Google doodles

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April 14, 2020
Thank You: Public transportation workers




As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, people are coming together to help one another now more than ever. We’re launching a Doodle series to recognize and honor many of those on the front lines.

Today, we’d like to say: To all public transportation workers, thank you.

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October 31, 2010
Birthday of Katsushika Hokusai







Katsushika Hokusai, known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Hokusai is best known for the woodblock print series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji which includes the internationally iconic print The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Hokusai created the monumental Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji both as a response to a domestic travel boom in Japan and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Fine Wind, Clear Morning, that secured his fame both in Japan and overseas. While Hokusai's work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition.

Hokusai's work transformed the ukiyo-e artform from a style of portraiture largely focused on courtesans and actors into a much broader style of art that focused on landscapes, plants, and animals. Hokusai worked in various fields besides woodblock prints, such as painting and producing designs for book illustrations, including his own educational Hokusai Manga, which consists of thousands of images of every subject imaginable over fifteen volumes. Starting as a young child, he continued working and improving his style until his death, aged 88. In a long and successful career, he produced over 30,000 paintings, sketches, woodblock prints, and images for picture books in total.

Innovative in his compositions and exceptional in his drawing technique, Hokusai is considered one of the greatest masters in the history of art.

[9A]

February 7, 2014
2014 Winter Olympics




Google took a stand against Russia's anti-gay laws with this rainbow doodle

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The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi became the centre of worldwide protests against Russia's homophobic laws, and Google didn't sit on the fence. This rainbow-hued Google Doodle made a simple but powerful statement, while the quote from the Olympic Charter below spelled out exactly where it stood.

“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” –Olympic Charter

[9A]

August 22, 2013
Claude Debussy's 151st Birthday






Today, August 22nd, is a very special day. ...my birthday! OK. Well, more than that, it's Claude Debussy's 151st birthday!

We sought out to create an animated doodle to commemorate Debussy as one of the most influential composers of all time. At the outstart, the task of creating and coding visual imagery that does justice to the spirit of his music seemed incredibly daunting. But, as it turned out, all I needed to do was to resurrect my trusty CD player and hit play, and the inspiration would start flooding in. I felt flickering lights, a quiet city and pouring rain set against the magical melody of Clair de Lune.

We started off with a rough prototype that was built with simple shapes synchronized to a MIDI file generated from sheet music. The prototype was well-received despite looking and sounding like something from the 80's:

Early HTML canvas prototype synchronized to a MIDI file.

Next, we needed a recording of Clair de Lune. I enlisted my sister to perform different variations of the piece on a keyboard that was hooked up to a computer. This gave me the data I needed to drive the animations and the final music that would be used to accompany the doodle.

Data from performance used to drive the animations.

Visually, I drew inspiration from cities of the late 1800's. Stylistically, I aimed for a pseudo-flat and graphic look, as influenced by an illustrator from Debussy's time, Andre Halle. And compositionally, my goal was to make a doodle that would look nice as a French wine label.

Thanks to Kris Hom and Mark Ivey for engineering support. Thanks to my sister, Sabrina Hong, for letting me record her performance for the doodle.

— Posted by Leon Hong, Doodler

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February 8, 2018
Paula Modersohn-Becker’s 142nd Birthday











Renowned German expressionist painter Paula Modersohn-Becker was born on this day in 1876. Her art bears witness to her courage, boldness, and ambition — a temperament that greatly influenced her short but prolific career.

Exposed to the intellectual world from the time she was a young child growing up in Dresden-Friedrichstadt, Modersohn-Becker began her artistic endeavors as a student in Bremen, and at the age of 18, moved to an artist’s colony in Worpswede. There she met her future husband, but hungry to learn more, she moved to Paris to study and urged him to join her.

In the years that followed, her personal life underwent many changes. But through all the turbulence, she continued to paint, producing more than 80 pictures in 1906 alone. Her writings explain this frenetic pace as a necessity to make up for the first two ‘lost’ decades of her life.

An early expressionist, she joined the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse in introducing modernism to the world. Modersohn-Becker was known for her bold choices as an artist — be it her depictions of nude female figures [among the very first women artists to do so], or those of women breastfeeding their children. She tenaciously resisted the strict expectations held of women of her era, preferring exploration and painting over more traditional pastimes.

Today’s Doodle reflects her artistic style depicting domestic subjects, and is illustrated by Berlin-based duo Golden Cosmos.

Happy Birthday, Paula Modersohn-Becker!

[9A]

December 21, 2020
Celebrating Summer 2020 and The Great Conjunction! [Southern Hemisphere]





As Earth’s Southern Hemisphere welcomes summer and winds down from the longest day of the year, it seems Jupiter and Saturn have decided to put on quite an unusual show for the world to see!

The two largest planets in our solar system will nearly overlap to form a “double planet,” an event that hasn’t been easily visible since the Middle Ages—almost 800 years ago. Today’s animated Doodle celebrates the Southern Hemisphere’s first day of summer as well as this rare double planet sighting–or “Great Conjunction”–which can be viewed from anywhere around the globe!

So what exactly is creating this celestial phenomenon? Based on their orbits, from our vantage point on Earth, Jupiter and Saturn will cross within .1 degrees of each other [a fraction of the width of the full moon], a once-in-a-lifetime rendezvous recreated in the Doodle artwork. But looks can be deceiving, as the two gas giants will actually remain a vast distance of approximately 450 million miles apart!

Make sure you look out low above the horizon tonight and take in this momentous meet-and-greet between Jupiter and Saturn–it’s sure to be out of this world!

Huge thanks to NASA for their collaboration on this Doodle

[9A]

December 21, 2014

Summer Solstice 2013 [Northern Hemisphere]
Winter Solstice 2013 [Southern Hemisphere]




On Juni 21st is winter and summer solstice. Google celebrates Summer solstice in the countries of the northern hemisphere [First Day of Summer 2013] - and First Day of Winter 2013 in the southern hemisphere [Winter solstice] . Very nice double-doodle!

Both doodles are designed by german illustrator and artist Christoph Niemann. Christoph Niemann is an illustrator, graphic designer, and author of several books including some children's books.

[9A]

December 21, 2014
Winter Solstice 2014 [Northern Hemisphere]

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June 21, 2021
Winter 2021 [Southern Hemisphere]

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December 21, 2012
End of the Mayan Calendar





Artwork created by contributing guest doodler, Robert Mackenzie.

The end of the Mayan 13th Baktun

Math, science and astronomy are matters that we have always been passionate about. So with our doodle today, we are celebrating the end of the 13th Baktun of the Mayan calendar Long Count System. But what does this mean?

Mayans were advanced mathematicians and astronomers who calculated the cycles of the moon and sun. They had very specific ways of measuring time, and one of these forms is the Long Count system, in which each year has 18 months with 20 days.

The system also includes other units like the Katun, equivalent to 20 years in our calendar, and a Baktun, which equals to 394 years. The importance of reaching the 13th Baktun, is that, unlike as what happens in our calendar, a 14th Baktun does not follow. The count returns to zero. Unlike all the disaster stories that you have probably heard, at the end of the 13th Baktun, as every time Sunday ends in our calendar, Monday comes again and thus begins a new week. Those who have studied the issue, explain that this is because the way their scheduling system works, and although it represents the end of a cycle, it doesn’t have a catastrophic meaning. Today’s doodle represents the actual date, December 21 2012, as well as the 13th Baktun, forming the word * Google *. We hope you enjoy this doodle as much as we do, and that the beginning of the next Baktun be very prosperous for everyone.

[9A]

Aug 26, 2013
Rufino Tamayo's 114th Birthday





Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico. Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction with surrealist influences.

[9A]

August 26, 2015
La Tomatina 70th Anniversary







All around Buñol on the last Wednesday of every August, storefronts are shuttered. Trucks hauling thousands of pounds of tomatoes grown and harvested specifically for this day head for Plaza del Pueblo, the town square, where a Spanish ham is suspended from the top of a greased pole. What ensues once this ham is successfully retrieved [or not retrieved, as is often the case, by a succession of hapless climbers] is arguably the world’s largest food fight: La Tomatina. For a moment of blissful, heartwarmingly innocuous chaos, tens of thousands of visitors to this small Spanish town indulge a universal childhood fantasy and shower each other with tomatoes in a wild, watery mess.

For its 70th anniversary, Doodler Nate Swinehart captures the energy of today’s festivities with an animation awash in splattered tomatoes and brimming with the youthful delight of its characters.

[9A]

August 26, 2014
Julio Cortázar's 100th Birthday






“We went around without looking for each other, but knowing we went around to find each other,” wrote Argentine novelist and intellectual Julio Cortázar in his stream-of-consciousness novel, “Rayuela” [“Hopscotch”.] We mark Cortázar’s 100th birthday on our homepages throughout Latin America today.

[9A]

Aug 28, 2014
Sheridan Le Fanu's 200th Birthday






Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales, mystery novels, and horror fiction. He was a leading ghost story writer of his time, central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M. R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are the locked-room mystery Uncle Silas, the lesbian vampire novella Carmilla, and the historical novel The House by the Churchyard.

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August 28, 2020
Celebrating Alexandre Dumas






In honor of one of the most revered French authors of the 19th century, today’s Doodle slideshow celebrates Alexandre Dumas. Perhaps best known for swashbuckling adventure novels, Dumas produced a prolific body of work that continues to thrill readers around the world today. An abbreviated version of one of his most famous novels, “Le Comte de Monte Cristo” [“The Count of Monte Cristo,” 1844-’45], is included [spoiler-free!] in today’s Doodle artwork. On this day in 1884, the Parisian newspaper Les Journal des Débats [[The Journal of Debates) published the first installment of the novel, which appeared serially in the publication through 1846.

Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was born in 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts, France. He later took the name Alexandre Dumas, assuming the surname of his paternal grandmother Marie-Césette Dumas who was a woman of African descent and a slave in Saint-Domingue [present-day Haiti]. As a child, Dumas was regaled with stories of his late father’s exploits as a general, elements of which later found their way into some of the writer’s most famous works.

Dumas moved to Paris in 1822 and became an accomplished playwright before he hit upon monumental success with his action-packed serialized novels of the 1840s, including “Les Troi Mousquetaires” [“The Three Musketeers,” 1844]. Today these works have made him one of the most popular French authors in the world, and his books have been translated into over 100 languages.
In the late 1980s, a long-lost Dumas novel was uncovered in Paris’ National Library of France. Titled “Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine” [“The Last Cavalier”], the book was finally published in 2005.

Merci, Alexandre Dumas, for all the excitement you’ve given to so many readers!

[9A]

Aug 29, 2009
Birthday of Michael Jackson






Michael Joseph Jackson [August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009] was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance, fashion, and philanthropy, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. He influenced artists across many genres, and through stage and video performances, popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, and the robot. He is the most awarded music artist in history.

[9A]

May 16, 2018

Tamara de Lempika's 120th Birthday

I live life in the margins of society, and the rules of normal society don't apply to those who live on the fringe."-Tamara de Lempicka

Today’s Doodle celebrates Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka, who made a career out of subverting expectations and in doing so, developed her distinct style in the Art Deco era.

Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1898, Lempicka’s love for art started at an early age. As a young child, she spent a summer in Italy with her grandmother, who inspired her love for great Italian Renaissance painters. Upon her parents divorce, she was sent to live with her wealthy aunt in Russia. It was during this time that Lempicka was exposed to the lives of nobility as well as her future husband, Tadeusz Lempicki.

Shortly after their marriage, the Russian Revolution began and Lempicka, now a refugee, moved from St. Petersburg to Paris. It was there, at the height of post-cubism, where she began her formal artistic training under the influence of French painters Maurice Denis and André Lhote.

Internalizing her grandiose and decorative surroundings, Lempicka went on to produce exquisite tributes to the Roaring Twenties in her own unique way, utilizing a blend of late neoclassical and refined cubist styles in her art. Her affinity for the luxurious also led her to fixate on portraits of artists, stars, and aristocrats, which coupled with her considerable charm and exotic lifestyle, lit up the art world and social circles of the period.

Today’s Doodle by Doodler Matthew Cruickshank pays homage to Lempicka’s unique style. Cruickshank shares:

“Few artists embodied the exuberant roaring twenties more than Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka. Her fast paced, opulent lifestyle manifests itself perfectly into the stylized Art-Deco subjects she celebrated in her paintings. I first encountered Lempicka's work at her Royal Academy show in London, 2004. I was struck by the scale and skill of her paintings coupled with her life [as colorful as her work!]. I chose to place a portrait of Lempicka in my design with accompanying motifs evocative of the roaring '20s and '30s. It's no easy feat to recreate any artists work - but I hope to have done so here.”

Happy 120th birthday, Tamara de Lempicka!

[9A]

Feb 28, 2020

Sir John Tenniel's 200th Birthday

“‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ [said Alice].
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.”
—Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland”

Don’t be late for today’s very important date! That is, the 200th birthday of British illustrator and artist Sir John Tenniel, celebrated by today’s Doodle. Tenniel is one of the most highly-regarded Victorian illustrators and painters, and is perhaps best remembered for bringing to life the characters of Lewis Carroll’s timeless “Alice in Wonderland” series.

Tenniel was born in London on this day in 1820, and his talent was clear from a young age. At just 16, the mostly self-taught artist submitted his first work, an oil painting, for exhibition at the Society of British Artists. Tenniel found his calling as an illustrator in 1850 when he became a political cartoonist with the historic weekly magazine Punch. Tenniel developed a distinctive style, due in part to his near-photographic memory.

It was this unique approach that most likely caught the attention of writer and professor Charles Dodgson, whose pen name was Lewis Carroll. After an introduction in 1864, Tenniel agreed to illustrate Carroll’s new book, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” released the following year.

Thus began a highly successful, if strained, creative partnership that continued with “Through the Looking Glass” in 1872. The result: a series of classic characters, such as Alice and the Cheshire Cat, as depicted in the Doodle artwork’s rendition of their iconic meeting—characters who, along with many others, remain beloved by readers of all ages to this day.

After his work with Caroll, Tenniel never accepted another illustration job again; instead, he returned to his political cartoon work at Punch. For his considerable contributions to both the magazine and “Alice in Wonderland,” Tenniel received a knighthood in 1893.

Tenniel’s illustrations have animated the imaginations of children and adults alike for generations. His legacy continues to thrive, as readers cherish these timeless works of art to this day.

[9A]

Feb 28, 2011

Li Bai's Birthday



Li Bai [ 701–762], also known as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai [Chinese: 太白], art name Qinglian Jushi [Chinese: 青蓮居士]. was a Chinese poet acclaimed from his own day to the present as a genius and a romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du Fu [712–770] were the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the Tang dynasty, which is often called the "Golden Age of Chinese Poetry". The expression "Three Wonders" denotes Li Bai's poetry, Pei Min's swordplay, and Zhang Xu's calligraphy.

Around a thousand poems attributed to him are extant. His poems have been collected into the most important Tang dynasty poetry anthology Heyue yingling ji, compiled in 753 by Yin Fan, and thirty-four of his poems are included in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, which was first published in the 18th century.^{[citation needed]} In the same century, translations of his poems began to appear in Europe. The poems were models for celebrating the pleasures of friendship, the depth of nature, solitude, and the joys of drinking wine. Among the most famous are "Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day", "The Hard Road to Shu", and "Quiet Night Thought", which still appear in school texts in China. In the West, multilingual translations of Li's poems continue to be made. His life has even taken on a legendary aspect, including tales of drunkenness, chivalry, and the well-known fable that Li drowned when he reached from his boat to grasp the moon's reflection in the river while drunk.

[9A]

August 19, 2011

George Enescu's 130th Birthday






George Enescu, known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian musician. Enescu is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history; he was a composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, and teacher. He is featured on the Romanian five lei.

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Aug 23, 2011Alois Jirásek's 160th Birthday




Alois Jirásek was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a high school history teacher in Litomyšl and later in Prague until his retirement in 1909. He wrote a series of historical novels imbued with faith in his nation and in progress toward freedom and justice. He was close to many important Czech personalities like M.Aleš, J.V. Sládek, K.V. Rais or Z.J. Nejedlý. He attended an art club in Union Cafe with them. He worked as a redactor in Zvon magazine and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1918, 1919, 1921 and 1930.

[9A]

July 23, 2018

Ludwig Sutterlin's 153rd Birthday






Today’s Doodle has the “write” stuff and celebrates German graphic artist and font designer Ludwig Sütterlin for creating the Sütterlinschrift, a unified, kid-friendly script that revolutionized the way Prussian and German school children learned to write from 1915-1941.

At the request of the Prussian Ministry of Culture in 1911, Sütterlin developed a handwriting style that would be easier for beginners to use, especially with the steel-spring pen, a modern invention quickly replacing goose-feather quills dipped in ink. As a result, young students could enjoy simple letters, reduced smudging, and fewer reprimands by teachers. Though forbidden by the National Socialists in 1941, Sütterlinschrift was reintroduced and remained as optional in schools until the 1960s so children could read letters from parents or grandparents.

Sütterlin was also a prolific graphic artist and craftsman who designed Art Deco glassware [as depicted in today’s Doodle], iconic promotions like the “Hammer Poster” for the 1896 Berlin Trade Fair, and notable trademarks like the “Goddess of Light” for the AEG electrical company.

Happy 153rd birthday, Ludwig Sütterlin!

[9A]

July 23, 2010

Peder Severin Kroyer




Peder Severin Krøyer , also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter.

Krøyer's best known and best-loved work is entitled Summer Evening on Skagen's Southern Beach with Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer, 1893. He painted many beach scenes featuring both recreation life on the beach [bathers, strollers], and local fishermen.Another popular work is Midsummer Eve Bonfire on Skagen Beach, 1906. This large-scale work features a great crowd of the artistic and influential Skagen community gathered around a large bonfire on the beach on Saint John's Eve [Midsummer Eve].

Both of these works are in the permanent collection of the Skagens Museum which is dedicated to that community of artists, including those who gathered around Krøyer, a great organizer and bon vivant.

[9A]

July 5, 2020
Hwang Hye-seong's 100th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the 100th birthday of Korean professor and culinary researcher Hwang Hye-seong. Hwang is widely credited with the preservation and popularization of the traditions of Korean royal cuisine that evolved for hundreds of years under the Joseon Dynasty.

Born on this day in 1920, Hwang Hye-seong attended high school in Fukuoka, Japan before returning to Korea to pursue a career in education. She went on to become a professor of gastronomy and took an interest in the little-studied field of Korean royal court cuisine.

Hwang’s studies brought her to the Nakseonjae complex in Seoul, the home of the last living queen of the Joseon Dynasty. There, she met Han Hui-sun, the only remaining court lady who had worked in the royal kitchen.

Dedicated to the protection of the Joseon traditions against the sands of time, Hwang spent decades learning from Han. She scrupulously documented nearly everything there was to know about the royal culinary practices under the dynasty, from the arrangement of table-setting—a process depicted in today's Doodle—to the terminology used by the royal family. Thanks to Hwang’s efforts, in 1970, the South Korean government named the royal cuisine of the Joseon Dynasty an Important Intangible Cultural Property, and in 1973 Hwang was honored as its official skill holder.

Today, Hwang’s passion has been carried on by her four children, all of whom followed her footsteps into culinary careers.

[9A]

July 5, 2018
Venezuela Independence Day 2018





From the beaches of Margarita Island to the villages of the Andes mountains, Venezuela National Day is celebrated with fireworks and most importantly, family. Today’s Doodle celebrates Venezuela’s festive culture with a couple in traditional garb dancing the joropo.

A lively dance derived from the Spanish fandango, joropo developed into a distinctly Venezuelan fusion of South American and Caribbean influences. Widely considered Venezuela’s national dance, the joropo is usually accompanied by stringed instruments — guitars, harps, and the cuatro — a four-stringed Venezuelan guitar played by cuatristas.

Dancing joropo on this day also comes in handy to work off the calories from feasting on some of the country’s traditional dishes including: arepas, plantains, griddled white cheese, and the national dish: pabellon criollo — beans, rice, plantains, and spicy shredded beef with an egg on top. On Independence Day it’s often plated to look just like the national flag!

¡Feliz día de la independencia, Venezuela!

[9A]

November 8, 2019
Claudio Bravo Camus' 83rd Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the esteemed Chilean artist Claudio Bravo Camus, who fused the classical technique of Spanish Baroque painters with a touch of Salvador Dali-esque surrealism.

Born in Valparaíso on this day in 1936, Bravo grew up on a ranch in Melipilla. After dancing for the Compañia de Ballet de Chile and acting at the Catholic University of Chile, he applied his talents to visual arts. Despite his father’s objections, the largely self-taught artist persisted, displaying his paintings at a well-known Valparaíso gallery by the age of 17.

In the 1960s Bravo moved to Spain and became a portrait painter with prominent clients, including the family of General Francisco Franco and Philippine leaders Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. His 1970 exhibition at New York’s Staempfli Gallery featured large still-lifes of mysteriously mundane objects painted in a vivid, technically flawless style reminiscent of masters like Velázquez. Upon moving to Tangier, Morocco, Bravo expanded his repertoire to animal portraits and landscapes.

Bravo’s work was sometimes compared to so-called photo-realist painters, but he did not work from photographs. “Always I have relied on the actual subject matter,” he said, mentioning Mark Rothko’s abstract color-field paintings as an influence. “The eye sees so much more than the camera: half tones, shadows, minute changes in the color or light.”

The Doodle artwork focuses on his iconic series of mysterious packages wrapped in paper and tied with string, which brought him notoriety starting in the 1960s. The canvases blend a Pop Art sensibility with Claudio’s mastery of trompe-l'oeil painting so realistic it can “trick the eye.”

A 1994 retrospective of Bravo’s work at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago attracted over a quarter of a million visitors.

[9A]

July 20, 2020

Celebrating Dilhan Eryurt






Today’s Doodle celebrates a star in the field of astronomy, Turkish astrophysicist Dr. Dilhan Eryurt. She was the first Turkish woman to work as a scientist at NASA, and her research on the evolution of stars led to an unexpected discovery about the history of the solar system. On this day in 1969, Dr. Eryurt was honored with NASA’s prestigious “Apollo Achievement Award” for her contribution to the moon landing that year.

Dilhan Eryurt was born in İzmir, Turkey, on November 29, 1926. After high school, she studied in the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Istanbul University, and then earned a PhD in Astrophysics from Ankara University in 1953. In 1961, Dr. Eryurt began work as the only woman at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in New York.

At the time, the leading scientific model suggested that the sun had been heating up over billions of years to reach its current temperature. Dr. Eryurt’s work helped show that in fact the sun used to be even hotter than it is today. This transformative discovery had huge implications for the chemical makeup of the Earth, as well as the conditions astronauts could expect to find on the Moon.

After Dr. Eryurt returned to Turkey, she established an astrophysics department at the Middle East Technical University, where she went on to become the dean of the faculty. In 1977, she was honored with Turkey’s TÜBİTAK Science Award.

Thank you, Dr. Dilhan Eryurt, for casting a bright light on the mysteries of the universe!

[9A]

July 20, 2015

Giorgio Morandi’s 125th Birthday







If any twentieth century artist’s work embodied the beauty of simplicity, it was Giorgio Morandi’s. Known for his still life and landscape paintings, the Italian artist helped usher in a new period of minimalism after completing more than 1300 paintings over his career. He perfected his art on a similar set of bottles and vases, creating a soothing sense of balance that few artists have mastered.

You can see some of Giorgio Morandi’s most classic work on the Google Cultural Institute.
Like Morandi might have wanted, Doodler Kevin Laughlin chose a simple composition for today’s Doodle, striving to emulate the painter’s compositional style and characteristically formal placement of objects in the frame. After settling on a proper arrangement of bottles and jars that would evoke the Google logo, Kevin dusted off his glass palette in a vain attempt to pay tribute to those tactile qualities of corporeal paint that Morandi’s paintings were known for.

[9A]

July 20, 2015

Colombia National Day 2015




Today’s Doodle by Robinson Wood includes the country’s national flower, the endangered yet enduring Flor de Mayo orchid. With 4,270 species nationwide, Colombia is home to the greatest diversity of orchids in the world; an incredible 1,752 of them are unique to the country

[9A]

August 29, 2004

2004 Athens Olympic Games - Closing Ceremony

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September 20, 2020

Children's Day 2020 [September 20]

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September 20, 2000

2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney - Track & Field

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September 20, 2019

Rugby World Cup 2019 Opening Day






Today’s Doodle celebrates the Opening Day of the Rugby World Cup, kicking off today inside Tokyo’s Ajinomoto Stadium. Held every four years since 1987, this year is the first time in history that the tournament will be held in Asia, with a match between host country Japan and Russia.

Twenty teams are competing this year for a chance to bring home the Webb Ellis Cup, named after a 19th century schoolboy in the British Midlands town of Rugby, Warwickshire. “With a fine disregard for the rules of the game as played in his time,” as one historian wrote, William Webb Ellis grabbed the ball and ran with it, innovating a centuries-old game that would come to be known as modern rugby.

Defending champions New Zealand have won the Webb Ellis Cup three times, Australia and South Africa twice, and England once in 2003.

Best of luck to all the competing teams!

[9A]

November 13, 2017

Humayun Ahmed’s 69th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the life of prolific Bangla writer, Humayun Ahmed, who would have turned 69 today. Although formally trained as a chemist, Ahmed found his true calling as a writer. He authored over 200 books, many of which were best sellers and eight of which were made into film
Ahmed is often credited with revitalising Bengali literature. His unique storytelling style captures the oral tradition and rhythm at the root of Bangla, bringing to life the stories and aspirations of traditional middle class and rural families.

A nature lover, Ahmed found refuge in his estate of Nuhash Polli, a wonderland he designed himself and where he collected statues, flora, and fauna from all over the world. Today’s Doodle imagines Ahmed at his estate, meeting with Himu, a much-loved character from his novels who preferred the life of a vagabond and walked everywhere!

Happy Birthday, Humayun!

[9A]

November 13, 2009

Discovery of Water on the Moon





One question that us doodlers answer pretty often is "how long does it take to draw a doodle?"
Well, sometimes it takes a few weeks [since we talk to local experts on the relevance and appropriateness of our work], other times we have a year to think about a doodle [Halloween, for example, happens every year], and then there are occasions like this doodle. The discovery of water on the moon was a fun project because I had about four hours to work on this from start to finish. I was sitting at my desk at 9 am, Pacific time, when I stumbled on an article about this current event. I quickly sent the article to my team and, by the time I was about to take a bite out of my lunch, I received a call to have this doodle sketched, drafted, finished, and live on all our homepages in four hours. It was an exciting day for a doodler and the world of science!

posted by Jennifer Hom

[9A]

March 2, 2019

Desi Arnaz’s 102nd Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and legacy of Desi Arnaz, the Cuban-born American actor, musician, comedian, and producer best known for playing Ricky Ricardo in the 1950s hit sitcom I Love Lucy.

Desiderio Alberto Arnaz III was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917, where he spent his childhood before immigrating to the United States during the Cuban Revolution. After arriving in America without a penny to his name, the young Arnaz worked hard to eventually find success as a musician. A major turning point in his career came after he landed a role in the 1939 Broadway production Too Many Girls as well as a film adaptation of the same play just one year later. It was on this set that he met his co-star, future wife, and lifelong friend Lucille Ball.

In 1950, after advancing his career as both an actor and a musician, both Arnaz and Ball pitched CBS on what would eventually become the hit American TV sitcom I Love Lucy. Network executives were initially concerned that Arnaz’s accent would affect his credibility as Ball’s husband, so the pair produced a pilot with their own money, ultimately winning support for the creation of the show.

I Love Lucy ran from 1951 to 1957 and was the most popular TV show in America for four of its six prime-time seasons. At one point, it attracted an estimated 44 million viewers for a single episode—more than watched the inauguration of President Eisenhower! As part of their production deal, Arnaz and Ball retained all rights to the content, enabling them to sell the series into syndication.

Today, Arnaz is widely considered a trailblazer in the American entertainment industry, even being credited with inventing the rerun. In 1956 he won a Golden Globe for Best Television Achievement, an award which recognized his impact on American comedy both in front AND behind the camera. He was also awarded not one, but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to both Television and Motion Pictures.

Here’s to Desi Arnaz, whose beaming joy and laughter continues to bring delight to living rooms and viewers around the globe.

[9A]

March 2, 2009


Dr. Seuss' 105th Birthday





Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American children's author, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator, and filmmaker. He is known for his work writing and illustrating more than 60 books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. His work includes many of the most popular children's books of all time, selling over 600 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death.

Geisel adopted the name "Dr. Seuss" as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College and as a graduate student at Lincoln College, Oxford. He left Oxford in 1927 to begin his career as an illustrator and cartoonist for Vanity Fair, Life, and various other publications. He also worked as an illustrator for advertising campaigns, most notably for FLIT and Standard Oil, and as a political cartoonist for the New York newspaper PM. He published his first children's book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street in 1937. During World War II, he took a brief hiatus from children's literature to illustrate political cartoons, and he also worked in the animation and film department of the United States Army where he wrote, produced or animated many productions including Design for Death, which later won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

[9A]

August 14, 2018

27th Anniversary of Bunaken National Park







The Indonesian government set aside five islands and surrounding waters in 1991, providing protection to the 58 different types of coral and more than 90 species of fish located in Bunaken National Park. Located to the north of the island of Sulawesi, Bunaken National Park is a place where Hawksbill turtles forage on reefs amid colorful schools of damselfish, clownfish, angelfish, and a dazzling array of marine dwellers.

Spectacular sea creatures are not the only inhabitants of the 280-square-mile marine park, located in the northern part of Sulawesi province. There are some 20,000 human beings, most of whom rely on fishing for at least part of their daily nutrition. Groupers, snappers, and napoleon wrasse feed along the vast coral walls that contain an impressive amount of biodiversity—nearly 70% percent of the marine species found in this part of the world.

Although illegal fishing still occurs, and coral is vulnerable to climate change, the Indonesian government applied for the park to be listed as one of UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, which provides additional protections. Indonesian schools educate students about the fragility of the ecosystem they live within, ensuring that future generations

[9A]

August 14, 2008

2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Basketball

[9A]

December 5, 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!

[9A]

December 5, 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.

[9A]

December 5, 2013

Fyodor Tutchev's 210th Birthday






Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev 1803 – July 27 was a Russian poet and diplomat.

The 200 or so lyric pieces which represent the core of his poetic genius, whether describing a scene of nature or passions of love, put a premium on metaphysics. Tyutchev's world is bipolar. He commonly operates with such categories as night and day, north and south, dream and reality, cosmos and chaos, still world of winter and spring teeming with life. Each of these images is imbued with specific meaning. Tyutchev's idea of night, for example, was defined by critics as "the poetic image often covering economically and simply the vast notions of time and space as they affect man in his struggle through life". In the chaotic and fathomless world of "night", "winter", or "north" man feels himself tragically abandoned and lonely. Hence, a modernist sense of frightening anxiety permeates his poetry. Unsurprisingly, it was not until the late 19th and early 20th century that Tyutchev was rediscovered and hailed as a great poet by the Russian Symbolists such as Vladimir Solovyov, Andrey Bely and Alexander Blok.

[9A]

November 25, 2019

Ani Idrus’ 101st Birthday


Today’s Doodle celebrates fearless Indonesian journalist and activist Ani Idrus on her 101st birthday. Co-founding one of the longest-running Indonesian daily newspapers in 1947 and still active today, Waspada, Idrus became a leading force in the nation’s journalism, education, and politics.

Born on this day in 1918 in Western Sumatra, Idrus’ life left a wake of tremendous change. Establishing herself as a journalist in the 1930s, she went on to publish Waspada just before Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch. Idrus also served as a foreign correspondent for over a decade before releasing the first edition of a popular women’s magazine. In 1988, in recognition of her accomplishments in journalism, Idrus won the Satya Press Award.

As a member of the Young Indonesia political movement, Idrus’ activism continued to develop. She attended Indonesia’s First Women’s Congress, which led her to chair the North Sumatra Women's Front and became Deputy Secretary-General of the North Sumatra National Front.

Closely tied to Idrus’ dedication to causes that benefited Indonesian women was her push to improve education throughout the country. Her impact on the education system is marked by the opening of eight schools, the establishment of the Ani Idrus Education Foundation [YPAI], as well as her service as Chairperson of the Waspada Soccer School.

Commemorated with a stamp in 2004, Idrus’ life encapsulates her mission to improve the lives of Indonesians throughout the archipelago, especially those of women and children. It may be impossible to know just how many lives were positively affected by her tireless efforts in journalism, education, or politics, but her work stands as a monument to her principles.

[9A]

November 25, 2019

Madeleine Brès’ 177th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates French doctor Madeleine Brès on her 177th birthday. As the first French woman to graduate medical school and become a doctor of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris in 1875, she made groundbreaking contributions to women’s health and pediatrics.

A native of Bouillargues, just outside Nîmes, Brès found her passion for medicine at the age of eight. As a volunteer at a local hospital, she learned basic medical treatments from one of the nuns on staff.

After a number of years in Paris, Brès approached the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, Charles-Adolphe Wurtz, to advocate for her enrollment in a doctoral program. Despite not having a formal higher education, Brès’ application was accepted, and she was encouraged to attain the proper qualifications before admission. As a self-taught student, Brès passed her baccalauréat exam and enrolled at the University of Paris [known as the Sorbonne] as a medical student in 1868.

Brès successfully defended her thesis, De la Mamelle et de l'allaitement [Of Breasts and Breastfeeding], in 1875. At a time where wet nurses were employed by women of means, her work advocated for and encouraged natural breastfeeding.

Brès then started her own practice in Paris, focusing on gynecological and pediatric medicine. Her facility remained open for almost 40 years, often eliminating costs for working women and instructed new mothers on proper infant care.

In 1883, Brès directed a medical journal entitled L'Hygiène de la Femme et de l'Enfant [[Hygiene of the Woman and the Child), educating women on their own biology, as well as on childcare and disease containment.

Madeleine Brès was a trailblazer in French medicine and continues today to be a model for all those aspiring towards a career in medicine.

[9A]

July 6, 2017

Teachers' Day 2017 [Perú]

[9A]

July 6, 2021

Shusaku Arakawa's 85th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 85th birthday of Japanese-American author, conceptual artist, and trans-humanist architect Shusaku Arakawa. Together with his wife, Arakawa chased a philosophical quest for immortality through experimental paintings, literature, and, at the grandest scale, architectural oddities—a concept coined Reversible Destiny.

Shusaku Arakawa was born on this day in 1936 in Nagoya, Japan. His early life was defined by mathematics and medicine studies before he pursued surrealist painting at Tokyo’s Musashino Art University. As an early adopter of the international conceptual art movement, he joined similarly minded artists after his 1961 move to New York City. Soon after, Shusako met a poet who became his lifelong artistic collaborator and spouse: Madeline Gins.

In 1963, the couple began the ambitious “The Mechanism of Meaning” series—an assemblage of 83 large panel paintings crafted with the aim of investigating the mysteries of human consciousness that required over a decade to bring to fruition. Global exhibitions of the masterwork funded the couple’s next lofty endeavor: extending life expectancy by fostering a novel relationship with the built world called “procedural architecture.” They hypothesized that engaging residents with challenging interior designs, such as steep and uneven floor plans, would boost immunity and fight aging by promoting an active and thoughtful relationship with one’s surroundings. Their first residential works of procedural architecture can be found at Reversible Destiny Lofts, a complex in Tokyo and the inspiration for today’s Doodle artwork.

Arakawa and Gins devoted their lives to designing an architectural fountain of youth and founded multiple institutions to advance this project, including the Reversible Destiny Foundation. Today, several installations of their eccentric architecture remain open to the public, such as the Reversible Destiny Lofts. This renown project comprises a brightly colored residential complex in Tokyo that served as the couple’s first work of procedural architecture, which they dedicated to Helen Keller.

Happy birthday, Shusaku Arakawa!

[9A]

October 21, 2017

Nain Singh Rawat’s 187th Birthday







For much of the 19th century, Europe played the Great Game. Explorers vied with each other to map the geographical vastness of Central Asia and understand its people and customs. Knowledge was essential to political success, but Europeans were not welcome everywhere.

A thirst for knowledge and the need for secrecy led to the creation of pandits, a select group of highly educated and brave local men trained in geographical exploration.

Prominent among these was Nain Singh Rawat, the first man to survey Tibet, determining the exact location and altitude of Lhasa, mapping the Tsangpo, and describing in mesmerizing detail fabled sites such as the gold mines of Thok Jalung.

Disguised as a Tibetan monk, he walked from his home region of Kumaon to places as far as Kathmandu, Lhasa, and Tawang. He maintained a precisely measured pace, covering one mile in 2000 steps, and measured those steps using a rosary. He hid a compass in his prayer wheel and mercury in cowrie shells and even disguised travel records as prayers.

Today’s Doodle by Hari & Deepti Panicker is a silhouette diorama illustration, portraying Nain Singh Rawat as he might have looked on his travels — solitary and courageous, looking back over the distances he had walked, rosary beads in hand, and staff by his side. Oh, the wonders he must have seen!

[9A]

October 21, 2013

Celia Cruz's 88th Birthday




Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso [21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003], known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of guarachas, earning the nickname "La Guarachera de Cuba". In the following decades, she became known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" due to her contributions to Latin music in the United States.


She began her career in her native Cuba, earning recognition as a vocalist of the popular musical group Sonora Matancera, a musical association that lasted fifteen years [1950-1965]. Cruz mastered a wide variety of Afro-Cuban music styles including guaracha, rumba, afro, son and bolero, recording numerous singles in these styles for Seeco Records. In 1960, after the Cuban Revolution caused the nationalization of the music industry, Cruz left her native country, becoming one of the symbols and spokespersons of the Cuban community in exile. Cruz continued her career, first in Mexico, and then in the United States, the country that she took as her definitive residence. In the 1960s, she collaborated with Tito Puente, recording her signature tune "Bemba colorá". In the 1970s, she signed for Fania Records and became strongly associated with the salsa genre, releasing hits such as "Quimbara". She often appeared live with Fania All-Stars and collaborated with Johnny Pacheco and Willie Colón. During the last years of her career, Cruz continued to release successful songs such as "La vida es un carnaval" and "La negra tiene tumbao".

Her musical legacy is made up of a total of 37 studio albums, as well as numerous live albums and collaborations. Throughout her career, she was awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including two Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. In addition to her prolific career in music, Cruz also made several appearances as an actress in movies and telenovelas. Her catchphrase "¡Azúcar!" ["Sugar!"] has become one of the most recognizable symbols of salsa music.







Celia Cruz - Queen of Salsa

[9A]

October 21, 2012

Jonas Maciulis-Maironis' 150th Birthday






Maironis [born Jonas Mačiulis, 2 November 1862 – 28 June 1932] is one of the most famous Lithuanian poets and was also a Catholic priest and educator.

Maironis wrote numerous poems. Some of them are contained in his most famous collection of poems, Pavasario Balsai [The Voices of Spring]. Later Maironis went to Russia again, where he studied at St. Petersburg Catholic Theological Academy.

[9A]

October 21, 2011

Mary Blair's 100th Birthday





I was greatly honored for the opportunity to create a doodle for Mary Blair's 100th birthday. Not to mention somewhat intimidated! Her work was and continues to be a major source of inspiration for a large number of artists working in animation, illustration, and fine art... and the Google Doodle team. So there was some pressure to get it right!

Of course, for all her technical mastery, from her wonderful color schemes to her deceptively simple shapes and compositions, what I've always admired most about her work is the sense of joy that went into making each picture. As a viewer, I can't help but sense that childlike enthusiasm and smile in response. This was Mary's ultimate goal, as she wrote in a letter to her husband, to "live to be happy and paint to express our happiness," and it's a goal very similar to our own as Doodlers -- to inspire happiness in our users when they see something new and unexpected on the Google homepage.