Google doodles

[9A]

4 December 2019

Celebrating Lorentz National Park



Today’s Doodle celebrates the anniversary of Indonesia’s Lorentz National Park, the largest protected area in Southeast Asia. This massive nature sanctuary, spanning over 9,600 square miles [about 24,864 square kilometers], is located in the Papua province, right at the intersection of two colliding continental plates.

The Lorentz National Park contains several ecosystems, including grasslands, swamps, ocean beaches, rainforests, and alpine mountains topped by rare tropical glaciers. Its most famous mountain, Puncak Jaya, is the tallest peak in Southeast Asia.

Renowned for biodiversity, its various climates are home to an abundance of animals, including tree kangaroos and tigers, many species of rare birds like the Pesquet’s parrot seen in today’s Doodle, and outliers like the echidna – a “spiny anteater” mammal that lays eggs. It’s also home to at least seven indigenous human ethnic groups, all living according to traditions dating back thousands of years.

Named after Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz, a Dutch explorer who visited the area in 1909, the park was established by the Indonesian government in 1997. While threatened by logging, poaching, and pollution, the Lorentz National Park is rigorously protected by the World Wildlife Federation and UNESCO, which has designated it a World Heritage Site. It’s an unofficial wonder of the world, containing many more wonders within.

[9A]

4 December 2013

Gae Aulenti's 86th Birthday







Gae Aulenti was a prolific Italian architect, whose work spans industrial and exhibition design, furniture, graphics, stage design, lighting and interior design. She was well known for several large-scale museum projects, including the Musée d'Orsay in Paris [1980–86] with ACT Architecture, the Contemporary Art Gallery at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the restoration of Palazzo Grassi in Venice [1985–86], and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco with HOK [2000–2003]. Aulenti was one of the few women designing in the postwar period in Italy, where Italian designers sought to make meaningful connections to production principles beyond Italy. This avant-garde design movement blossomed into an entirely new type of Italian architecture, one full of imaginary utopias leaving standardization to the past.

Aulenti's deep involvement in the Milan design scene of the 1950s and 1960s formed her into an architect respected for her analytical abilities to navigate metropolitan complexity no matter the medium. Her conceptual development can be followed in the design magazine Casabella, to which she contributed regularly.

[9A]

10 Dec 2013

Sven Wingquist's 137th Birthday





Sven Gustaf Wingqvist was a Swedish engineer, inventor and industrialist, and one of the founders of Svenska Kullagerfabriken [SKF], one of the world's leading ball bearing and roller bearing makers. Sven Wingqvist invented the multi-row self-aligning ball bearing in 1907.

[9A]

1 October 2021

Celebrating Rodolfo 'Corky' Gonzales









La Raza! Méjicano! Español! Latino! Chicano!
Or whatever I call myself,
I look the same, I feel the same
I Cry and Sing the same.
I am the masses of my people and I refuse to be absorbed.
I am Joaquín. The odds are great
But my spirit is strong,
My faith unbreakable,
My blood is pure.


Today’s slideshow Doodle, illustrated by Brooklyn, NY-based guest artist Roxie Vizcarra, celebrates U.S. Chicano educator, boxer, poet, and activist Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales. In addition to being a champion in the boxing ring, he was also a champion for racial and socioeconomic justice as one of the most influential leaders of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. On this day in 1970, the Escuela Tlatelolco Centro de Estudios, founded by Corky and his family, opened its doors as the first private school in United States history with a focus on Chicano/Mexican-American cultural studies. The slides in today’s Doodle take a journey through Corky’s life while featuring lines from Gonzales' epic 1967 poem and the rallying cry of the Chicano cultural movement, “Yo Soy Joaquín” [“I Am Joaquín”].

Rodolfo Gonzales [nicknamed “Corky” for his effervescent personality] was born on June 18, 1928, in an east-side barrio of Denver, Colorado. Throughout his youth, Corky worked in the sugar beet fields with his father, a first-generation Mexican immigrant who taught him to take pride in his heritage.

Despite his limited free time, Corky graduated high school at just 16. He saved for college but after one year couldn’t afford the high cost of tuition, so he embraced his athleticism to become an amateur boxer in 1944. At 19, Corky went pro as a featherweight. At the peak of his career, he was ranked as a top 3 featherweight boxer worldwide, but discriminatory organizers never gave him the chance to fight for the title. Retiring from boxing as a local star in 1955, he decided to use his platform and influence to advocate against racial and socioeconomic injustice across the nation.

In 1966, Corky founded the Crusade for Justice, a grassroots Chicano civil rights organization. He organized demonstrations in Denver and across the U.S., marching alongside civil rights leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1969, Corky furthered the cause by organizing the first National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference, where he inspired the younger generation to take pride in their heritage and be part of the cultural revolution.

Corky's creative writing reflected his activism and honored his Chicano pride throughout his career. His most notable poem “Yo Soy Joaquín'' tells the story of a man who travels through history to experience life as multiple Spanish leaders, Indigenous leaders from the Aztec homeland of Aztlán [referenced by the Aztec pyramid on the fourth slide of the Doodle], a Mexican revolutionary, and finally a Chicano in the United States.

Due in large part to leaders like Corky, the Chicano Movement led to widespread positive changes for the Mexican and Latino/a communities in the U.S. that continue to this day. This includes the development of bilingual and multicultural socioeconomic programs, improving the working conditions of migrant workers, and increasing the representation of Mexican-Americans and Latinos/as in U.S. politics and education—all foundational elements to the fight for justice and equality that continues to this day.

Here’s to you, Corky! ¡Mil gracias, Corky!

[9A]

16 November 2018

44th Anniversary of the Arecibo Message






Forty-four years ago today, a group of scientists gathered at the Arecibo Observatory amidst the tropical forests of Puerto Rico to attempt humankind’s first communication with intelligent life beyond our own planet. Their three-minute radio message—a series of exactly 1,679 binary digits [a multiple of two prime numbers] which could be arranged in a grid 73 rows by 23 columns—was aimed at a cluster of stars 25,000 light years away from earth.

This historic transmission was intended to demonstrate the capabilities of Arecibo’s recently upgraded radio telescope, whose 1000-foot-diameter dish made it the largest and most powerful in the world at the time. "It was strictly a symbolic event, to show that we could do it," said Donald Campbell, Cornell University professor of astronomy, who was a research associate at the Arecibo Observatory at the time. Nevertheless some of those present were moved to tears.

The message itself was devised by a team of researchers from Cornell University led by Dr. Frank Drake—the astronomer and astrophysicist responsible for the Drake Equation, a means of estimating the number of planets hosting extraterrestrial life within the Milky Way galaxy. ‘‘What could we do that would be spectacular?’’ Drake recalled thinking. “We could send a message!’’

Written with the assistance of Carl Sagan, the message itself could be arranged in a rectangular grid of 0s and 1s to form a pictograph representing some fundamental facts of mathematics, human DNA, planet earth’s place in the solar system, and a picture of a human-like figure as well as an image of the telescope itself.

Since the Arecibo Message will take roughly 25,000 years to reach its intended destination [a group of 300,000 stars in the constellation Hercules known as M13], humankind will have to wait a long time for an answer. How long? In the 44 years since it was first transmitted, the message has traveled only 259 trillion miles, only a tiny fraction of the 146,965,638,531,210,240 or so miles to its final destination. During that same time, our understanding of the cosmos has advanced by leaps and bounds, raising hopes that someone may be out there, listening.

Doodler, Gerben Steenks.

[9A]

22 Nov 2018

Loy Krathong 2018




Today’s Google celebrates Loy Krathong, Thailand’s festival of lights. On the night of the full moon in the 12th lunar month of the traditional Thai calendar, Thailand celebrates the end of rain season with this ritual. The word “loy” means to float, while “krathongs” are small baskets traditionally made from banana tree wood and carefully folded banana leaves, each containing sticks of incense, candles, and an offering of a few coins for the water goddess. It’s also customary to include locks of hair and fingernail clippings to symbolize letting go of the past and any unhappy feelings.

According to legend, the festival was originated by Nang Noppamas, consort to a king. Beauty pageants in her honor remain a traditional part of Loy Krathong celebrations. Others insist that the tradition was inspired by the Khom Loy festival, a Buddhist ritual giving thanks to Ganga, the Goddess of Water. Similar full moon festivals are celebrated at this time of year throughout the region.

In the city of Sukhothai, celebrants flock to the banks of the Yom river, floating their krathongs by the ancient temple in Sukhothai Historical Park. In Bangkok it’s the Chao Phraya River, and in Tak it’s the Ping. Wherever you celebrate, Loy Krathong is a joyous occasion with beautiful lights on the water, fireworks and lanterns in the sky, and a song in the air.

Happy Loy Krathong!

[9A]

22 November 2017

Rukhmabai Raut’s 153rd Birthday





Born on this day in Bombay [now Mumbai] in 1864, Rukhmabai Raut was one of the first women to practice medicine in colonial India. Backed by the British director of Bombay’s Cama Hospital, suffrage activists, and other supporters, Raut set off in 1889 for the the London School of Medicine for Women and obtained her qualifications at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Brussels. She then joined a hospital in Surat, serving as chief medical officer the next 35 years.

As an activist, Raut fought to stamp out child marriage. Married at age 11 to a 19-year-old groom chosen by her mother, Raut refused to live with her husband, winding up at the center of one of India’s most famous 19th-century court cases. Her bravery in defying contemporary Indian social customs attracted scrutiny in the British press and led to the passage of the Age of Consent Act in 1891.

Today’s Doodle by illustrator Shreya Gupta shows the courageous doctor among her patients, doing the dedicated work of a skilled physician.

[9A]

31 October 2012

Halloween 2012







Halloween is definitely a favorite holiday for many folks... What's there not to like about carving pumpkins, dressing up and getting free candy? Last year many of you saw our giant pumpkin video and we thought "hmm how do we top this" [or maybe it was more of "that was really messy, let's keep it cleaner and less bicep intensive"].

For this Halloween we decided to bring the trick-or-treating experience to the homepage. The hope was to capture a bit of that excitement you feel knocking on a neighbor's door to see what they're dressed as and wondering if you're going to hit the jackpot with the king size candy bar.

[9A]

31 October 2014

Halloween 2014






This year we invited some favorite monsters artists to create a series of spooktastic animated gifs.


Markus Magnusson:

Olivia Huynh:

Taylor Price:

[9A]

11 Nov 2015

Poland Independence Day 2015




Every year, as winter sets in throughout the southern hemisphere, the world’s White Storks take off for the north. Their flight is monumental. They cover thousands of miles, over wild seas, chasing the warm sun of summer. And in the end, a quarter of them arrive in one specific place: the country of Poland.

Poland, whose independence we remember each November, plays host annually to 40,000 pairs of stork. That’s more than anywhere else in the world! Today, we celebrate the diversity, freedom, and natural richness of Poland with a doodle by Robinson Wood.

[9A]

16 June 2018

Marga Faulstich’s 103rd Birthday






If your future’s so bright you have to wear shades, make sure you take a moment to celebrate Marga Faulstich’s birthday.

One of Germany’s most important scientists, Faulstich would have turned 103 today. Her work in the field of glass chemistry led to dozens of patents that are still used in the manufacture of lightweight anti-reflective glasses.

In 1939, while working at the Schott AG company with Dr. Walter Geffcken, Faulstich developed a way to coat smaller glass objects by depositing hard vacuum vapor—changing gas directly to a solid without going through a liquid state. Her breakthrough made it possible for glass with anti-reflective coating that shields X-rays and UV light, among other applications.

She was recognized in 1972 for her role in creating the SF 64 lens [known in North America as HIGH-LITE®], thinner, lighter weight corrective lenses.

Her life and work continue to inspire girls and boys alike to excel in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Thank you Marga Faulstich! Happy birthday!


Doodle by Sophia Martineck.

[9A]

16 June 2003

M.C. Escher's 105th Birthday






Maurits Cornelis Escher was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for most of his life neglected in the art world, even in his native Netherlands. He was 70 before a retrospective exhibition was held. In the late twentieth century, he became more widely appreciated, and in the twenty-first century he has been celebrated in exhibitions across the world.

His work features mathematical objects and operations including impossible objects, explorations of infinity, reflection, symmetry, perspective, truncated and stellated polyhedra, hyperbolic geometry, and tessellations. Although Escher believed he had no mathematical ability, he interacted with the mathematicians George Pólya, Roger Penrose, Harold Coxeter and crystallographer Friedrich Haag, and conducted his own research into tessellation.

Early in his career, he drew inspiration from nature, making studies of insects, landscapes, and plants such as lichens, all of which he used as details in his artworks. He traveled in Italy and Spain, sketching buildings, townscapes, architecture and the tilings of the Alhambra and the Mezquita of Cordoba, and became steadily more interested in their mathematical structure.

Escher's art became well known among scientists and mathematicians, and in popular culture, especially after it was featured by Martin Gardner in his April 1966 Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. Apart from being used in a variety of technical papers, his work has appeared on the covers of many books and albums. He was one of the major inspirations of Douglas Hofstadter's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach.



The impossible world of MC Escher

[9A]

16 June 2004

James Joyce Day 2004/Bloomsday 2004



Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June, the day his 1922 novel Ulysses takes place in 1904, the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, and named after its protagonist Leopold Bloom.

[9A]

28 August 2014

Sheridan Le Fanu's 200th Birthday





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

[9A]

28 August 2009

Battle of Flowers in Laredo 2009



In the town of Laredo, located on the east coast of the autonomous community of Cantabria, the traditional Battle of the Flowers takes place on the last Friday in August. The event came about in the early 20th century, and in 1965 it was declared a Festival of Touristic Interest [Fiesta de Interés Turístico] by the Spanish government.

Unlike many other major celebrations in the north of Spain, the Battle of the Flowers originated relatively recently. In the summer of 1908, representatives of the governments of the three port towns on the bay [Laredo, Colindres, and Santoña] were received by King Alfonso XII in Santoña. The representatives shared their concern that big trawling ships were hurting the livelihood of smaller fishermen. A group of rowboats belonging to the fishermen’s guild were decorated with flowers, garlands, and Spanish flags and participated in a regatta in the bay. The event was widely attended thanks to the king’s presence, and the famous boat La Argentina emerged victorious.

The Battle of the Flowers continued to evolve and become an important folk tradition. In addition to the inhabitants of Laredo, which had a growing working class employed in the canned fish industry, many visitors from nearby towns came to Laredo for the event. The parade did not take place during the years of the Spanish Civil War, but after the war, Franco’s government expressed a desire to return to the original style of decorating the carriages, dispensing with the Carnaval-esque aesthetic that the event had acquired over the years. The appearance of the floats changed, animals no longer pulled them, and the competition was restricted to inhabitants of Laredo.

Over time, the festival regained its essence as a hedonistic folk celebration. The participation of the common people also became even more significant; members of the upper class no longer paraded around on the floats, which were now designed by local artisans.

[9A]

28 August 2021


Grandparents' Day 2021 [28 August]

[9A]

1 Sept 2021

Spring 2021 [Australia]

[9A]

1 September 2020

Celebrating Jackie Ormes



Today’s slideshow Doodle, illustrated by Philadelphia-based guest artist Liz Montague, celebrates American cartoonist and activist Jackie Ormes. Ormes was known for her satirical and stylish cartoons and comic strips that challenged the derogatory portrayals of Black female characters prevalent in the media. She is widely recognized as the first and only Black female newspaper cartoonist of her time in the United States. On this day in 1945, her groundbreaking single panel “Patty-Jo ’n’ Ginger” debuted in the Pittsburgh Courier, introducing the world to the smart and fashionable Ginger and her precocious 6-year-old sister Patty-Jo. Each slide of today’s Doodle provides a glimpse into stages of Ormes’ life, from her beginnings as a self-taught artist to a powerhouse cartoonist and humorist whose work continues to inspire.

Jackie Ormes was born Zelda Mavin Jackson on August 1, 1911, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She taught herself to draw at an early age and showcased her skills with a page of cartoons in her high school yearbook. After graduation, she entered the media landscape as a proofreader and freelance reporter for the nationally circulated Black newspaper the Pittsburgh Courier.

In 1937, the Courier published Ormes’ first comic strip: “Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem,” which at times reflected the more serious struggles of real people migrating from the South to the North to escape racism and find better opportunities. Ormes’ trailblazing career continued with “Candy” and “Patty-Jo ’n’ Ginger”—her longest-running work–and her final comic, “Torchy in Heartbeats.”

Across all of her work, Ormes’s heroines faced real-life issues like romantic heartbreak, environmental justice, and gender inequality, mirroring the issues Ormes encountered in her own life and those around her. Her characters were all independent women—confident, intelligent, attractive, and brave, who persevered against adversity to reach their next adventure.

Ormes furthered positive depictions of Black women and girls while also expressing her talent for fashion design through the development of several dolls related to her characters. In 1949 she made history by designing one of the first high quality American Black dolls “Patty-Jo,” complete with an extensive wardrobe produced by the Terri Lee Doll company. Later, her 1950 debut of a new, full color comic strip featuring her character Torchy, came with an accompanying paper doll topper, “Torchy Togs.” This bonus feature promoted a positive depiction of Black women while advising them on such fashion tenets as fabric, cut, and seasonal trends.

A pioneering professional woman in a male-dominated cartooning industry, Ormes retired in 1956 but continued her commitment to advocacy and community leadership throughout the rest of her life. In recognition of her achievements, Ormes was posthumously inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists’ Hall of Fame in 2014 as well as the Will Eisner Comic Industry Hall of Fame in 2018.

Thank you, Jackie Ormes, for helping to strip away negative stereotypes one panel at a time.

[9A]

1 September 2016

37th Anniversary of The Neverending Story's First Publishing






Every once in a blue moon a book captures the imagination, providing a portal into magical places unknown. So it was with The Neverending Story, a children’s fantasy novel by Michael Ende, which topped best-seller lists in the author’s native Germany following its release on September 1st, 1979. Illustrator Roswitha Quadflieg captured the story’s mythical feel by emblazoning each chapter with a decorative initial inspired by medieval scripts. And today’s Doodle adds a 3D dimension, with an artwork-packed slideshow that uses parallax scrolling—a Doodle first!

At the heart of this book-within-a-book is Bastian Balthazar Bux, a lonely boy who steals a copy of The Neverending Story from an antiques store—and leaps into its pages. Bastian is tapped by a hunter named Atreyu to help save the enchanted but ill-omened world of Fantastica by doing something only a human can do: giving Fantastica’s ruler, the Childlike Empress, a new name. Their companion, Falkor, a luckdragon, remains ever-optimistic that they’ll prevail over wicked creatures and destructive forces to reach the Childlike Empress’s Ivory Tower. In time, Bastian’s journey becomes one of self discovery, in which the words “Do what thou wilt!” inscribed on Atreyu’s talisman, take on personal meaning.

Today’s Doodle takes us along on Bastian’s odyssey in honor of the 37th anniversary of the book’s publication.

Doodle by Sophie Diao

[9A]

1 September 2011

Tarsila do Amaral's 125th Birthday








Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral was a Brazilian painter, draftswoman, and translator. She is considered one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, and is regarded as the painter who best achieved Brazilian aspirations for nationalistic expression in a modern style. As a member of the Grupo dos Cinco, Tarsila is also considered a major influence in the modern art movement in Brazil, alongside Anita Malfatti, Menotti Del Picchia, Mário de Andrade, and Oswald de Andrade. She was instrumental in the formation of the aesthetic movement, Antropofagia [1928–1929]; in fact, Tarsila was the one with her celebrated painting, Abaporu, who inspired Oswald de Andrade's famous Manifesto Antropófago.

Besides the 230 paintings, hundreds of drawings, illustrations, prints, murals, and five sculptures, Tarsila's legacy is her effect on the direction of Latin American art. Tarsila moved modernism forward in Latin America, and developed a style unique to Brazil. Following her example, other Latin American artists were influenced to begin utilizing indigenous Brazilian subject matter, and developing their own style. The Amaral Crater on Mercury is named after her.

In 2018 MoMA opened a solo exhibition of her work, the eighth retrospective on Latin America artists following exhibitions on Diego Rivera, Cândido Portinari, Roberto Matta, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Armando Reverón, José Clemente Orozco and Joaquín Torres García.

[9A]

6 Sept 2011

Shinichi Hoshi's 85th Birthday





Shinichi Hoshi was a Japanese novelist and science fiction writer best known for his "short-short" science fiction stories, often no more than three or four pages in length, of which he wrote over 1000. He also wrote mysteries and won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Mōsō Ginkō [Delusion Bank] in 1968.

[9A]

6 September 2013

Leonidas da Silva's 100th Birthday





Leônidas da Silva was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the most important players of the first half of the 20th century. Leônidas played for Brazil national team in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, and was the top scorer of the latter tournament. He was known as the "Black Diamond" and the "Rubber Man" due to his agility.

[9A]

7 Sept 2013

Australia Elections 2013

[9A]

9 Sept 2013

100th anniversary of the first aviation "loop de loop" by Petr Nesterov




Pyotr Nikolayevich Nesterov was a Russian pilot, an aircraft designer and an aerobatics pioneer.

The outer main-belt asteroid 3071 Nesterov, discovered by Soviet astronomer Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova in 1973, is named after him.[7

[9A]

9 September 2021

Thank you: doctors, nurses and medical workers [9 September]



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

Today, we’d like to say: To all doctors, nurses, and medical workers, thank you.

[9A]

10 Sept 2021

Tránsito Amaguaña's 112th birthday






Today’s Doodle honors Ecuadorian Quechua activist Tránsito Amaguaña on her 112th birthday. She was an advocate who fought to secure legal rights for Ecuador’s farm workers, Indigenous communities, and women.

Rosa Elena Tránsito Amaguaña Alba or “Mama Tránsito” was born on this day in 1909 in San Miguel de Pesillo, Ecuador. Her family were huasipungueros—farmers who labored seven days a week on a hacienda with no pay except a small plot of land for growing food. Although Amaguaña’s mother hoped she could attend school long enough to become literate, her education was cut short when she was forced into domestic work on the hacienda at a young age. In 1930, Amaguaña walked barefoot for several days to Quito with her small children in tow over 25 times to join protesters in demanding a salary and a day of rest each week for hacienda workers like her family and neighbors.

This event marked the start of Amaguaña’s tireless lifelong activism. She fulfilled her mother’s wish on trips to Cuba where she learned to read and write; and how to organize land collectives and labor unions. She helped organize Ecuador’s first farm worker unions and in 1931, she participated in the unions’ first strike in Olmedo.

Amaguaña continued traveling throughout the region but returned to Quito often, where she developed a close friendship with fellow activist Dolores Cacuango. Alongside other Indigenous leaders, they co-founded the Federación Ecuatoriana de Indios [Ecuadorian Indian Federation] in 1944 which advocated for terminating hacienda ownership and returning the land to the local workers.

After years of struggle, labor laws were eventually passed to protect farm workers. Not wanting Indigenous children to face the same education restrictions she experienced, Amaguaña helped found four schools with classes taught in Spanish and Quechua. A school in Guayaquil, Ecuador that bears her name preserves her multifaceted legacy.

Happy Birthday, Tránsito Amaguaña!

[9A]

16 Sept 2021

Lo Man-fei's 66th birthday



Today’s Google Doodle celebrates the 66th birthday of Taiwanese dancer, choreographer, and teacher Lo Man-fei, a lifelong advocate for the development of Taiwanese dancers and performance art.

Lo Man-fei was born on this day in 1955 in Taipei City, Taiwan and took her first steps toward a career in dance at 5 years old. In college, her unique talent was fostered by some of Taiwan’s leading choreographers, including Lin Hwai-min, the founder of one of the nation’s most acclaimed dance troupes—Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. She graduated from National Taiwan University with a degree in English literature and moved to the U.S. in 1978 to study with the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the José Limón Dance Company. However, she decided to return to Taiwan to join Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. In 1979, Lo formally joined Cloud Gate—an acceptance she attributed in part to the skills passed down to her from masters such as Lin.

With a repertoire utilizing techniques from ballet, modern dance, and traditional Chinese dance, she toured the world with Cloud Gate until 1982, capturing a blend of these styles with what she referred to as her own “vocabulary” of movements. Lo worked on Broadway in the early 1980s and in 1985, earned a master’s degree in dance at New York University before returning to Taiwan. She then rejoined Cloud Gate, choreographed original performances, and nurtured a new generation of dancers as a professor at the National Institute for the Arts [now the Taipei National University of the Arts].

In 1999, Cloud Gate 2, an evolution of Taiwan’s renowned troupe, appointed Lo as its artistic director and Cloud Gate later established a scholarship in her honor. She is best known today for her solo performance in “Requiem,” a 10-minute, non-stop spinning routine choreographed specifically for her by none other than Lin Hwai-min himself.

Happy Birthday to Lo Man-fei, who always put her best foot forward!

[9A]

16 Sept 2021

Mexico Independence Day 2021




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

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

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

Happy Independence Day, Mexico!

[9A]

September 16, 2016

50th anniversary of the 1st play with Jara Cimrman





Little is known of Jára Cimrman's childhood, but we know everything about this beloved fictional character’s many inventions, awards, and artistic achievements. Created by Zdeněk Svěrák, Ladislav Smoljak, and Jiří Šebánek, Cimrman has done it all [or so he would have you believe], from influencing the plans for the Panama Canal and the Eiffel Tower, to pre-inventing the telephone and the lightbulb, to exploring [near] the North Pole.

Although the character of Jára Cimrman was created for the radio show Nealkoholická vinárna U Pavouka, Cimrman won his way into the hearts of listeners and onto a bigger stage. Shortly after, he started appearing in plays at his very own Jára Cimrman Theatre. Since bursting onto the scene in 1966, he has continued to capture imaginations across the Czech Republic, even being voted The Greatest Czech in 2005.

Today we celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the creation of Jára Cimrman by highlighting a few of his ingenious inventions, such as the broom that's made for sweeping corners and the handled cane for easy carrying. Here's to you, Jára Cimrman, and to many more years adventures!

[9A]

Sep 16, 2016

Mexico National Day 2016




From the greens of the ahuejote to the browns and golds of the axolotl, the canals of Xochimilco are known for their cast of colorful flora and fauna. None are quite so colorful as the trajineras, handpainted canoes that carry tourists all around the World Heritage Site via the canals.

These canals used to connect Xochimilco to the heart of Mexico City, where the trajineras were used to transport goods back and forth. Today, tourists floating in the these vibrant boats can flag down food vendors or listen to the upbeat melodies of mariachis while they enjoy the natural beauty around them.

Today’s Doodle depicts a trajinera of Xochimilco, a reminder of the colorful traditions that make Mexican culture so unique.

[9A]

Sep 17, 2016

Irena Kwiatkowska’s 104th birthday






Beloved Polish actress Irena Kwiatkowska was born today in 1912. A household name in Poland, Kwiatkowska was celebrated for her work in cabaret, comedy, film, theater, radio, and television. She is best known for the television character "Working Woman," who did many different [and often wacky] jobs, to great humorous effect.

When Kwiatkowska was born, Poland was part of the Russian Empire. She witnessed dramatic changes in Poland's culture and politics during her lifetime. Whether she was advocating for Polish independence, teaching at the Warsaw Theatre Academy, performing a comedic monologue, or singing in a movie musical, Irena Kwiatkowska sought the best for her country -- and brought her best to her audiences.

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Oct 30, 2005

Halloween 2005

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October 30, 2014

Maria Izquierdo's 112th Birthday






In Mexico, our doodle takes inspiration from Maria Izquierdo’s painting “Retrato de Belem” in honor of her 112th birthday. Izquierdo broke new ground when she became the first Mexican woman to have her artwork exhibited in the United States.

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Nov 1, 2014

Mariquita Sanchez de Thompson's 228th Birthday




Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson y de Mendeville was a patriot from Buenos Aires and one of its leading salonnières, whose tertulias gathered many of the leading personalities of her time. She is widely remembered in the Argentine historical tradition because the Argentine National Anthem was sung for the first time in her home, on May 14, 1813.

One of the first politically outspoken Argentine women, Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson has been considered the most active female figure in the revolutionary process.

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November 3, 2009

Melbourne Cup 2009




The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous annual Thoroughbred horse race. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races. The event starts at 3:00 pm on the first Tuesday of November and is known locally as "the race that stops the nation".

The event is one of the most popular spectator events in Australia, with sometimes over 110,000 people, some dressed in traditional formal raceday wear and others in all manner of exotic and amusing costumes, attending the race. The record crowd was 122,736 in 2003. The 1926 running of the Cup was the first time the 100,000 mark had been passed. Today the record at Flemington is held by the 2006 Victoria Derby when almost 130,000 attended.

<sup>'Fashions on the Field' is a major focus of the day, with substantial prizes awarded for the best-dressed man and woman. The requirement for elegant hats, and more recently the alternative of a fascinator, almost single-handedly keeps Melbourne's milliners in business. Raceday fashion has occasionally drawn almost as much attention as the race itself, The miniskirt received worldwide publicity when model Jean Shrimpton wore a white shift version of one on Derby Day during Melbourne Cup week in 1965.

Flowers, especially roses are an important component of the week's racing at Flemington. The racecourse has around 12,000 roses within its large expanse. Over 200 varieties of the fragrant flower are nurtured by a team of up to 12 gardeners. Each of the major racedays at Flemington has an official flower. Victoria Derby Day has the Corn Flower, Melbourne Cup Day is for the Yellow Rose, Oaks Day highlights the Pink Rose and Stakes Day goes to the Red Rose.

In the Melbourne metropolitan area, the race day has been a gazetted public holiday since 1877, but around both Australia and New Zealand a majority of people watch the race on television and gamble, either through direct betting or participating in workplace cup "sweeps". In 2000, a betting agency claimed that 80 percent of the adult Australian population placed a bet on the race that year. In 2010 it was predicted that $183 million would be spent by 83,000 tourists during the Spring Racing Carnival. In New Zealand, the Melbourne Cup is the country's single biggest betting event, with carnival race-days held at several of the country's top tracks showing the cup live on big screens</sup>

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November 3, 2014

Panama Independence Day 2014





Panama’s national bird, the Harpy Eagle, is perched on our homepage for the country’s Independence Day.

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November 4, 2019

Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda’s 98th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda, the acclaimed Colombian anthropologist and educator whose pioneering research reshaped traditional family structures and folk culture of Colombia.

Born in the town of El Socorro on this day in 1921, she was among the first generation of Colombian women allowed to pursue higher education. After studying at Bogotá’s Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Gutiérrez then traveled to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a master's degree in Social and Medical Anthropology before returning home to Colombia to complete her Doctorate of Social and Economic Sciences.

Making the most of her educational opportunities, Gutiérrez went on to author a dozen book-length studies that laid out a fundamental understanding of the lives of Colombia’s people, including women and children of lower social and economic status. Her study of the street children of Medellín led to an interest in solving social problems by focusing on the family unit.

In books like La familia en Colombia, Gutiérrez explored different cultural nuances within the various communities of the Andean, Santandereano, Antioqueño, and coastal-mining regions. She also undertook academic surveys of popular medicine in Colombia and traditional remedies known as curanderismo.

Other than studying families, Gutiérrez also raised a family of her own after marrying fellow anthropologist Roberto Pineda Giraldo, whom she met at university. For her invaluable contributions to Colombian society, Gutiérrez was awarded Colombia’s Woman of the Year award in 1967, as well as the 1983 Gold Medal for Scientific Merit from the Inter-American Family Congress.

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Nov 5, 2019

René Maran’s 132nd Birthday





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Marseille-based guest artist Irene Tardif, celebrates French author René Maran, born on a boat en route from Guyana to Martinique on this day in 1887 [although some sources cite November 8th, which was the day when his birth was officially declared following the boat’s arrival]. His 1921 book Batouala: A True Black Novel spoke of life in a Central African village as seen through the eyes of a tribal chief. Praised by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, the powerful work of fiction made Maran the first black author to win the prestigious Prix Goncourt, one of France’s highest literary honors.

As the son of a French colonial official, Maran spent his early childhood in Gabon and was educated in French boarding schools. Like his father, he went on to work for the French government, serving as an administrator in Oubangui-Chari, now known as the Central African Republic. While there, Maran learned the Bantu language and wove details of the local culture into his writing.

In 1921, the preface to his debut novel criticized racial inequalities in the colonial system, which sparked controversy and criticism. Maran soon resigned from his government position and moved to Paris, where he corresponded and socialized with African-American writers of the Harlem Renaissance throughout the 1920s and 30s.

Maran would go on to write for prominent periodicals in France and America—including publications like Opportunity, The Crisis, and Chicago Defender—and authored several other books of verse, fiction, and memoir. He also spent more than a decade reworking Batouala, a groundbreaking work of fiction that was admired for its unprecedented insights into African life and widely translated.

Maran remained staunchly committed to equality throughout his life, as well as to the quality of his writing. His success gave inspiration to the 1930s movement of francophone intellectuals in the African diaspora, and to this day he is regarded as a literary pioneer.

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Nov 8, 2019

Claudio Bravo Camus' 83rd Birthday







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

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

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

Bravo’s work was sometimes compared to so-called photo-realist painters, but he did not work from photographs. “Always I have relied on the actual subject matter,” he said, mentioning Mark Rothko’s abstract color-field paintings as an influence. “The eye sees so much more than the camera: half tones, shadows, minute changes in the color or light.”
The Doodle artwork focuses on his iconic series of mysterious packages wrapped in paper and tied with string, which brought him notoriety starting in the 1960s. The canvases blend a Pop Art sensibility with Claudio’s mastery of trompe-l'oeil painting so realistic it can “trick the eye.”

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

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Nov 9, 2019

30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall




“Tor auf!” [“Open the gate!”] roared the crowds gathered at the Berlin Wall on this evening in 1989. Today’s Doodle, created by Berlin-based guest artist Max Guther, celebrates the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a peaceful revolution that signaled the simultaneous end of the Cold War and the beginning of German reunification.

Winds of change were blowing across Europe as new leadership in Russia, Poland, and Hungary had high hopes in East Germany for an end to 28 years of strict travel restrictions. During a government press conference, an official spokesman’s hasty statement gave reporters and TV viewers the mistaken impression that East Germany would be allowing free travel between East and West Berlin.

Within hours, a massive crowd gathered at the wall, far outnumbering the border crossing guards. Some time before midnight, the officer in charge of the Bornholmer Street checkpoint defied his superiors and gave the order to open the gate.

Word spread quickly, and over the next few days, 2 million jubilant Germans crossed the border, some singing, dancing, and toasting the start of a new era while others began physically dismantling the wall.

Erected on August 13, 1961, the barbed wire and concrete edifice had long divided East and West Berlin. By the same token, its demolition triggered a series of events that led to the reunion of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.

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November 9, 2012

Paul Abadie's 200th Birthday





Paul Abadie was a French architect and building restorer. He is considered a central representative of French historicism. He was the son of architect Paul Abadie Sr..

Abadie worked on the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, Église Sainte-Croix of Bordeaux, Saint-Pierre of Angoulême and Saint-Front of Périgueux. He won the competition in 1873 to design the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on Montmartre in Paris, and saw construction commence on it, though he died long before its completion in 1914.

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November 9, 2014

25th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall






Seeking inspiration for this doodle we took a short bike ride from our Mountain View, California headquarters to our local public library to study an actual piece of the Berlin Wall.

This graffitied chunk of concrete, once a literal division, has been transformed into a symbol of unity, a reminder to passersby of the triumph of the collective human spirit. It was moving to see it in person and, appropriately enough, spray-painted on this special slab are the German words “Wir lieben dich” — “we love you”.

Determined to share this experience on the doodle and others like it around the world, we enlisted several folks and are grateful for their help. Our friends at veed.me arranged 17 international film crews to gather footage. The German Federal Archives [Bundesarchiv] provided powerful archival photographs by Klaus Lehnartz and Heiko Specht to set context for the video. Googlers from around the world translated more than 50 international versions. Morgan Stiff edited it all together.

We’re especially indebted to Nils Frahm, who composed the video’s beautiful music. Nils grew up in Germany and had this reflection of the event:

I was 7 years old when thousands of East German signature cars arrived in my hometown Hamburg and filled the air with odd smelling blue smoke. I saw strangers hugging strangers, tears in their eyes, their voices tired from singing. I was too young to understand, but I felt that life was different now and that different was better. Now it is our obligation to tell this story to all those who couldn't be there, who could not feel the spark of the peaceful revolution themselves and more importantly who can't remember how existence feels when its incarcerated by concrete walls. It is time to celebrate 25 years of unity.

We couldn’t have said it better.
Ryan Germick & Liat Ben-Rafael, Google Doodle Team

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November 10, 2020

Celebrating Umeko Tsuda






Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Japan-based guest artist Kano Nakajima, celebrates the pioneering Japanese educator and reformer Umeko Tsuda. Tsuda broke new ground as one of the first girls sent by the Japanese government to study abroad and went on to found what is today one of Japan’s oldest colleges for women. On this day in 1915, the Japanese government awarded Tsuda the prestigious Order of the Precious Crown for her achievements in women’s education.

Ume Tsuda was born in 1864 in what is now the Japanese capital of Tokyo, and at just seven years old was sent along with four other girls to the U.S. to study American culture. Over a decade later, she returned to Tokyo and became an English teacher, but she was disillusioned with the limited educational opportunities afforded to the country’s women at that time. Tsuda returned to the U.S. to attend Bryn Mawr College, where she became inspired to commit her life to the improvement of women’s higher education in her home country.

To that end, Tsuda created a scholarship for Japanese women to study in the United States, with the goal of helping to foster a new generation of educational leaders. With renewed vision, Tsuda again returned home and in 1900 opened her own school called Joshi Eigaku Juku [The Women’s Institute for English Studies].

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November 11, 2012

Roberto Matta's 101st Birthday





Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren, better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art.

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September 24, 2018

Mid-Autumn Festival 2018




Today, many east Asian nations celebrate Mid-Autumn Festivals, timed with the harvest moon – including China, Taiwan, Hong Hong, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. This shared holiday is generally a day off work for the whole country, and jumps around on the Roman calendar because it’s based on the lunar one.

Going under various names, Mid-Autumn Festivals occur on the first full moon after the Fall equinox. The position of the moon is important for rice farming, and mid-Autumn festivals are linked this way to agriculture. East Asian countries have their own mythologies and folk traditions associated with Mid-Autumn festivals. Japan has a story about a visible goddess and rabbit in the moon. Koreans believe it’s a day to celebrate their ancestors. China’s traditions, carried out in several other countries as well, involve lighting thousands of red paper lanterns.

All Mid-Autumn Festivals involve food, and most include some form of “moon cakes.” Chinese and Vietnamese moon cakes are baked and branded with characters; Korean mooncakes are made from rice flour and steamed over pine needles; Japanese mooncakes are spherical, like little moons.

In general these Mid-Autumn Festivals are about families getting together to express gratitude, and celebrate seasonal change. They often stretch to three days, incorporating the days before and after, and rank among the biggest holidays of the year.

So to East Asia and the entire diaspora: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!


Doodle by Cynthia Yuan Cheng

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Sep 30, 2018

Helia Bravo Hollis’ 117th Birthday






“I have done everything with love, passion, and courage,” said Helia Bravo Hollis in an interview with UNAM, the Mexican University where she studied and later headed the Biology department. “I have never worked for a salary. Everything has been for the research.”

Known to her students as La Maestra Bravo, Bravo Hollis made enormous contributions to the study of cacti in Mexico and worked tirelessly to found UNAM’s Botanical Gardens, where she served as director during the 1960s. Her passion for learning about nature was contagious to her students and earned her a great deal of respect among colleagues.

Born on this day in 1901, in the Mixcoac section of Mexico City, she first became interested in nature during Sunday walks with her parents. Her interest in the natural world led her to study Biological Sciences and obtain a Master’s degree from the UNAM, with a thesis on varieties of cactus found in Tehuacán, Puebla. An ambitious researcher, Bravo Hollis published her first book by 1937—the landmark study Las Cactaceas de México—which established her as a leading expert in the field.

During a 60 year career, she published nearly 170 articles, two books, as well as some 60 taxa descriptions and another 59 taxonomic revisions. A co-founder of the Mexican Cactus Society, Bravo Hollis discovered numerous species herself. The Ariocarpus bravoanus and Opuntia bravoana cacti are named after her. Her legacy lives on through the Helia Bravo Hollis Botanical Garden in Puebla, which is home to many endangered cactus species and has become a popular destination for students, scientists, and tourists alike.

Happy Birthday Helia Bravo Hollis!

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September 30, 2016

Andrejs Jurjans’s 160th Birthday





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

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

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

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Oct 1, 2016

Nigeria Independence Day 2016




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

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

Happy Independence Day, Nigeria!

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Oct 2, 2016

Grandparents's Day 2016 [Italy]

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Oct 3, 2016

German Reunification Day 2016




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

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

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