Google doodles

[9A]

9 Jul 2015

Argentina National Day 2015





In May of 1810, the region now called Argentina was gripped by revolution. The uprising there marked the beginning of South America’s separation from the Kingdom of Spain, and on July 9th, 1816, a council of deputies assembled in San Miguel de Tucumán declared Argentina an independent nation.

Today’s Doodle draws inspiration from Argentina’s national flower, the Ceibo, whose spectacular blooming period is known the world over. Artist Robinson Wood was struck by the way its curves and recesses trap and play with light, creating deep, shadowy hues of pink and red. Behind the Ceibo blossoms spread the fiery tendrils of the Sun of May--a symbol of the May Revolution of 1810 and the centerpiece of the Argentine flag.

[9A]

9 July 2014

Argentina Independence Day 2014

[9A]

9 July 2021

Argentina Independence Day 2021




Today’s Doodle celebrates Argentina’s Independence Day. On this day in 1816, a group of regional leaders assembled in the city of Tucumán to proclaim the South American nation’s freedom.

If you plan on celebrating Independence Day in true Argentinian fashion, get ready for a day full of huge portions of traditional food and drink. Authentic feasting for today’s festivities isn’t complete without “locro,” a robust stew consisting of beans, corn, squash, potato, and varieties of meat. Traditionally served piping hot, locro is a perfect meal for keeping celebrants warm, as Independence Day falls in the midst of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.

The go-to Argentinian beverage is “mate,” a caffeine-rich tea depicted brewing in the Doodle artwork. Approximately 98% of the nation’s citizens keep this caffeine-rich tea stocked at home, and it's estimated that most Argentines consume close to 14 pounds annually!


Happy Independence Day, Argentina!

[9A]

10 May 2019

Minarni Soedarjanto’s 75th Birthday








Today’s Doodle salutes international badminton champion Minarni Soedarjanto, hailed in her Indonesian homeland as "Queen of all badminton queens."

Born in Pasuruan, East Java, on this day in 1944, Soedarjanto began competing at the age of 13 and went on to win her first title at the 1959 National Championship in Malang at the age of 15. That same year, she was chosen for the Indonesian national team, competing in the world’s top badminton tournament for women, the Uber Cup.

Although Indonesia was defeated in 1960, Soedarjanto won singles and doubles titles for many years, including a historic win in the sport’s oldest tournament, the All-England. Teaming up with Retno Koestijah, Soedarjanto won Indonesia’s first All England title in 1968. She also went on to victory at the 1969 U.S. Open and Canada Open that same year.

Soedarjanto was part of Indonesian teams that competed for the Uber Cup trophy in 1963, 1966, and 1969—but unfortunately came up short every time. "It's hard to just leave, considering it's been 23 years playing badminton," she said in a 1972 interview. By 1975 she was a player-coach and mother of three, but refused to retire without fulfilling her goal. Finally, she beat perennial powerhouse Japan, winning Indonesia’s first Uber cup which was the last title of her illustrious career.

Thanks for paving the way, and happy 75th birthday, Minarni Soedarjanto!

[9A]

10 May 2011

Zhang Daqian's 112th Birthday






Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqianwas one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua [traditionalist] painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter. In addition, he is regarded as one of the most gifted master forgers of the twentieth century.

[9A]

5 Jun 2011

Richard Scarry's 92nd Birthday






I had a lot of fun working with the folks at Random House — including one of Richard Scarry's actual art directors, as well as his son, Huck — to create an original pencil and watercolor piece depicting Busytown.

Scarry's technique allowed him to work pretty loosely with his watercolors, and he'd frequently paint off-register, that is, not quite up to [or way beyond] the line drawing. This gave his illustrations an even more lighthearted quality. In our case, it's Richard Scarry's Best Google Doodle Ever!

posted by Mike Dutton

[9A]

5 June 2013

Thomas Chippendale's 295th Birthday




Thomas Chippendale [1718–1779] was a cabinet-maker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director, upon which success he became renowned. The designs are regarded as representing the current British fashion for furniture of that period and are now reproduced globally. He was buried 16 November 1779, according to the records of St Martin-in-the-Fields, in the cemetery since built upon by the National Gallery. Chippendale furniture is much valued; a padouk cabinet that was offered for auction during 2008 sold for £2,729,250 [$3,775,914.65].

[9A]

20 November 2019

Maude ‘Lores’ Bonney’s 122nd Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates Australian aviator Maude Rose ‘Lores’ Bonney, who was the first woman to fly solo from Australia to England. A pioneer for women in aviation, she completed the 1933 journey in 157 hours of flight time, surviving a groundbreaking voyage fraught with peril as she flew through heavy storms, survived two crashes, and had an encounter with a herd of water buffalo.

A flight with her husband’s cousin in 1928 sparked her desire to become a pilot. By 1931, Lores had dedicated herself to flying, embarking on her first solo flight in a Gipsy Moth biplane named My Little Ship. A record-breaking first flight, it took Lores nearly 15 hours to fly south from Brisbane, Queensland, to meet her father for dinner in Wangaratta, Victoria.

Lores continued to push the boundaries for aviators with each successive flight, and in 1937, Lores became the first person to fly solo from Australia to her birthplace of South Africa.

With her honorary doctorate from Griffith University, confirmation as a Member of the Order of the British Empire [MBE] and a Member of the Order of Australia [AM], as well as a Queensland electoral district named after her, Lores’ achievements serve to inspire pilots of the future. Unlike Lores, however, today’s pilots have access to a radio and won’t have to do their own maintenance to get to their destination.

[9A]

5 March 2018

Celebrating the Edelweiss Flower





Today's Doodle celebrates Leontopodium nivale – more commonly known as the edelweiss flower – which for centuries has beckoned soldiers, hikers, and other adventurers from the slopes of the highest mountains of Europe. The name edelweiss was first found in writing on this date in 1784, and is a direct German translation of the words ‘noble’ and ‘white’.

The flower only blooms in the summer months of June through September. Its characteristic double-star shape and wooly-white texture make it highly recognizable both in nature and in folklore.

Embarking on a quest to find the edelweiss requires bravery, determination, and a little bit of luck. Romance is also a central theme in the story of this flower because its white blooms are thought to represent deep love and devotion. In fact, the gift of an edelweiss was once the equivalent of giving an engagement ring, a true sign of adoration and faithfulness.

Once on the brink of extinction, the edelweiss is no longer at risk, and blooms more and more across the mountainous landscape of Europe.

Today’s Doodle was created by Kassel-based artist Rita Fürstenau and depicts the edelweiss flower in a traditional cross-stitch design.

[9A]

5 March 2014

Giambattista Tiepolo's 318th Birthday [born 1696]



Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. He was prolific, and worked not only in Italy, but also in Germany and Spain.

Successful from the beginning of his career, he has been described by Michael Levey as "the greatest decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, as well as its most able craftsman."

[9A]

5 March 2012

Heitor Vila Lobos' 125th Birthday




Heitor Villa-Lobos [March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959] was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known South American composer of all time. A prolific composer, he wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works, totaling over 2000 works by his death in 1959. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and by stylistic elements from the European classical tradition, as exemplified by his Bachianas Brasileiras [Brazilian Bachian-pieces] and his Chôros. His Etudes for classical guitar [1929] were dedicated to Andrés Segovia, while his 5 Preludes [1940] were dedicated to his spouse Arminda Neves d'Almeida, a.k.a. "Mindinha". Both are important works in the classical guitar repertory.

[9A]

5 March 2015

Momofuku Ando’s 105th Birthday




If you’ve ever needed to eat something quickly and cheaply, you may be familiar with this mantra:

"Peel off the lid.Pour boiling water into the cup.Let sit for three minutes.Stir well and serve.”

With these four simple steps, Taiwanese-Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando introduced to the world instant ramen, a dish that not only revolutionized food but also serves as a testament to what hard work and perseverance can achieve. Our doodle for the inventor’s 105th birthday showcases Momofuku’s efforts to make instant noodles, but don’t let the speed of the animations fool you – it took Ando years to figure out the recipe!

“It took 48 years of my life for me to come up with the idea of instant noodles. Each and every event in the past is connected to the present by invisible threads.”– Momofuku Ando

It was Ando’s passion and dedication that Doodler Sophie Diao wanted to get across in her artwork. Ando, a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first business at age 22, found the inspiration to his greatest success while walking through the streets of post-World War II Japan: People were waiting for hours in long lines, just for a comforting bowl of ramen. Realizing hunger was the most pressing issue facing Japan, he felt a desire to help the people of his country.

After months of hard work, Ando’s perseverance paid off. He eventually discovered that by flash-frying ramen noodles in tempura oil, tiny holes were created in the noodles that allowed them to cook nearly instantly once combined with hot water. It was a success, and customers were enthusiastic about the time they were saving. It was the first step to achieving Ando’s goal of ending world hunger.
Ando’s labor of love has had a lasting impact on people from all around the world, but he never let success stop him from working to improve instant ramen.In 1971, he introduced the world to Cup Noodles. Not stopping there, Ando then turned his focus toward inventing instant noodles that could be eaten in space. His rationale? “People have to eat no matter where they go, even outer space.” He was in his 90s when he debuted “Space Ram.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed this tasty homage to a great inventor and humanitarian, whose creativity and devotion to ending hunger have forever changed the way we eat. As Momofuku Ando said, “Mankind is noodlekind.”

[9A]

5 March 2015

Lantern Festival 2015






The Lantern Festival is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar. Usually falling in February or early March on the Gregorian calendar, it marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, it had become a festival with great significance.

During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns. In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals. The lanterns can symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting new ones, which they will let go of the next year. The lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.


Tangyuan or Yuanxiao

Eaten during the Lantern Festival, tangyuan '湯圓' [Southern China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia] or yuanxiao '元宵' [Northern China] is a glutinous rice ball typically filled with sweet red bean paste, sesame paste, or peanut butter. Actually, tangyuan is different from yuanxiao due to different manual making and filling processes. It can be boiled, fried or steamed, each has independent taste. However, they are very similar in shape and taste, so most people do not distinguish them for convenience and consider them as the same thing. Chinese people believe that the round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served symbolize family togetherness, and that eating tangyuan or yuanxiao may bring the family harmony, happiness and luck in the new year.

[9A]

5 March 2015

Gerardus Mercator’s 503rd Birthday





In 1569, cartographer Gerardus Mercator created the first map that portrayed sailing rhumbs as straight lines, a technical trait of great value to navigation. Our doodle in Belgium marks his 503rd birthday.

[9A]

5 March 2017

Samia Gamal’s 93rd Birthday





A child of 1920s Egypt, Samia Gamal went on to become a celebrated film actress, renowned for her belly dancing talents. Best known for Raqs Sharqi [Oriental dancing], she took inspiration from all styles of dance, from ballet to ballroom.

After establishing herself, it wasn’t too long before her talents were recognised and she was starring in films in her home country and abroad.

By the late 1940’s she was a huge star and was named “National Dancer of Egypt.” She continued to appear in numerous films into the ‘60s — an era that saw the star stepping out in New York and performing her fusion of Latin-style belly dancing.

On what would be her 93rd birthday, we celebrate Samia Gamal, an Egyptian icon whose talents are admired as much today by aspiring dancers and film fans as they were in the height of her fame.

[9A]

12 Mar 2017

Holi Festival 2017 [Nepal]




Today, the Google letters are taking on a fresh set of colors in honor of the Holi festival. Coinciding with the arrival of spring, the vibrant celebration looks a lot like the Doodle: people run around happily covering each other in a rainbow of powdery hues.

Amid the cloud of red, blue, yellow, green, and everything in between, festival-goers can often be found laughing, singing, and dancing in the streets. The joyous event, which takes place in Nepal and other countries around the world, traditionally marks the triumph of good over evil. It also gives family and friends a chance to simply come together, enjoying a spirited “Festival of Colors” that undoubtedly lives up to its name.

[9A]

12 March 2019

30th Anniversary of the World Wide Web





“Vague but exciting.”


This was how Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s boss responded to his proposal titled “Information Management: A Proposal,” submitted on this day in 1989, when the inventor of the World Wide Web was a 33-year-old software engineer. Initially, Berners-Lee envisioned "a large hypertext database with typed links,"named “Mesh,” to help his colleagues at CERN [a large nuclear physics laboratory in Switzerland] share information amongst multiple computers.

Berners-Lee’s boss allowed him time to develop the humble flowchart into a working model, writing the HTML language, the HTTP application, and WorldWideWeb.app— the first Web browser and page editor. By 1991, the external Web servers were up and running.

The Web would soon revolutionize life as we know it, ushering in the information age. Today, there are nearly 2 billion websites online. Whether you use it for email, homework, gaming, or checking out videos of cute puppies, chances are you can’t imagine life without the Web.

Not to be confused with the internet, which had been evolving since the 1960s, the World Wide Web is an online application built upon innovations like HTML language, URL “addresses,” and hypertext transfer protocol, or HTTP. The Web has also become a decentralized community, founded on principles of universality, consensus, and bottom-up design.

“There are very few innovations that have truly changed everything,” said Jeff Jaffe, CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium. “The Web is the most impactful innovation of our time.”


Happy 30th Anniversary to the World Wide Web!

[9A]

12 March 2013

Vladimir Vernadsky's 150th Birthday



Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky was a Russian and Soviet mineralogist and geochemist who is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology. He is also known as the founder of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences [now National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine].He is most noted for his 1926 book The Biosphere in which he inadvertently worked to popularize Eduard Suess' 1885 term biosphere, by hypothesizing that life is the geological force that shapes the earth. In 1943 he was awarded the Stalin Prize.

[9A]

14 March 2020

Mohammed Khadda’s 90th birthday





“The history of painting is tied to that of humanity,” said one of the founding fathers of Algerian contemporary painting Mohammed Khadda, who is celebrated in today’s Doodle.

Born on this day in 1930 in the Algerian port city of Mostaganem, Khadda developed a passion for art during his formative years working at a local printing press. The sketches and illustrations he drew for the company’s books instilled in him a deep appreciation for calligraphy and his Arab roots.

In his late teens, Khadda decided to formally hone his artistic skills at the School of Fine Arts in the neighboring city of Oran, learning a variety of new techniques, from watercolors to sculpture. In 1953, a journey across the Mediterranean beckoned his name, and Khadda left for Paris to pursue his artistic career.

The vibrant Parisian art community passed invaluable knowledge onto Khadda. Studying under prolific artists such as Pablo Picasso, he tactfully refined his expression in the years that led up to his 1960 debut. His paintings often showcased a blend of his African heritage with Western styles on canvasses featuring Arabic calligraphy meshed with his non-figurative abstract work. This distinct combination became Khadda’s calling card, and he gradually came to represent a new genre of Algerian artists.

After a decade abroad, Khadda moved back to newly independent Algeria, where he began to cultivate the talent of artists in his hometown. Khadda and his work continue to influence artists in Africa and beyond.

عيد ميلاد سعيد يا محمد الخدة!

[Happy birthday, Mohammed Khadda!]

[9A]

17 March 2021

Celebrating Charoen Krung Road




Today’s Doodle celebrates Charoen Krung Road, the very first paved road in Bangkok, which officially opened to travel on this day in 1864. Built alongside the banks of the Chao Phraya River, a tributary that flows through the heart of the city’s urban center, this historic thoroughfare paved the way for the modernization of the Thai capital, all while retaining the charm of its long and winding cultural history.

In the 1860s, the Bangkok economy relied mostly on its network of canals for trade. But as the Thai capital became home to foreign traders and their horse-drawn buggies, the city sought to revamp its water-based infrastructure to land transportation in order to meet the demands of international commerce. The local government answered with the 1862 construction of Charoen Krung, which loosely translates to “Prosperous City” but is also often referred to as the “New Road.”

Today, Charoen Krung serves as an asphalt artery that connects a melting pot of old and new in areas like Bangkok’s first “Creative District.” This riverside neighborhood features some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks such as the Old Customs House, where 19th century foreign traders paid taxes before entering and exiting the country, alongside an eclectic mix of everything from French bistros to international street murals. This intersection of modernity and history emphasizes how Charoen Krung has always been a progressive cultural center of Thailand; one that continues to clear the path for the ingenuity of the days to come.

Here’s to Bangkok’s oldest New Road!

[9A]

17 March 2011

150th Anniversary of Italian Unification





2011 was a big year for Italy! We joined them to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of their Reunification with this birthday cake doodle. Reunification was also the theme for Italy's Doodle 4 Google competition. To help spread the word about the event, the doodle team and Google's film department [Studio G] put together this little video.






posted by Mike Dutton

[9A]

20 December 2020

Remembering Sudan, the last male northern white rhino





Today’s Doodle remembers the last surviving male northern white rhinoceros, Sudan, who was known as an affectionate “gentle giant.” On this day in 2009, Sudan and three other northern white rhinos arrived at their new home in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya. Sudan, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 45 [the equivalent of 90 in human years], serves as a cherished symbol of ongoing rhino conservation efforts and a stark reminder of the danger of extinction that so many species face today.

Sudan was born in Shambe, in what is today, South Sudan in 1973 and is believed to be the last northern white rhino born in the wild. In 1976, he was taken to Dvůr Králové Zoo in then Czechoslovakia, where he grew to be 6 feet tall and a whopping 5,000 lbs [roughly the weight of a midsize car] and fathered two daughters.

In 2009, after the northern white rhino was declared extinct in the wild, four rhinos including Sudan, his daughter Najin, and his granddaughter Fatu were transferred back to their native African habitat. Conservationists hoped that the natural Kenyan environment of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy would encourage breeding among the rhinos, but within several years, veterinarians came to the conclusion that natural reproduction would most likely not be possible.

Yet there is still hope, as scientists work to develop in vitro fertilization techniques to save the subspecies from the brink of extinction. For now, Sudan’s legacy rests with Najin and Fatu, the world’s final two northern white rhinoceros.

[9A]

20 December 2010

Mehmet Akif Ersoy's Birthday






Mehmet Akif Ersoy [20 December 1873 – 27 December 1936] was a Turkish poet, writer, academic, politician, and the author of the Turkish National Anthem. Widely regarded as one of the premiere literary minds of his time, Ersoy is noted for his command of the Turkish language, as well as his patriotism and role in the Turkish War of Independence.

A framed version of the national anthem by Ersoy typically occupies the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of every public as well as most private schools around Turkey, along with a Turkish flag, a photograph of the country's founding father Atatürk, and a copy of Atatürk's speech to the nation's youth.

He currently has a university in his name in Burdur. Ersoy's portrait was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 lira banknotes of 1983–1989.

[9A]

20 December 2012

200th Anniversary of Grimm's Fairy Tales






The Brothers Grimm created countless folktales in their lifetime, but we chose to focus on just one-Red Riding Hood. Our initial concepts suggested an opportunity to try a comic book format where the viewer could pan through the story themselves. Ours is a contemporary take on the tale with flattened designs and an alternative ending!

[9A]

21 Dec 2012

End of the Mayan Calendar





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]

22 Dec 2012

Srinivasa Ramanujan's 125th Birthday







Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who lived during the British Rule in India. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. Ramanujan initially developed his own mathematical research in isolation: according to Hans Eysenck: "He tried to interest the leading professional mathematicians in his work, but failed for the most part. What he had to show them was too novel, too unfamiliar, and additionally presented in unusual ways; they could not be bothered". Seeking mathematicians who could better understand his work, in 1913 he began a postal correspondence with the English mathematician G. H. Hardy at the University of Cambridge, England. Recognizing Ramanujan's work as extraordinary, Hardy arranged for him to travel to Cambridge. In his notes, Hardy commented that Ramanujan had produced groundbreaking new theorems, including some that "defeated me completely; I had never seen anything in the least like them before", and some recently proven but highly advanced results.

[9A]

21 Jan 2013

Emma Gad's 161th Birthday




Emma Gad [21 January 1852 - 8 January 1921], born Emma Halkier, was a Danish writer and socialite who wrote plays and books that were often satirical. Although she was a prolific writer, many of her works fell into obscurity after her death. One work that remained popular was Takt og Tone, a book of etiquette she wrote in old age.

She received a gold Medal of Merit in 1905. Today her plays are preserved in Denmark's Royal Library.

[9A]

23 Jan 2013

Andrija Mohorovičić's 156th Birthday





Andrija Mohorovičić [23 January 1857 – 18 December 1936] was a Croatian geophysicist. He is best known for the eponymous Mohorovičić discontinuity and is considered one of the founders of modern seismology.

As early as 1909 Mohorovičić started giving lectures that both architects and building contractors should follow, ahead of his time setting some of the basic principles of earthquake-resistant design. Mohorovičić's theories were visionary and were only truly understood many years later from detailed observations of the effects of earthquakes on buildings, deep focus earthquakes, locating earthquake epicenters, Earth models, seismographs, harnessing the energy of the wind, hail defence and other related elements of the geological body of knowledge known as geoscience.

[9A]

23 January 2012

Jože Plečnik's 140th Birthday






Jože Plečnik was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge and the Slovene National and University Library building, as well as the embankments along the Ljubljanica River, the Ljubljana Central Market buildings, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas etc. His architectural imprint on Ljubljana has been compared to the impact Antoni Gaudí had on Barcelona.

His style is associated with the Vienna Secession style of architecture [a type of Art Nouveau]. Besides in Ljubljana, he worked in Vienna, Belgrade and on Prague Castle. He influenced the avant-garde Czech Cubism. He is also a founding member of the Ljubljana School of Architecture, joining it upon an invitation by Ivan Vurnik, another notable Ljubljana architect.

[9A]

23 January 2017

Ed Roberts’ 78th Birthday







Today’s Doodle pays tribute to an early leader of the disability rights movement, Ed Roberts. After contracting polio at age 14, Roberts was paralyzed from the neck down. He used a special wheelchair with a respirator during the day and slept in an 800-pound iron lung at night. Despite his limitations, he continued his studies via telephone hookup, attending in person a few hours a week. His mom, Zona, encouraged him persevere despite the odds.

Roberts’s activism began in earnest as early as high school, when he was denied his diploma due to his inability to complete Physical Education [PE] and Driver's Ed. After petitioning, not only did he earn his diploma, he went on to college, becoming the first student with severe disabilities to attend the University of California, Berkeley. There, he led other Berkeley students with severe disabilities in creating the Physically Disabled Students Program, the first of its kind.

Roberts went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Berkeley, and later returned to lead the Berkeley Center for Independent Living, which inspired many similar centers around the U.S. In 1976, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him Director of the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, and in 1983 he co-founded the World Institute on Disability.

His mother Zona describes: “I watched Ed as he grew from a sports-loving kid, through bleak days of hopelessness, into self-acceptance of his physical limitations as he learned what was possible for him to accomplish. His years at UCB were great ones as he both enjoyed his college status and got in touch with his leadership qualities. He took great pleasure in watching people with disabilities achieve greater acceptance.”

[9A]

26 Jan 2017

Australia Day 2017




Today’s Doodle celebrates Australia's most awe-inspiring feature: its big, blue backyard and treasured natural World Heritage Site: the Great Barrier Reef.

This vast underwater world is home to a whole host of protected and majestic creatures, including the green turtle, pipefish, barramundi cod, potato cod, maori wrasse, giant clam, and staghorn coral, to name a few. Made up of over 2,900 individual reefs, the earth’s largest coral reef system can be seen from space, and is our planet’s single largest structure made up of living organisms.


The reef is tightly woven into the culture and spirituality of island locals who cherished it long before it became a popular tourist destination. A large part of the reef is now under protection in an effort to preserve the shrinking ecosystem impacted by heavy tourism.

[9A]

26 January 2006

Mozart's 250th Birthday




Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791], baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period.

Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty, embarking on a grand tour. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position.

While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his early death at the age of 35. The circumstances of his death are largely uncertain, and have thus been much mythologized.

Despite his early death, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 600 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. He is considered among the greatest classical composers of all time, and his influence on Western music is profound, particularly on Ludwig van Beethoven. His elder colleague Joseph Haydn wrote: "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years".

[9A]

26 January 2016

90th Anniversary of the first demonstration of Television






On this day 90 years ago, an eccentric Scottish inventor herded a small group of Royal Institution scientists into his London apartment and showed them the future.

John Logie Baird, who’d been working on a “televisor” apparatus for much of his career, was the first person to publicly demonstrate the system that would spawn the modern-day television. His discovery sent shockwaves through the scientific community, and certified his legacy as one of the 20th century’s great innovators.

Today’s Doodle honors Mr. Baird, his strange machinery, and his lasting contributions to modern society. Without his genius, we would all have a lot more time on our hands, and a lot less to do on Sunday evenings. Knitting, anyone?

[9A]

26 January 2018

Wilder Penfield’s 127th Birthday







You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to know why we’re celebrating Wilder Penfield’s 127th birthday today, but it doesn’t hurt! Penfield was once considered “the greatest living Canadian” for his trailblazing advancements in mapping the brain and brain surgery techniques to treat epilepsy.

A Rhodes scholar trained at Oxford and Princeton, Penfield believed studying medicine was “the best way to make the world a better place.” Penfield later became Montreal’s first neurosurgeon and established the Montreal Neurological Institute in 1934.

By 1950, he experimented with using electrical probes to treat seizure activity in the brain while a patient was fully awake. This surgery, called the Montreal Procedure, led to a greater discovery: stimulating certain physical parts of the brain could evoke memory recall, like the smell of burnt toast [[depicted in today’s Doodle). Penfield’s contributions to modern neuroscience elevated Canada’s global status in healthcare, science, and discovery while his innovations created better lives for people with epilepsy.

In later years, Penfield became an author and a champion of university education and childhood bilingualism, commemorated by the Montreal streets, schools, and universities that bear his name. He was awarded the Lister Medal for surgical science and was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. He also became a cultural icon when Philip Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, described the fictional Penfield Mood Organ, a device used to change a mood by “dialing it in” on a number pad.

Happy 127th birthday, Wilder Penfield!

[9A]

12 Feb 2012

Anna Pavlova's 131st Birthday





Anna Pavlovna Pavlova was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Pavlova is most recognized for her creation of the role of The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour around the world, including performances in South America, India and Australia

[9A]

31 May 2021

Akira Ifukube's 107th birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 107th birthday of Japanese composer Akira Ifukube—a prodigious talent in classical music and cinematic film scores widely known for his work on the original soundtrack for the “Godzilla” movies of the 1950s.

Akira Ifukube was born on this day in 1914 in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan, into a distinguished family lineage that traces its origins back to at least the 7th-century. A passionate listener of European musical scores as a teenager, he aspired to intertwine his deep-rooted national identity into original compositions, an idea further solidified after listening to Russian composer Stravinsky’s 1913 emotive orchestral piece “The Rite of Spring” at 14 years old.

In 1935, Akira left home to study forestry at Hokkaido University, where he wrote ”Japanese Rhapsody,” his first original orchestral number. Following a brief stint as a forestry officer and lumber processor, he chose to pursue music composition full time. In 1947, he released the first of his more than 250 film scores that he produced over the next half-century. The height of his film score career came in 1954 when he wrote the soundtrack for “Godzilla,” whose signature roar he created by taking a resin-covered leather glove and dragging it against the loose string of a double bass.

Outside of his lifelong work as a composer, Akira served as president of the Tokyo College of Music starting in 1976 and published a 1,000-page book on theory entitled “Orchestration.” The Japanese government honored his lifetime achievements with both the Order of Culture and the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Happy birthday, Akira Ifukube!

[9A]

31 May 2020

Celebrating the Galápagos Islands




Today’s slideshow Doodle celebrates Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, first made famous as a source of inspiration for Charles Darwin’s seminal theories of natural selection. Home to hundreds of unique species of plants and animals from green turtles to fur seals, the islands were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on this date in 1978.

The Galápagos archipelago, which straddles the equator some 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, consists of 19 mostly uninhabited islands and countless islets, formed through volcanic and seismic activity over many millennia. Due to their unique geology and isolation, these Pacific islands are home to flora and fauna that can be found nowhere else on the planet, including the giant tortoise depicted first in today’s Doodle—the galápago is the largest living species of tortoise—along with the only penguin species that lives north of the Equator.

The islands are closely associated with British naturalist Charles Darwin, who arrived on the HMS Beagle in 1835 as part of a fateful journey around the world. Here, Darwin observed closely related but highly specialized species of wildlife, like finches with distinctive beaks specialized to their diets—memorialized today with the name “Darwin’s finches.”

It took Darwin over 20 years after he first observed the islands’ marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies to synthesize his observations into his groundbreaking theories of natural selection, published in “On the Origin of Species” in 1859.The fundamentals of his work remain a cornerstone of biological science to this day.

[9A]

31 May 2012

100th Anniversary of the Pushkin Museum







The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatoslav Richter's December nights has been held in the Pushkin Museum since 1981.

[9A]

31 May 2012

Francisco Pascasio Moreno's 160th Birthday





Francisco Pascasio Moreno was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as Perito Moreno [perito means "specialist, expert"]. Perito Moreno has been credited as one of the most influential figures in the Argentine incorporation of large parts of Patagonia and its subsequent development.

[9A]

31 May 2009

150th Anniversary of Big Ben




Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, although the name is frequently extended to also refer to the clock and the clock tower. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012, to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom.

[9A]

8 January 2018

Fearless Nadia’s 110th Birthday





Born Mary Ann Evans on this day in 1908 in Perth, Australia, the blue-eyed blonde actress “Fearless Nadia” earned her nickname as the original Bollywood stuntwoman in the 1930s and 1940s.

After learning the ropes of outdoor living in Peshawar, she first joined a touring dance troupe in Bombay, then the Zarco Circus. After changing her name to Nadia on the advice of a fortune teller, she was cast in cameos before striking upon the winning film formula: Fearless Nadia, action heroine.

In her first lead role, JBH Wadia’s 1935 film Hunterwali [The Lady of the Whip], Fearless Nadia blazed onto the screen in leather shorts, a mask, and cape, performing all of her own stunts. Over the years, she swung from chandeliers, sprang from speeding trains, and even tamed lions. After leaving the cameras behind in the early 60’s, Riyad Wadia’s 1993 documentary Fearless: The Hunterwali Story brought the passionate trailblazer back to the limelight once again.

Gutsy stunt star Fearless Nadia is ready to rumble in today’s Doodle, which was created by Bangalore-based comic illustrator Devaki Neogi. The illustration draws inspiration from the action movie posters of old-time Hindi cinema.

Happy Birthday, Fearless Nadia!

[9A]

9 Jan 2018

Har Gobind Khorana’s 96th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates Har Gobind Khorana, an Indian-American biochemist whose passion for science started under a tree in the small village of Raipur, India, and grew into Nobel Prize-winning research on nucleotides and genes.

Dr. Khorana was born in 1922 as the youngest of five children. His father instilled the importance of learning by helping his children to read and write, which wasn’t common for villagers at the time. Scholarships helped propel the budding scientist through his scholastic journey, obtaining his doctorate in organic chemistry in 1948.

Dr. Khorana conducted research at universities in England, Switzerland, and Canada, and it was at the University of Wisconsin that he and two fellow researchers received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968. Together, they discovered that the order of nucleotides in our DNA determines which amino acids are built. These amino acids form proteins, which carry out essential cell functions.

His accomplishments didn’t stop there. Fewer than five years later, Dr. Khorana made a second scientific breakthrough when he constructed the first synthetic gene. He received a host of awards during his lifetime, including the National Medal of Science.

Bangalore-based illustrator Rohan Dahotre drew today’s Doodle, which celebrates Dr. Khorana’s pioneering work in understanding our DNA.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Khorana!

[9A]

1 July 2020

Canada Day 2020




O Canada! Today’s Doodle celebrates Canada Day, a national holiday to commemorate the birth of the country. On this day in 1867, the British North America Act, or Constitution Act, united the three British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a self-governing confederation called the Dominion of Canada.

The holiday was first created in 1879 as Dominion Day, and it grew in popularity over the following century. With the Canada Act of 1982, the country gained complete independence from Britain, and the observance was officially renamed Canada Day [Fête du Canada].

As many observe this annual holiday from the comfort of their homes, the Doodle artwork features a colorful series of row houses representing an iconic Canadian architectural style characteristic of the nation's Atlantic region. On the north-eastern edge of the Avalon Peninsula, charming row houses fill the hills and alleyways of St. John’s, one of North America’s oldest cities. Despite the region’s famously foggy weather, these one-of-a-kind houses ensure that every day is a bright one!

Here’s to Canada’s colorful history and heritage. Happy Canada Day!

[9A]

1 July 2020

Celebrating the Litfaßsäule






Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Hamburg-based guest artists Rocket & Wink, celebrates the Litfaßsäule. These iconic advertising pillars were named after the man who first suggested them, Ernst Litfaß [pronounced Lit-fass]. On this date in 1855, to the fanfare of a live orchestra, Berlin’s very first Litfaßsäule was dedicated at the intersection of Münzstraße and what is today Almstadtstraße.

Before the creation of Litfaßsäule, Berlin had a problem with advertisements—they were scattered all over the city, from walls to fences and everywhere in between. The widespread clutter irked Litfaß, and so the clever printer and publisher proposed these dedicated advertising pillars to be placed on Berlin’s busiest corners and plazas as a more organized alternative.

The city agreed to commission 150 pillars as an official system for paid advertisements, and before long the columns were lined cleanly with eye-catching notices for cultural institutions like theaters and dance halls. The unusual, three-meter-tall fixtures were met with huge popularity among Berlin’s residents. Over the decades, the Litfaßsäule came to serve as a symbol of Berlin, and booklovers may even recognize one from the famous cover of Erich Kästner's 1929 children’s book “Emil and the Detectives.”

Today, there are over 50,000 Litfaßsäule—many like those depicted in the Doodle artwork—in use throughout Germany, and they still serve as a popular and practical advertising channel for local events and small organizations. While many of Berlin’s original pillars have since been removed or replaced by newer models, it’s clear that the Litfaßsäule continue to hold a special place in the hearts of the city’s residents.

Danke to all the Litfaßsäulen that have helped make Berlin such a special place!

[9A]

13 August 2019

Doodle for Google 2019 – US Winner




Congratulations to Georgia-based high school senior Arantza Peña Popo, who was announced as the winner of the US 2019 Doodle for Google national competition last night on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!

“When I grow up, I hope to care for my mom as much as she cared for me my entire life,” Arantza wrote in the statement submitted with her artwork, entitled Once you get it, give it back, which appears today on the Google homepage. In Arantza’s Doodle, there is a framed picture of her mother carrying Arantza as a baby─inspired by a real picture in her house of her mom holding her sister. Below the picture is Arantza, caring for her mom when she’s older in the future.

Arantza started drawing when she was three years old and wants to publish alternative graphic novels and comics in the future. She graduated as valedictorian of Arabia Mountain High School in DeKalb County, Georgia, and will be attending the University of Southern Califonia in the Fall.

Described by her mother as someone who “lights up any room she is in,” Arantza is currently teaching herself how to skateboard when she’s not focusing on her school work and visual arts.

Arantza dreams of one day being able to help her mom do all the things in life she hasn't been able to yet, such as traveling around the world.

Congrats again to Arantza and thanks to all the students who shared their dreams and creativity with us this year!

[9A]

26 October 2020

Dolores Cacuango's 139th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the 139th birthday of Ecuadorian civil rights pioneer Dolores Cacuango, who spent decades fighting fiercely for the rights of the country’s Indigenous people. Cacuango was a dedicated advocate for accessible education and instrumental in establishing Ecuador’s first bilingual schools, which practiced in Spanish and the Indigenous language of Quichua.

Dolores Cacuango was born on this day in 1881 in the Pesillo hacienda in the northern canton of Cayambe, Ecuador. Like many Indigenous people before her, she began to work at a young age, and at 15 years old was forced to relocate to the Ecuadorian capital of Quito to become a servant. With new insight into the troubling racism and class inequality facing her people, Cacuango returned home committed to the struggle for change.

Back in Pesillo, she became a leader in the movement against the exploitative hacienda system, and through her dynamic speeches, she advocated for causes like land rights, economic justice, and education for the Indigenous community. In 1926, she helped lead the people of Cayambe in challenging the sale of their community land, setting a strong example for future movements. Some two decades later in 1944, she also contributed to the establishment of the groundbreaking Ecuadorian Federation of Indians, which united Indigenous people around economic and cultural issues. She spent the rest of her life advocating for indigenous rights for current and future generations.


Today, Cacuango’s legacy is remembered with a street named in her honor in northern Quito.

[9A]

12 June 2018

Eugénie Brazier’s 123rd Birthday







Today’s Doodle celebrates Eugénie Brazier, also known as “La Mère Brazier” [the Brazier Mother]. Brazier was a French chef who was famously awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide.

Eugénie Brazier was born in a mostly rural region of eastern France, in the late 19th century. When her mother passed away, Brazier relocated to a nearby farm where she looked after the cows and pigs and began her exploration into the local cuisine. Later, at age 20, Brazier gave birth to her son Gaston, and left for Lyon to pursue an apprenticeship and refine her skills.

Eight years after moving to Lyon, Eugénie Brazier opened La Mère Brazier which quickly developed a reputation as an elegant culinary destination for politicians and celebrities. La Mère Brazier expanded many times to accommodate the massive increase in customers. Eventually, she expanded the business west to Col de la Luère, where her restaurant’s lack of running water or electricity didn’t stop it from achieving the highest degree of praise.

[9A]

21 Mar 2018

Ustad Bismillah Khan’s 102nd Birthday





Today we celebrate the birthday of Ustad Bismillah Khan, shehnai maestro and one of India’s most beloved musicians.

Born in Bhirung Raut Ki Gali, Bihar to a family of court musicians, it is said that his grandfather exclaimed “Bismillah!” upon seeing his grandson, and the name stuck. In subsequent years, as his mastery over the shenai grew, the public added the honorific, Ustad [master] to his name.

Both India’s declaration of independence from the ramparts of the Red Fort in 1947 and the creation of the Indian republic three years later in 1950 were heralded by Ustad Bismillah Khan’s shehnai. To this day, Republic Day celebrations are broadcast to the opening notes of his music.

Though he started playing in public at the age of 14, Ustad ji’s performance at the All India Music Conference at Kolkata in 1937 became a defining moment in his career. Three decades later, when he performed at the Edinburgh Music Festival, the shehnai acquired a global audience, and in the minds of millions, became synonymous with its player.

Ustad ji was famously devoted to his art and often referred to his shehnai as his begum [wife]. He is one of the few musicians to receive the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor in addition to all four Padma awards. Despite the fame, Ustad Bismillah Khan remained a simple man, living his whole life in Varanasi and dreaming of a world unified by music.

“Even if the world ends, the music will still survive… music has no caste.”

Today’s Doodle by Chennai-based illustrator Vijay Krish, celebrates the shehnai maestro against the backdrop of a geometric style pattern with his instrument aloft, sending a festive tune out into the world.

[9A]

5 November 2020

Martín Chambi's 129th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Peruvian photographer Martín Chambi, widely credited as one of Latin America’s first Indigenous photographers and one of the greatest Peruvian photographers of the 20th century. Considered a pioneer of portrait photography, Chambi showcased the intangible essence of Peru’s Andean people, the dramatic landscape they inhabit, and their inimitable culture and heritage.

Martín Jerónimo Chambi Jiménez was born into an Indigenous Quechua family on this day in 1891 in the town of Coaza in the southern Peruvian Andes. He fell in love with photography as a teenager and soon moved to the city of Arequipa to pursue the craft. In 1917, he photographed the newly-discovered citadel of Machu Picchu, and his panoramas helped to ignite the site’s worldwide reputation.

In 1920, Chambi relocated with his family to Cusco [the ancient capital of the Inca empire] and there established a studio where he worked for more than 40 years. From images of cultural festivals in the surrounding mountains to impeccable portraits of Cusco residents from all walks of life, Chambi’s iconic black-and-white photos provided a stunning window into the unique universe of the Peruvian highlands. A true innovator, Chambi is also credited as the first person to publish a photographic postcard in Peru.

Chambi’s photography experienced a surge in international exposure in the late ‘70s, leading to a posthumous solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1979.

Happy birthday, Martín Chambi!

[9A]

9 Nov 2020

Marie Dressler's 152nd birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the 152nd birthday of Oscar-winning Canadian-American stage and screen actress, comedian, and singer Marie Dressler, who is widely considered one of the most significant actors of early-1930s film. With her signature style of raucous slapstick humor, Dressler challenged stereotypes to become one of Hollywood’s most unconventional stars.

Marie Dressler was born Leila Marie Koerber on this day in 1868 in Cobourg, a Canadian town on the shore of Lake Ontario. She began acting with stock companies by the age of 14. Over the following years, Dressler showcased her comedic chops in vaudeville, burlesque, and revue performances and ascended from local theater all the way to Broadway musicals.

By 1896, Dressler was a certified theater phenomenon. She reached the apex of her stage career in the 1910 Broadway hit “Tillie’s Nightmare,” which was adapted for the big screen four years later. The result was the first-ever feature-length comedy film “Tillie’s Punctured Romance”—a massive box office hit in which Dressler co-starred alongside a young Charlie Chaplin.

Dressler’s rich stage voice proved a perfect fit for the “talkie” films that came along in the late ‘20s. She delivered a show-stealing performance in the 1930 drama “Anna Christie,” and the following year, her talent was recognized at the highest level when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1930 film “Min and Bill.”


Happy birthday to a legendary star whose talent and humor knew no bounds.