Google doodles

[9A]

16 September 2015

Mexico National Day 2015






On September 16th, 1810, at the heels of revolutionary leader Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexico declared herself a free state and began its eleven-year struggle for independence. To celebrate the centennial of this moment in Mexican history, a team of artists and engineers erected the gold victory column that juts into the sky above Mexico City and finds itself at the center of today’s Doodle. The statue--a rendering of Nike, the Winged Goddess of Victory--holds a severed chain in her left hand and sits atop a mausoleum in which the remains of Mexico’s most cherished revolutionary figures are entombed.

Today, guest artist Ana Ramirez celebrates El Ángel with a burst of color befitting the fervor and exuberance of Miguel Hidalgo’s centuries-old Grito de Dolores. ¡Viva México!

[9A]

16 September 2014

40th anniversary of the first broadcast of Casimir




The spotlight is on Casimir the Dinosaur on our homepage in France today. Casimir starred in the famous French cartoon “l'Île aux enfants” [“The Children’s Show”], which first aired 40 years ago today.

[9A]

16 September 2014

Mexico Independence Day 2014






There’s no dish that has more pride than “chiles en nogada.” These green chiles are stuffed with picadillo, covered in a white walnut cream and topped with red pomegranate seeds, dressing the meal in the colors of the Mexican flag. Happy Independence Day to Mexico!

[9A]

15 Sept 2014

Nicaragua Independence Day 2014



Our doodle in Nicaragua doodle features the sacuanjoche, the country’s national flower for Nicaraguan Independence Day.

[9A]

5 December 2017

Veronika Dudarova’s 101st Birthday





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

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

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

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

[9A]

10 December 2019

Anatoly Tarasov’s 101st Birthday





"Even though there is a limit on how fast a hockey player can skate… there is no limit to creative endeavors and progress."
–Anatoly Tarasov


Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Marseille-based guest artist Nadya Mira, celebrates Russian coach Anatoly Tarasov, widely known as the “father of Russian hockey,” on his 101st birthday. Under his leadership, the Russian [then USSR] national team won every Ice Hockey World Championship for 9 consecutive years, won 11 European championships, and took home 3 Olympic gold medals. Tarasov’s visionary tactics and will to win put his opponents on ice.

A proficient bandy player, Tarasov was given the task to implement a Soviet hockey program from the ground up after World War II. The Moscow native developed a unique coaching style, focusing both on the individual player’s mastery while demanding a team-first attitude, as well as integrating modified elements from other sports like bandy, soccer, and even ballet to produce champions.

Rival nations often attempted to mimic Tarasov’s approach. A coach from the U.S. asked Tarasov to reveal his secrets and was met with: “There is no secret in hockey. There is imagination, hard work, discipline, and dedication to achieving whatever the goal is.”

His ingenious methods influenced the game worldwide and left a mark on hockey that is still felt globally to this day. In 1974, Tarasov became the first European coach to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, as well as the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.


С днём ​​рождения, Anatoly Tarasov!

[9A]

10 December 2013

Milan Rúfus' 85th Birthday






Milan Rúfus [December 10, 1928 – January 11, 2009] was a Slovak poet, essayist, translator, children's writer and academic. Rúfus is the most translated Slovak poet into other languages.

[9A]

10 December 2012

Ada Lovelace's 197th Birthday






Augusta Ada King, countess of Lovelace, along with her counterpart Charles Babbage, were pioneers in computing long before the first computer was built. Despite being an uncommon pedagogy for women, Ada was educated in mathematics because her mother hoped would mitigate in Ada her father's, Lord Byron's, penchant for poetry and mania [it didn’t].

While Babbage drew up designs for the first general-purpose computer, which he called the Analytic Engine, he only imagined it would be a powerful calculator. Lovelace, however, anticipated the much more impressive possibilities for such a machine. She realized the engine could represent not just numbers, but generic entities like words and music. This intellectual leap is the foundation of how we experience computers today, from the words on this screen to the colors and shapes in this doodle.

In 1843, Ada published extensive notes on the Analytic Engine which included the first published sequence of operations for a computer, which she would have input to the Analytic Engine using punch cards. It is this program for calculating Bernoulli numbers which leads some to consider Ada Lovelace the world’s first computer programmer, as well as a visionary of the computing age.

Posted by Ida Mayer, Googler

[9A]

23 November 2018

Mestre Bimba’s 119th Birthday




A blend of martial arts, acrobatics, dance, and music, Capoeira has been practiced in Brazil for hundreds of years. Today’s Doodle celebrates Manuel dos Reis Machado, or Mestre Bimba, the master who legitimized capoeira and founded the world’s first school to promote this Afro-Brazilian martial arts style.

Mestre Bimba was born in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, on this day in 1899 as the youngest of 25 children and son of a batuque champion, another Brazilian fighting game. His parents named him Manuel dos Reis Machado, but everyone called him Bimba. He worked various odd jobs – longshoreman, carpenter, and coal miner – before dedicating his life to his real passion of capoeira.

Developed by former slaves, Capoeira was outlawed by the Brazilian government for many years. “In those days, when capoeira was spoken of, it was in whispers,” Bimba recalled. “Those who learned capoeira only thought about becoming criminals.”

As studying martial arts was forbidden by law, music was added to disguise the powerful fighting techniques as dance moves. Developing his own style, known as capoeira regional, Mestre Bimba instituted a strict set of rules and a dress code. In 1928 he was invited to demonstrate his style of capoeira for Getulio Vargas, then president of Brazil. The President was so impressed that he gave Mestre Bimba the go-ahead to open the first capoeira school in his hometown of Salvador, giving this unique martial art a new sense of legitimacy. In 2014 capoeira was recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, which hailed it as one of the most expressive popular manifestations of the Brazilian culture.


Happy Birthday, Mestre Bimba!

[9A]

21 June 2017

Machado de Assis’ 178th Birthday





In 1839, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis was born to a simple family in Morro do Livramento, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was the grandson of freed slaves, in a country where slavery wouldn't be fully abolished until 49 years later. Machado faced the many challenges of being of mixed race in the 19th century, including limited access to formal education. But none of that stopped him from studying literature. While working as a typographer, he experimented with poems, romances, novels and plays.

Machado's work shaped the realism movement in Brazil. He became known for his wit and his eye-opening critiques of society. Today's Doodle features some scenes from his novels — Quincas Borba, Dom Casmurro, and The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas are considered masterpieces to this day. Machado was also a founder and the first president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

Happy 178th birthday to a literary genius!


Doodle by Pedro Vergani

[9A]

21 June 2013

Zlatko Grgić's 82nd Birthday




Zlatko Grgić [21 June 1931 – 4 October 1988] was a Croatian animator who emigrated to Canada in the late 1960s.

Born in Zagreb, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Grgić was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 52nd Academy Awards for his 1979 film Dream Doll, produced by Bob Godfrey.

He has an award named after him at the Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films: the Zlatko Grgić Prize for best first production apart from educational institutions.

[9A]

25 March 2018

Greece National Day 2018



On March 25th, 1821, Greece began its campaign for independence after nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule. Almost two hundred years later, Greeks around the world celebrate their hard-won freedom on this national holiday.

Today’s Doodle celebrates the day with a painterly depiction of a few national symbols—the blue-and-white striped flag, a crowning laurel wreath, and two pom-pommed tsarouchia: traditional Greek shoes still worn by the Evzones, the prestigious soldiers who comprise the Presidential National Guard.

In observance of the holiday, schools throughout Greece hold flag-day parades, where children dress in traditional outfits and wave Greek flags. The biggest procession of all takes place in Athens, where marching bands, military vehicles, and squadrons from the Hellenic Armed Forces draw thousands of spectators, including the president. The dignified Evzones are also part of the procession, and are likely heard before they are seen—the soles of their tsarouchia are embedded with at least 60 nails apiece, making their approach a thunderous celebration of this important day in history.

Ζήτω η 25η Μαρτίου!

[9A]

26 March 2019

Sanmao's 76th Birthday




"Don't ask from where I have come, My home is far, far away.”
—Sanmao “The Olive Tree”


Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and work of Chinese-born Taiwanese writer and translator Chen Mao Ping, known to her readers as Sanmao. Born in Chongqing, China on this day in 1943, Sanmao moved to Taiwan with her family as a young girl. She went on to become a prolific author and world traveler whose moving prose, independent spirit, and thirst for knowledge touched millions.

A voracious reader, Sanmao preferred classic novels like Don Quixote to doing her classwork as a child. After scoring zero on a math quiz, she was humiliated by a teacher who drew zeroes around her eyes. From then on she was home schooled by her family and by a tutor named Echo, who encouraged her love of art and literature.

Sanmao published her first work at 19 before resuming her education studying philosophy in Taiwan. She soon moved to Spain where she met her future husband, José María Quero. They lived together in the Sahara desert, during which time she wrote her best-known book, The Stories of the Sahara [[1976). The moving memoir and travelogue has been translated into numerous different languages.

Sanmao went on to publish over 20 books, including a Chinese translation of the Spanish comic Mafalda. After returning to her native China for the first time since her childhood, Sanmao wrote the script for the acclaimed 1990 film Red Dust.

Her vivid prose, independent spirit, and willingness to travel widely in a search for knowledge inspired many of her readers to retrace her steps. So many Sanmao fans have visited her home in the Canary Islands that an official pilgrimage route was set up to guide them along their journey.

[9A]

26 Mar 2019

Bangladesh Independence Day 2019






Today’s Doodle celebrates Independence Day in Bangladesh, the South Asian nation situated on the Bay of Bengal and a deltaic nation with almost 700 rivers flowing through it!

On this day in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, often titled Bangabandhu [which translates to “friend of Bengal”], signed a declaration that made the former East Pakistan the sovereign and independent country of Bangladesh with its own unique language and culture. This founding document followed Bangabandhu’s historic speech, delivered on March 7.

A public holiday in Bangladesh, Independence Day is commemorated with parades, fairs, and concerts as well as patriotic speeches. A festive spirit fills the capital city of Dhaka, where the Bangladesh flag flies proudly, and many government buildings are lit up with the national colors: green and red. The green symbolizes Bangladesh’s abundant flora and the potential of the nation’s youth while the red circle in the middle of the flag represents the sun rising over the relatively new and developing country.

Joy Bangla!

[9A]

27 Mar 2019

Raúl Soldi’s 114th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the Argentinian artist Raúl Soldi, who was born in Buenos Aires on this day in 1905. From painting watercolors and church frescos to designing mosaics, theatrical costumes, stage sets, and even department store windows, his creativity spanned mediums.

The son of a cellist and opera singer, Soldi was inspired to devote his life to art after traveling through Europe in his youth. He spent five years studying in Milan, supporting himself by making illustrations for advertisements before returning to Argentina where he found work painting sets for the movie studio Argentina Sono Film and designing window displays for Harrod’s. Along the way, he also showed his work in Paris, New York, and San Francisco.

While studying scenery design in the U.S., Soldi met his future wife, Estela Gaitán, who encouraged him to devote himself to fine art. In 1953, he was commissioned to paint frescoes at the church of Santa Ana in Buenos Aires, followed by the Colón Theater in 1966. He was also commissioned to create mosaics in various churches and public spaces.

Recognized in his country and globally, a 1992 retrospective at Argentina’s Palais de Glace attracted some 500,000 visitors and his work was honored with an award at the 1958 Biennale of São Paulo, Brazil. His art can be found in many international collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Happy 114th Birthday, Raúl Soldi!

[9A]

30 Mar 2019

María Moliner’s 119th Birthday







María Moliner devoted her whole life to working with words, and making their power accessible to all. Born in Paniza [a province of Zaragoza] on this day in 1900, the Spanish librarian, philologist, and lexicographer labored single-handedly to create a new kind of reference book, which was hailed as “the most complete, most useful, most accurate, and funniest dictionary of the Spanish language” by novelist Gabriel García Márquez.

Moliner began working as a librarian at age 22 and was elected head of the University of Valencia library in 1936. She took a special interest in the popular libraries project, developing a plan for Bibliotecas Rurales [Rural Libraries] to help promote literacy and culture. Following the Spanish Civil War, her family was penalized by the new authoritarian government, causing her to be passed over for faculty promotions.

Moliner began compiling her Diccionario de Uso del Español [Dictionary of Spanish Use] in 1952, working at home before and after her day job. A mother of four as well as a grandmother, she had extraordinary powers of concentration. Moliner would research words read in newspapers or heard on the street, aiming to outdo the dictionary published by the Real Academia Española. “The Academy dictionary is the dictionary of authority,” she once said. “Mine has not had much regard for authority.”

Instead of alphabetical organization, Moliner’s dictionary was grouped in families of words, offering not only detailed definitions, but also synonyms, and guidance on usage. When she began the project she estimated it would take two years, but the first edition of the two-volume dictionary was not published until 1966—a total of 15 years later!

Her life inspired a stage drama, The Dictionary, as well as a documentary film, Tending Words. However, the dictionary itself, sometimes referred to as “The María Moliner,” is widely considered her greatest legacy.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, María Moliner!

[9A]

3 Apr 2019

Sofia Mogilevskaya’s 116th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and work of Sofia Mogilevskaya, a prolific Russian author of stories for children and young readers.

Born in Moscow on this day in 1903, Mogilevskaya was raised in a musical household. Her father was an accomplished cellist and music teacher who taught her to play piano. Childhood memories of him performing for Leo Tolstoy made a deep impression on her, especially when the young musician changed her focus to journalism and eventually literature.

After ending her studies at the Moscow Conservatory, Mogilevskaya began contributing articles and essays to magazines, translating fairy tales, and writing fiction. Once she settled on becoming a writer, her writing habits remained a daily practice for more than 40 years. In 1941, her first children’s book Mark of the Country Gondelupy was published. Later, her experience working in an orphanage during World War II inspired her 1949 book House in Tsybiknur.

Whether she was writing a fairy tale, a historical work like her books on important figures from Russian music and theater, or educational works like Girls, This Book is for You!, Mogilevskaya’s writing always showed a deep respect for children. Queen Toothbrush was the first of her works to be adapted to the screen as an animated film. Her Tale of the Loud Drum, about a boy during the Russian Revolution, was initially rejected by publishers but later became a bestseller that was also later adapted into a feature film.

“To tell the truth, I am surprised at myself,” the author once wrote, “what a dashing courage I had!”

Happy 116th Birthday, Sofia Mogilevskaya!

[9A]

5 Apr 2019

Hedwig Kohn’s 132nd Birthday





Taking us inside Hedwig Kohn’s lab, today’s Doodle by Hamburg-based guest artist Carolin Löbbert celebrates the life and science of the pioneering physicist. After earning her doctorate in 1913, Kohn went on to become one of only three women certified to teach physics at a German university before World War II.

As a Jewish woman living in Nazi Germany, Kohn was barred from her teaching position in 1933. She spent the next several years fulfilling research contracts in industrial physics before fleeing to the US in 1940. There, she returned to her passion, teaching at the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina and Wellesley College in Massachusetts until 1952. After retiring from the classroom, Kohn took on a research associate position at Duke. In the sub-basement of the school’s physics building, where her lab was located, she directed Ph.D students in their research while continuing her own work in flame spectroscopy—something she had started in 1912.

Over the years, Kohn’s work resulted in more than 20 publications, one patent, and hundreds of textbook pages that were used to introduce students to the field of radiometry [a set of techniques meant to measure electromagnetic radiation, including visible light] well into the 1960s.

Happy 132nd birthday, Hedwig Kohn!

[9A]

5 April 2021

Sadri Alışık's 96th birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Istanbul, Turkey-based guest artist Sedat Girgin, celebrates the 96th birthday of prolific Turkish comedian and actor Sadri Alışık.

Born in Istanbul on this day 1925, Mehmet Sadrettin “Sadri” Alışık fell in love with the performing arts at 7 years old after attending a local play. To hide his dramatic ambitions from his father, who disapproved of acting as a career, Alışık enrolled in a university painting program post-high school to disguise the time he spent acting in various Istanbul theatres.

Alışık’s clandestine devotion soon paid off, debuting on the silver screen in the 1944 film “Günahsizlar” [“The Innocent Ones”]. His film success led to decades of serious performances in historical and crime dramas before he showcased his dynamic acting skills in comedy. In 1963, he brought Tourist Ömer to life. A comedic and relatable portrayal of an everyday Turkish gentleman, Tourist Ömer was a smash hit that starred in eight movies, an iconic run that came to a sci-fi end in 1974 with “Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek.”

Outside of his more than 200 film and television appearances, Alışık loved to paint, sing Turkish classical music, and write poetry. He bid farewell to entertainment with his role in “Yengeç Sepeti” [“Crab Basket”], his 1994 cinematic swan song for which the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival awarded him Best Actor. Today, his legacy lives on in acting studios founded in Istanbul and Ankara, both named in his honor.

Happy birthday, Sadri Alışık! Thank you for setting the stage for the future of Turkish performing arts.

[9A]

5 April 2013

Arbor Day 2013

[9A]

10 Apr 2013

25th Anniversary of the Opening of the Great Seto Bridge





The Great Seto Bridge or Seto Ohashi Bridge is a series of double deck bridges connecting Okayama and Kagawa prefectures in Japan across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Built over the period 1978–88, it is one of the three routes of the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project connecting Honshū and Shikoku islands and the only one to carry rail traffic. The total length is 13.1 kilometers [8.1 mi], and the longest span, the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge, is 1,100 m [3,600 ft].

[9A]

14 Apr 2013

Alfredo Volpi's 117th Birthday





Alfredo Volpi [April 14, 1896 – May 28, 1988], was a prominent painter of the artistic and cultural Brazilian modernist movement. He was born in Lucca, Italy but, less than two years later, he was brought by his parents to São Paulo, Brazil, became a Brazilian citizen, and lived for the majority of his life. He was one of the most important artists of the so-called Grupo Santa Helena, formed in the 1930s with Francisco Rebolo, Clóvis Graciano, Mario Zanini, Fulvio Pennacchi, and others.

[9A]

28 Mar 2018

Hannah Glasse’s 310th Birthday





If the thought of Yorkshire pudding and gooseberry fool makes your mouth water, you have Hannah Glasse to thank for making these two delectable dishes staples in English cuisine. Born on this day in 1708, Glasse was a pioneering English cook and author of the most popular cookbook of the 18th century. Published in 1747, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy was unique; it was one of the first cookbooks written in a simple and conversational style, which meant that any English speaker and reader – regardless of their class – could learn how to cook.

Glasse’s cookbook was popular not only because it was easy to read, but also because of its massive scope. It included a whopping 972 recipes, covering everything from puddings and soups, to what to serve at Lent, to preparing food for the sick.

Today’s Doodle features Glasse whipping up a batch of classic Yorkshire puddings. Her recipe for Yorkshire pudding, among many others, is one of the earliest known ever published.

Happy 310th birthday, Hannah Glasse!

Illustration by Matthew Cruickshank

[9A]

28 March 2016

Ángela Ruiz Robles’s 121st Birthday





Ángela Ruiz Robles, born 121 years ago today, was a writer, teacher, inventor, and pioneer of the e-book. Inspired by technological advancement in things like television and cars, she aimed to bring innovation to education as well. Her ingenious "mechanical encyclopedia," with information on scrolling coils that could be switched out for new ones, made it possible for students to study at home without carrying around heavy books. The invention also included a light source, so that students without access to electricity could read unimpaired. After she patented her invention, Robles continued to work on the fabrication of the encyclopedia, with the intention of making it more affordable for students everywhere.

Doodler Kevin Laughlin's design spells "Google" with the looping coils of the Enciclopedia Mecánica. The seafoam green of the encyclopedia's case [a characteristic feature] was a key detail that was added just before finishing.

Happy birthday, Ángela Ruiz Robles! Thanks for getting education and technology off on a roll.

[9A]

28 March 2016

240th Anniversary of the Bolshoi Theater's Foundation




A famous choreographer once said: “wherever a dancer stands is holy ground.” If so, then there are few stages more sacred than the Bolshoi Theatre, which has hosted the world’s finest opera and ballet performances for more than two centuries. Today’s doodle by artist Lydia Nichols commemorates the order by Empress Catherine the Second to build a public theater. Today, 240 years later, this stately neoclassical venue still stands in the heart of Moscow, a timeless symbol of artistic excellence.

Experience the Bolshoi’s history, architecture, and performances for yourself with this interactive exhibit hosted by the Google Cultural Institute.

[9A]

28 Mar 2016

Doodle 4 Google 2016 — Ireland Winner

[9A]

3 Apr 2016

Start of the 100th tour of Flanders



Today marks the 100th tour of Flanders, or De Ronde van Vlaanderen, an annual springtime road cycling race held in Belgium since 1913. The race was put on hold during World War I, but has been held every year without interruption since 1919. The 2016 race covers 255 km [158 mi] with 18 categorized climbs and 7 flat cobblestoned sections — a notoriously bumpy ride for cyclists.

This year’s race starts in Bruges, and Doodler Alyssa Winans has included a famous Belfry in te Grand Place, or Grote Markt where the race begins. Then, riders will head south to Torhout, where De Ronde's founder, Karel Van Wijnendaele was born.

[9A]

9 Jan 2018

25th Anniversary of Rafflesia Arnoldii




If screens emitted scents, you’d be in for quite the stench. The pale green fumes bursting from today’s Doodle evoke the odor of Rafflesia arnoldii, an Indonesian plant that produces the largest flower in the world. This day marks the 25th anniversary of its distinction as a national rarity in its native Indonesia.

Known as bunga bangkai, or “the corpse flower” among locals, Rafflesia arnoldii gives off the aroma of rotting flesh, which baits the carrion flies that pollinate it. Its plump, red-brown petals, freckled with white spots, only emerge from Tetrastigma, the vine-like plants that host it, when it’s ready to reproduce — making it an incredibly uncommon sight. Once in the open, Rafflesia arnoldii grows to around 3 feet [1 meter] in diameter and blooms for just a few days.

But there’s more to this parasitic plant than its pungent perfume. Rafflesia arnoldii was named an Indonesian national “rare flower” in 1993’s Presidential Decree No. 4. This wondrous species is represented in the intricate patterns of traditional Indonesian batik, especially in the Bengkulu province of Sumatra, where it is often found.

Today, we celebrate Rafflesia arnoldii’s special [and smelly] place in Indonesian history!

[9A]

11 Jan 2012

Nicolas Steno's 374th Birthday




Known as the father of stratigraphy and geology, Nicholas Steno worked to understand history by what he could find in the ground. Rather than simply write books about his findings, Steno opted to do his own hands-on research. As an innovative thinker, he disagreed with his contemporaries in thinking that shark-tooth-shaped objects found imbedded in rocks "fell from the sky." Instead, Steno argued that these formations were fossils. His dedication to analysis, critical thinking, and creative thinking make him a great subject for a Google doodle!

[9A]

14 Jan 2012

National Children's Day 2012




As doodlers, messing with the company logo is part of our job, but every once in a while we really get to mess with it by making it virtually unreadable! Since Children's Day is traditionally all about having lots of fun being kids, we tend to make this annual doodle a little – well, extra fun. But for those who crave neatness or are just curious as to where exactly the letters are hidden, here you go!



And for you art nerds out there [we're a tech company after all], this second image shows the "movement" throughout the illustration. I, uh, totally meant to do that...

[9A]

14 January 2021

Justicia Espada Acuña's 128th birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates Chilean engineer Justicia Espada Acuña, one of the first female engineers in Chile and South America. A symbol of women’s progress in Latin America, Acuña forged a path for generations of women to pursue careers in engineering.

Justicia Espada Acuña Mena was born in the Chilean capital of Santiago on this day in 1893. Her father was a civil builder who encouraged Acuña and her seven siblings to follow their dreams and challenge unjust societal norms. After high school, she studied mathematics, but she soon took an interest in engineering instead. In 1912, she became the first woman to join the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Chile, and she made history when she graduated with a degree in civil engineering seven years later.

The next year, Acuña began her trailblazing career as a calculator for the State Railways’ Department of Roads and Works [Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado]. Excluding a break to raise her seven children, she worked for the company until her retirement in 1954.

To honor her legacy, the College of Engineers of Chile inducted Acuña into its Gallery of Illustrious Engineers in 1981, and around a decade later the Institute of Engineers created an award in her name for outstanding female engineers. In addition, in 2018 the Faculty of Physical Science and Mathematics of the University of Chile renamed its central tower after Acuña to memorialize the faculty’s first female student.

Happy birthday, Justicia Espada Acuña, and thank you for helping engineer a brighter future for women in science.

[9A]

28 Jan 2021

Jim Wong-Chu's 72nd birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the birthday of Canadian activist, community organizer, poet, author, editor, photographer, radio producer, and historian Jim Wong-Chu, who devoted his life to amplifying the narratives of the Asian Canadian community.

Born in Hong Kong on this day in 1949, Wong-Chu moved to Canada when he was 4, and as a young adult, he settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. During the ‘70s he worked as a community volunteer and became interested in the use of literature to explore his identity as a Canadian of Asian heritage. In 1986, while studying creative writing at the University of British Columbia, he compiled his work into the collection “Chinatown Ghosts,” one of the first poetry books ever published by a Chinese Canadian author.

But Wong-Chu didn’t just want to tell his story; he wanted to tell the stories of all the undiscovered talent in his community. In 1989, he began to sift through every literary magazine in UBC’s library to identify pieces written by Asian Canadian writers. With co-editor Bennett Lee, he honed this collection into his first of numerous anthologies, “Many Mouthed Birds” [1991], a touchstone in the emergence of the genre of Asian Canadian literature.

To promote the genre, Wong-Chu co-founded the Asian Canadian Writer’s Workshop in 1996, which–along with its literary magazine Ricepaper [now a digital publication]–has continued to elevate the voices of the Asian Canadian literary arts movement to this day.

Happy birthday, Jim Wong-Chu!

[9A]

16 August 2018

Ebenezer Cobb Morley’s 187th Birthday




Before Ebenezer Cobb Morley set down the rules of football in 1863, the game was much more chaotic than the version we know today. His 13th rule gives some indication of how unruly football used to be: 'No player shall wear projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta percha on the soles or heels of his boots.'

Born the son of a minister, Morley grew up a sports enthusiast and went on to study law. After joining Barnes Football Club in London, he realized that the game would be benefit from more structure and regulation. He wrote to the sports newspaper Bell’s Life to make the case for a more organized game.

A meeting followed at Freeman’s Tavern where Morley was joined by members of football clubs across England, who all had input into the rulemaking before Morley drafted his list of 13 rules, which became the standard of play in England.

Morley’s laws helped reduce violence on the field — although he did think players should be able to “hack the front leg” — and formalized the crucial rule we now call offsides, which prevents players from permanently stationing themselves behind an opponent’s defensive line, waiting for a pass.

Morley later helped establish the Football Association, which is still the governing body for football in Great Britain. In 1863 he was elected the Honorary Secretary of the F.A., holding the post until 1866 and president of the F.A. from 1867 to 1874.

Other groups from various countries made crucial developments to football as well, but thanks to Morley “the beautiful game” became less brutal, the action more spread out across the field, and is played the way it is today.


Happy Birthday Mr. Morley!

[9A]

17 Aug 2018

Indonesia Independence Day 2018





Few countries have more fun on Independence Day than Indonesia, the southeast Asian island nation whose Proclamation of Independence was first read in Jakarta on this day in 1945.

All throughout the country, from cities to villages, Independence Day starts early with gotong-royong, a collective effort to clean up and beautify neighborhoods. Red and white banners and buntings decorate houses, shops, and schools in preparation for a range of lively games, such as the Lomba Balap Karung seen in today’s Doodle. This classic sack race is just one of Indonesia’s traditional Independence Day pastimes. You can’t use your hands in the Kerupuk eating contest, where the fried starch and shrimp crackers hang from strings. First to finish their cracker wins. Panjat Pinang involves climbing up greased palm trees to claim prizes suspended at the top.

All this friendly competition is really just a fun way to spend time with friends and family, so remember to keep it light as you enjoy Indonesian Independence Day.

Dirgahayu Indonesia!

[9A]

18 Aug 2018

2018 Asian Games






Today’s Doodle celebrates the start of the 18th Asian Games, also known as Asiad. Organized by the Olympic Council of Asia and held every four years, the Asian Games are the second largest multi-sport event in the world, behind only the Olympic Games. This year’s host country is Indonesia, with events happening in the country’s oldest city, Palembang, and the capital city of Jakarta.

Athletes from six Asian countries competed at the first Far Eastern Championship Games in 1913 in Manila. Although these games were discontinued in 1938, there was widespread support for a competition promoting the Olympic ideals of a peaceful society and the “harmonious development of humankind.”

This year, athletes from 45 countries will compete in 55 events. Swimming and track and field always attract a big audience at the Asian Games, and there are many other sports represented too, ranging from football, fencing, weight lifting, and martial arts, to jet skiing and the card game bridge.

This year also marks the debut of another genre of non-physical events: esports, or competitive video games. Esports will be considered a “demonstration” category this year, so no official medals will be given, but they plan to do so at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.


Good luck to all the athletes representing their countries at the 2018 Asian Games!

[9A]

18 August 2008

2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Table Tennis

[9A]

27 Aug 2008

Tomato Festival 2008





La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the East of Spain 30 kilometres [19 mi] from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. Since 1945 it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities in Buñol. The event has been cancelled since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

La Tomatina Buñol has inspired similar celebrations in other parts of the world:

• Since 1982, the town of Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado has held a tomato fight called the "Colorado Texas Tomato War," in which Texans and Coloradans square off. The Coloradans also attempt to overtake the Texans' straw Alamo effigy, generally succeeding.
• Since 2004 the Colombian town of Sutamarchán holds a similar event on 15 June when a surplus of tomatoes is harvested.
• In Costa Rica the town of San José de Trojas in the San Pedro district of Sarchí canton [Alajuela Province] celebrates a Tomatina during the local Tomato Fair.
• In the town of Dongguan in southern Guangdong province in China, a tomato fight is held on October 19, during which they use up to 15 tons of tomatoes.

• The City of Reno, Nevada in the United States also has an annual hour-long tomato fight that started in 2009. The event seems to take place on the last Sunday of August and is organized by the American Cancer Society. Organizers named the festival La Tomatina, and give full credit for the idea to the Spanish festival.
• In the Indian state of Karnataka, the Karnataka Government banned the hosting of such a Tomatina event in Bangalore and Mysore, after private organizers tried to organize one. Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda is quoted as saying: "In the name of 'La Tomatina' festival, permission should not be granted to waste tomatoes". A similar event planned in Delhi was cancelled after it received negative response from the public.
• Funtasia Island, Patna hosted a similar La tomatina Holi event on March 26, 2013 at Funtasia Water Park in Patna, India.

[9A]

6 Jun 2018

Sweden National Day 2018




The National Day of Sweden, June 6, commemorates two notable anniversaries: first, the coronation of King Gustav Vasa in 1523, which marked Sweden’s independence from Denmark. And second, the adoption of a new constitution in 1809 which established a separation of powers between the government’s executive branch [the King] and legislative branch, also known as Riksdag of the Estates.

While Sweden is celebrated around the world as the home of the Nobel Prize and ABBA, Swedes are even more fond of their national animal [the moose] or traditional symbols like the elderflower, whose small white blooms can be found on beautiful green bushes all over the country in June.

The mighty moose embodies the Swedish spirit of labor and service. The robust creature was once considered for military deployment as part of King Charles XI’s cavalry in the 17th century. The Swedes still exhibit pride as strong as a moose—much like the one munching flowers in today’s Doodle.

Stockholm’s Skansen open-air museum is the place to be for Sweden National Day celebrations, thanks to the museum’s founder Artur Hazelius. Proud Swedes gather there on June 6 for flag raising, folk dancing, historical re-enactments, and a visit from the King and Queen.

Folkets Park in Malmö is a great place to picnic and watch flag parades, readings and musical performances. The elderflowers are in bloom this time of year, so enjoy a glass of fläderblomssaft, elderflower syrup, often homemade, mixed with soda or champagne.


Skål!

[9A]

11 Jun 2015

Copa América 2015




Copa América is the oldest international continental football competition, taking place every 4 years with 10 South American National teams and 2 guest teams from other confederations competing for the championship.

The 2015 edition is held in Chile with these teams : Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Perú, Uruguay, Venezuela and guests México & Jamaica, making a first-ever appearance at the Copa América. The first game on June 11th, and the final game on July 4th will take place in the historic Estadio Nacional in Santiago.

We’re excited to bear witness to the unifying quality of soccer in its highest form.

See you at the pitch!

[9A]

12 Jun 2015

Philippines Independence Day 2015





Today we're celebrating the Philippines' 117th year of independence. Our doodle highlights the sun, stars and colors found in the national flag. The eight rays of the sun represent the eight provinces and the three stars represent the main island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Illustrated by guest artist, Ana Ramírez.

[9A]

6 Jun 2020

Olive Morris' 68th birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates British activist Olive Morris on her 68th birthday. Morris is widely recognised as a prominent voice of leadership in the fight against discrimination in Great Britain during the 1970s.

Olive Elaine Morris was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica on this day in 1952 and moved to London before she turned 10. A catalysing moment in Morris’ life of activism occurred when she was just 17, when she witnessed the arrest and beating of a Nigerian diplomat whom police had stopped on the basis of the “sus” laws of the time, similar to today’s “stop-and-search” policies. In response to this injustice, Morris intervened to try to protect the diplomat and prevent the arrest. As a result, she was arrested, held, and physically assaulted. This incident ignited Morris’ determination to take action, and she soon joined the Black Panthers’ Youth Collective to oppose systemic racism within Britain.

Morris took a leadership role in the push toward justice across many areas of society, including fighting for racial equality, gender equality, and squatters’ rights. After heading protests and demonstrations, she helped to found the Brixton Black Women’s Group in 1973, one of Britain’s first networks for Black women.

Despite leaving secondary school with no qualifications, Morris enrolled in 1975 at Manchester University, where she earned a degree in social sciences and fought tirelessly for issues like international students’ rights. She also traveled extensively around the world, from China to Algeria, which greatly informed her approach to activism back home. In 1978, she co-founded the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent, considered instrumental in rallying movements for change.

In honor of Morris’ lifetime of activism, she was selected in 2015 to appear on the Brixton Pound, a currency designed to foster local business within the South London neighborhood she served during her lifetime. Today’s Doodle features Morris’ portrait on a wall in South London, surrounded by the local community the Brixton Pound that featured her was intended to support. Her commitment to fighting for equality and justice continues to inspire today.

[9A]

5 Jul 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]

5 July 2016

Juno Reaches Jupiter








A NASA satellite built like a tank is settling into polar orbit around Jupiter, the mysterious gas giant two doors down from Earth.

Juno’s five year, 500 million mile journey will culminate in a treasure trove of new pictures and measurements taken by its nine instruments. What Juno tells us about Jupiter will detail the planet’s magnetic and gravitational fields and interior structure, revealing how it was formed and providing clues to our own planet’s humble beginnings.

In satellite terms, Juno is a warrior. Building the 3,500-pound device for Jupiter’s brutal atmosphere took seven years and countless hours of testing. NASA scientists equipped Juno with titanium shields to withstand pummeling rocks, powerful radiation, and freezing temperatures. It’s armor will keep it safe and working properly over its year-long polar orbit collecting data about Jupiter.

Today's celebrates this incredible moment of human achievement. Bravo, Juno!

Visit NASA’s page on the Google Cultural Institute to see how space exploration has evolved over the years.

[9A]

7 Jul 2016

Tanabata 2016




Tanabata, known to children and families all over Japan, honors the tale of Orihime and Hikoboshi, forbidden to see each other except on this day. The two were brought together by Orihime's father, but then separated when Orihime no longer had time to weave the beautiful cloth that her father loved so much. He gave in when he saw how unhappy she was, and allowed Orihime and Hikoboshi to see each other once a year if she wove the cloth the rest of the days. Whether they are able to meet on this the 7th day of the 7th month, is determined by the weather.

On this day, we write down our own wishes on colorful paper [known as tanzaku] as we hope for the two lovers to meet. Today’s Doodle honors the Tanabata tradition with its own tanzaku for Orihime and Hikoboshi. May they meet again this year!

[9A]

7 July 2013
Tanabata [Star Festival]

[9A]

21 Apr 2015

81st anniversary of the Loch Ness Monster's most famous photograph








Colonel Robert Wilsons grainy photograph of Nessie made a big splash. The iconic image of a sea serpent rising out of the water paved the way for the myth of the Loch Ness Monster.

Sketching boats in dockyards was the inspiration for this illustration. Once I'd assemble working cogs as the Google logo, all that was left was to show a cut away and reveal of what REALLY took place under the surface.

[9A]

21 April 2014

Charlotte Brontë's 198th Birthday [born 1816]







Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature.

She enlisted in school at Roe Head in January 1831, aged 14 years. She left the year after to teach her sisters, Emily and Anne, at home, returning in 1835 as a governess. In 1839 she undertook the role as governess for the Sidgwick family but left after a few months to return to Haworth where the sisters opened a school, but failed to attract pupils. Instead, they turned to writing and they each first published in 1846 under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Although her first novel, The Professor, was rejected by publishers, her second novel, Jane Eyre, was published in 1847. The sisters admitted to their Bell pseudonyms in 1848, and by the following year were celebrated in London literary circles.

[9A]

22 Apr 2014

Earth Day 2014






I had a lot of hair-brained ideas for Earth Day 2014, before at last stumbling upon the solution you see before you. My desk was littered with hastily scrawled notes and sketches involving old tractor tires, the number of water bottles consumed by north americans per annum, and sea turtles wearing plastic shopping bags like waist-coat travesties.

My colleague, cohort, and coder extraordinaire Corrie Scalisi had recently been on holiday in East Africa, and after a brainstorm session during which I had expounded on the ways I could spell 'Google' using trash, related to me some truly moving facts about the horticultural tendencies of garden-variety dung beetles.

Most of us are aware of the beetles' propensity for whisking away lumps of dung for their own purposes. Perhaps less known, is the most marvelous side effect dung-rolling has of bolstering soil quality and richness, which in turn fosters tree growth in areas where the beetles live.

The notion that the 'animals' we share our planet with can cause such positive repercussions within their habitat moved me to focus on the many and varied beings that the Earth has given rise to.

[9A]

23 Apr 2014

Max Planck's 156th Birthday [born 1858]






Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.

Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame as a physicist rests primarily on his role as the originator of quantum theory,[5] which revolutionized human understanding of atomic and subatomic processes. In 1948, the German scientific institution Kaiser Wilhelm Society [of which Planck was twice president] was renamed Max Planck Society. The MPS now includes 83 institutions representing a wide range of scientific directions.

[9A]

11 November 2017

Anasuya Sarabhai’s 132nd Birthday


Born on this day in 1885, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, pioneering feminist and activist Anasuya Sarabhai was instrumental in altering the course of India’s labor history.

Briefly married as an adolescent, Sarabhai fought social convention and left in 1912 to study at the London School of Economics. There she was swept up in the suffragette movement and newly discovered ideas of social equality that laid the foundation for her life’s work.

Back home in Ahmedabad, Sarabhai started to work with disempowered women, particularly taking on the cause of local mill workers after learning of their 36-hour work shifts. In 1914 she helped Ahmedabad's weavers successfully organize their first strike for higher wages. In the years that followed, she went on to become their most vocal supporter, negotiating with mill owners [including her brother] for better working conditions. She was affectionately called “Motaben,” Gujarati for “elder sister.”

She was supported in her work by Mahatma Gandhi, with whom she set up Gujarat’s oldest labor union. It later paved the way for the founding of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India [SEWA].

Today’s Doodle was created by Maria Qamar, a Pakistani-Canadian artist and author of the book Trust No Aunty. “Anasuya’s dedication to justice and equality is something I can relate to,” says Qamar. In drawing the activist, she took inspiration from the Indian textile industry. “I portrayed delicate fabrics and traditional patterns found in our homes and our closets,” explains Qamar. “I am honored to have the opportunity to share Anasuya’s legacy with the world.”


Happy Birthday, Anasuya Sarabhai!