waterfalls of Foz do Iguaēu.

    No matter what the gift or where the location may be, Dia dos Namorados is really about spending quality time together, cherishing one another, and finding a million ways to say Te amo.

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