Google doodles

[9A]

Jun 25, 2021

Slovenia National Day 2021




Today’s Doodle honors Slovenia’s National Day, also known as Dan državnosti or Statehood Day. On this day in 1991, Slovenia became an independent state.

Spreading from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea, the central European nation celebrates 30 years of independence, displaying the Slovenian flag on official state buildings, private residences, and any other place appropriate for the celebration of national pride. Look closely at the Slovenian flag and you’ll see the three peaks of Mount Triglav—also depicted in today’s Doodle artwork—the middle of which is the nation’s highest point at 9,396 feet [2,864 meters]! After choosing this flag as the national symbol 30 years ago, it was taken to the top of Mount Triglav as celebration of Slovenia’s independence.

National Day is also a perfect occasion to enjoy Slovenian delicacies like žlikrofi [tiny potato dumplings], Štruklji [boiled, steamed, or fried rolls filled with cheese], and Potica [a ring-shaped nut cake].


Vesel Dan državnosti! Happy Statehood Day, Slovenia!

[9A]

Jul 1, 2015

Canada Day 2015




On this day 148 years ago, the British North America Act was passed, drawing three distinct colonies into a vastly beautiful, endlessly diverse, lake covered union called Canada. As Doodler Robinson Wood sketched at his desk and wondered how to pay homage to the world’s second largest country on the anniversary of its creation, his thoughts drifted to the Yukon, its winding rivers and the smell of its pines.

Here’s to your many natural wonders, Canada! Happy National Day.

[9A]

July 20, 2020

Colombia Independence Day 2020




Today’s Doodle celebrates the Independence Day of the country often called the gateway to South America: Colombia. On this day in 1810, residents of Bogotá called for freedom from Spanish rule. This crucial event resulted in a temporary independence that helped pave the way for Colombia’s eventual permanent sovereignty.

Featured in today’s Doodle artwork is Colombia’s national flower, the Cattleya trianae. Also known in Spanish as the Flor de Mayo [May Flower], the Cattleya trianae orchid commonly grows throughout the cloud forests of the Colombian Andes.

Colombia is home to upwards of 4,000 unique species of orchid, more than any other country in the world, and theCattleya trianaeis among 1,500 varieties that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Named after Colombian botanist José Jerónimo Triana, the Cattleya trianae was chosen as the country’s national flower in 1936 due to its red, blue, and yellow coloring, the same as the stripes of Colombia’s flag.

¡Feliz Día de la Independencia, Colombia! Happy Independence Day!

[9A]

July 20, 2012

Santos Dumont's 139th Birthday




Alberto Santos Dumont was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the very few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air aircraft. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos-Dumont dedicated himself to aeronautical study and experimentation in Paris, where he spent most of his adult life. He designed, built, and flew the first gasoline-powered dirigible balloons and won the Deutsch Prize in 1901, when he flew around the Eiffel Tower in his airship No. 6, becoming one of the most famous people in the world in the early 20th century.

He progressed to heavier-than-air machines, and on 23 October 1906 he flew about sixty metres at a height of two to three metres with the fixed-wing 14-Bis [also dubbed the Oiseau de Proie—"bird of prey"] at the Bagatelle Gamefield in Paris. Less than a month later, on 12 November in front of a crowd of witnesses, he flew 220 metres at a height of six metres with the Oiseau de Proie III. These flights were the first officially certified by the Aeroclub of France of a heavier-than-air aircraft and later recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale [FAI].

Santos-Dumont is a national hero in Brazil, where it is popularly held that he is the inventor of the airplane. Countless roads, plazas, schools, monuments, and airports in the country are dedicated to him, and his name is inscribed on the Tancredo Neves Pantheon of the Fatherland and Freedom. He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1931 until his suicide in 1932.

[9A]

April 5, 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]

Apr 10, 2019

First Image of a Black Hole





A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole. The boundary of no escape is called the event horizon. Although it has an enormous effect on the fate and circumstances of an object crossing it, according to general relativity it has no locally detectable features. In many ways, a black hole acts like an ideal black body, as it reflects no light. Moreover, quantum field theory in curved spacetime predicts that event horizons emit Hawking radiation, with the same spectrum as a black body of a temperature inversely proportional to its mass. This temperature is on the order of billionths of a kelvin for black holes of stellar mass, making it essentially impossible to observe directly.

[9A]

April 10, 2020

Thank You: Farmworkers and farmers

[9A]

Apr 13, 2020

Thank You: Grocery workers

[9A]

April 13, 2019

Songkran 2019





Marking the beginning of the Thai New Year, today’s Doodle celebrates Songkran, a three-day holiday that has been known to last for a whole week.

While the original festivities involved sprinkling water on one another for purification, and washing away bad luck for the year to come, Songkran has evolved into one big, joyous national water fight. In Chiang Mai, the action starts a day early with a grand procession around the northern Thai city. The Bangkok street party known as Silom takes place along a 4-kilometer street replete with vendors selling water balloons, squirt guns, street food, and drinks. On the island of Phuket, pickup trucks filled with water throwers patrol the crowded streets near the Patong Beach area, while live music and cultural events take place in Phuket Town’s Saphan Hin Park.

Songkran is also a time for spring cleaning, spending time with family and loved ones, and paying respect to time-honored cultural traditions.


Happy Songkran!

[9A]

April 13, 2009
Songkran Festival 2009

[9A]

Apr 15, 2009

Mimar Sinan's Birthday



Mimar Sinan also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ["Sinan Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan"] was the chief Ottoman architect [Turkish: mimar] and civil engineer for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. He was responsible for the construction of more than 300 major structures and other more modest projects, such as schools. His apprentices would later design the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and Stari Most in Mostar.

[9A]

April 15, 2012

Wilhelm Busch's 180th Birthday





Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day.

[9A]

April 15, 2021

Eugène Poubelle’s 190th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Eugène Poubelle, the French lawyer, administrator, and diplomat credited with revolutionizing Paris’s waste management system in the late 19th century. Never afraid to get his hands dirty, Poubelle is forever immortalized in the French word for the trash can: la poubelle.

Born in Caen, France on this day in 1831, Eugène René Poubelle earned a law degree and began his career as a professor before transitioning into public service. In 1883, he was appointed prefect of the Seine, and he soon came to the conclusion that Paris needed to clean up its act.

In 1884, Poubelle decreed that Parisian landlords were required to install large, covered receptacles for their tenants’ household trash, and—far ahead of his time—he even mandated three separate bins to facilitate recycling. In 1890, la poubelle was officially inducted into the French dictionary as the term for “garbage can.”

But Poubelle didn’t stop there. Following a severe cholera outbreak in 1892, he also required all buildings to be connected directly to the city’s sewers, another huge step in the name of urban hygiene. Poubelle’s mandates also catalyzed the development of household waste removal vehicles, early versions of which came in the form of horse-drawn carriages. With the advent of the first automobiles, these prototypical garbage trucks evolved into motorized vehicles in 1897; by the dawn of the 20th-century, this sanitation technology cleared the path for garbage collection to become commonplace not just in French urban centers but nationwide.

Thank you, Eugène Poubelle, for refusing to let your visionary ideas be thrown out!

[9A]

Apr 17, 2021

Celebrating Laura Bassi






Newton’s second law of motion states that an object’s acceleration is dependent on two variables: the force acting on the object and its mass. Apply this law to the momentum of women in science, and Italian physicist and professor—Laura Bassi—arises as a primary force for propelling scientific progress forward. On this day in 1732, Bassi successfully defended 49 theses to become one of the first women in Europe to receive a PhD.

Today’s Doodle celebrates Laura Maria Catarina Bassi, who was born in Bologna, Papal States [modern-day Italy] in 1711. A child prodigy, she was debating top academics on the history of philosophy and physics by 20; a rare achievement at a time in which women were largely excluded from higher education.

By 1732, Bassi was a household name in Bologna, and following her thesis defense, she became the first female member of the Bologna Academy of Sciences, one of Italy’s foremost scientific institutions. Due to gender discrimination, her position at the Academy was limited, yet she persisted. Bassi apprenticed under eminent Bologna professors to learn calculus and Newtonian physics, a discipline she spread across Italy for almost 50 years. A lifelong teacher of physics and philosophy, she complemented her education with innovative research and experiments on subjects ranging from electricity to hydraulics.

Bassi continually fought for gender equality in education throughout her trailblazing career; efforts that culminated in 1776 when the Bologna Academy of Sciences appointed her a professor of experimental physics—making Bassi the first woman offered an official teaching position at a European university.

Here’s to you, Laura Bassi!

[9A]

April 17, 2015

Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı’s 125th Birthday



Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı was a Turkish writer of novels, short-stories and essays, as well as being a keen ethnographer and travelogue.

Cevat Şakir had a deep impact on the evolution of intellectual ideas in Turkey during the 20th century. An erudite and colorful person, he remains a figure of reverence.

[9A]

August 3, 2020

Celebrating Vicki Draves






Today’s Doodle celebrates Filipino American diver and coach Victoria “Vicki” Draves, the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal. On this day in 1948, Draves won the gold medal in the women’s 3-meter springboard event at the London Summer Olympics.

Victoria Draves was born Victoria Taylor Manalo in the South of Market district of San Francisco on December 31st, 1924. Growing up, she and her family often hopped on the trolley to the enormous Fleishhacker Pool to swim and watch the divers. When she was a teenager, a member of a local swim team asked if she wanted to learn to dive, and she eagerly accepted, springboarding her into the sport she went on to champion.

After thousands of dives to perfect her form and three consecutive U.S. National Diving Championship platform titles, Draves earned a spot at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She dominated the games one faithful leap at a time and made history as the first woman to take home the gold in both the platform and springboard events.

Thank you, Vicki Draves, for inspiring people everywhere to aim high and take the plunge!

[9A]

March 17, 2020

St. Patrick’s Day 2020






Today’s Doodle pays tribute to the annual commemoration of cultural heritage for Irish people around the world, St. Patrick’s Day. Every year, the Irish come together to celebrate the nation’s history and identity.

Depicted in today’s Doodle artwork is one of the most unmistakable Irish landscapes, the Cliffs of Moher. Situated on Ireland’s west coast, these dramatic limestone cliffs were declared a protected Global Geopark by UNESCO in 2015. From atop the highest point of the area, O’Brien’s Tower, visitors can enjoy some of the best views of the cliffs.

Depending on the day’s mist, the natural beauty that can be seen has inspired numbers of age-old Irish legends: from accounts of mythical cities lost underneath its shores, to a sea witch’s love story that inspired the name of its southernmost point, Hag’s Head.

Whether you’re in awe of the breathtaking scenery of the Cliffs of Moher, or simply wearing a bit of green to show your pride, happy St. Patrick’s Day!

[9A]

March 17, 2011

St. Patrick's Day 2011

[9A]

Mar 17, 2021

Celebrating Charoen Krung Road




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

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

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

Here’s to Bangkok’s oldest New Road!

[9A]

Mar 19, 2021

Dona Militana's 96th Birthday






Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Bel Andrade Lima, celebrates the 96th birthday of Brazilian singer and storyteller Dona Militana, whose vast memory of medieval ballads provided a unique record of generational Iberian and Brazilian tales.

Militana Salustino do Nascimento, also known as Dona Militana, was born in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Rio Grande do Norte on this day in 1925. As a child, Militana worked the fields; planting crops and weaving baskets with her father, who sang as they toiled. Many of his songs told stories from a bygone era of medieval kings, queens, warriors, and lovers—stories Militana never forgot.

Militana’s traditional talent remained largely unknown for decades, until she was discovered by folklorist Deífilo Gurgel in the 1990s. It was then that she shared with the world her prodigious chronicle of songs and stories—some of which were over 700 years old.

In 2000, Militana recorded “Cantares,” a collection of 54 songs that were novel-like in scope, with lyrics and melodies that accurately reflected the times from which they originated. Upon the project’s release, audiences throughout Brazil learned of Dona Militana—the guardian of a Brazilian history nearly lost to time.

In recognition of her impact on Brazilian culture, Dona Militana was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 2005.


Feliz Aniversário, Dona Militana!

[9A]

Mar 20, 2021

David Warren's 96th Birthday





Today’s Doodle honors Australian research scientist Dr. David Warren, the inventor of the flight data and voice recording technology commonly known as “the black box”: a virtually indestructible device that has helped save the lives of countless travelers around the globe.

Born on this day on remote Groote Eylandt off the northern coast of Australia, David Warren went on to receive his doctorate in fuels and energy research from London’s Imperial College. After returning to Australia, he embarked on a 31-year career with the Commonwealth’s Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne.

In 1953, the ARL was tasked with investigating a mysterious crash of the world’s first jet-powered commercial aircraft. Confronted with the difficult task of reconstructing what went wrong, Dr. Warren had an ingenious idea. He envisioned a voice recording device that could capture cockpit conversations in real-time, providing critical insight into what happened before a crash to help prevent the same problems in the future. Facing initial skepticism, Dr. Warren developed an experimental prototype on his own, creating the world’s first “black box” [though his model was actually painted red]. The rudimentary device became the first with the capability to store audio in combination with flight instrument data, a monumental breakthrough in aviation technology.

Today, a modern equivalent of Dr. Warren’s invention is mandatory in cockpits worldwide, playing an integral role in the constant improvement of aviation safety standards.

Thank you, Dr. David Warren, for your selfless dedication to making air travel safer for people everywhere!

[9A]

Mar 22, 2021

Elena Lacková's 100th Birthday



Elena Lacková was a Slovak Romani writer and playwright, author of literature for Roma children and youth.

[9A]

Apr 5, 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]

March 30, 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]

Apr 4, 2019

Hugh Masekela's 80th Birthday





“My biggest obsession is to show Africans and the world who the people of Africa really are.”
—Hugh Masekela


Today’s Doodle celebrates the world-renowned South African trumpeter, singer, bandleader, composer, and human rights advocate Hugh Masekela. Born 80 years ago today in the coal-mining town of Witbank, South Africa, Masakela got his first horn at age 14. He went on to play with a wildly popular group known as the Jazz Epistles, the first all-black jazz band to record an album in South African history. However, within the year, its members were forced out of the country by the apartheid government.

At the age of 21, Masakela began a 30-year exile, traveling to New York where he enrolled in the Manhattan School of Music and dived into the city’s jazz scene, observing jazz giants like John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Mingus, and Max Roach on a nightly basis. “You’re just going to be a statistic if you play jazz,” Miles Davis advised him, “but if you put in some of the stuff you remember from South Africa, you’ll be different from everybody.”

Encouraged by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong, Masakela delved into his own unique influences to create his 1963 debut album, entitled Trumpet Africaine. By the late ’60s he moved to Los Angeles, and performed at the Monterey Pop Festival on a bill that included Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, and The Who. His 1968 single “Grazin’ in the Grass” hit #1 on the U.S. pop charts.


Masakela would go on to collaborate with the likes of Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Paul Simon, and Stevie Wonder. In 1990, “Bra Hugh” returned to South Africa in time to see his song “Bring Him Back Home [Nelson Mandela]” come true. When the ANC leader was released from prison and elected South Africa’s first black president, Masakela’s music was the soundtrack.

Happy 80th birthday, Hugh Masekela!



Hue Masekela and Herb Alpert -- 1978

[9A]

April 4, 2016

Cazuza’s 58th birthday





Like so many great rock musicians, Agenor Miranda Araújo Neto, better known as Cazuza, began his career rattling the walls of neighborhood garages. A native of Rio de Janeiro, he fell in with the fledgling rock group Barão Vermelho when a friend urged him to audition for their open lead vocalist position. After landing a song on the soundtrack for a local film, the group played at the first ever Rock in Rio music festival, and their popularity soared.

After four years with the band, Cazuza embarked on an enormously successful solo career. His music and profound lyrics were a testament to his travels in the UK and his brushes with Beat poetry in San Francisco. In 1988, Cazuza’s health declined, and in 1989 he announced that he had been living with AIDS. He continued to compose and perform despite the illness. Through his openness, charm, and advocacy, Cazuza helped ease the stigmas surrounding the LGBT and HIV-positive communities in Brazil. When he died in July of 1990, thousands lined the streets of Rio for his funeral procession.

To honor the late singer’s musical career, Doodler Helene Leroux sketched the rocker on stage in his iconic and ever-present bandana.

[9A]

July 29, 2018

María Rebecca Latigo de Hernández’s 122nd Birthday







Today’s Doodle celebrates what would have been the 122nd birthday of María Rebecca Latigo de Hernández, a civil rights leader integral to advancing Mexican American and Mexican immigrant rights.

Born in Garza García, near Monterrey, Mexico in 1896, Hernández later immigrated to San Antonio, Texas, where she became one of the leading voices speaking against economic discrimination and educational segregation that was faced primarily by women and children of Mexican descent. Among her many contributions, she co-founded the Orden Caballeros de America [Order of the Knights of America] - a benefit society dedicated to educating Mexican Americans about their rights. She also helped organize the Asociación Protectora de Madres [Association for the Protection of Mothers] which provided financial aid to expectant mothers and La Liga de Defensa Pro-Escolar [The School Defense League] which fought to replace segregated educational facilities.

In addition to being a powerful organizer, Hernández was also a talented orator: she became San Antonio’s first Mexican American female radio announcer, and spent much of the rest of her life speaking up against injustice and inequality across both the Mexican and African American communities.

Today’s Doodle illustrates Hernández doing what she did best – using her voice to elevate and benefit her community.

Happy 122nd birthday, María Rebecca Latigo de Hernández!

[9A]

July 29, 2008

50th Anniversary of NASA






The National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.

NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics [NACA]. The new agency was to have a distinctly civilian orientation, encouraging peaceful applications in space science. Since its establishment, most US space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System, Commercial Crew vehicles, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for uncrewed NASA launches.

NASA's science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System; advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program; exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons; and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs.

[9A]

August 7, 2019

Panteleimon Kulish’s 200th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the renowned Ukrainian writer, historian, and translator Pateleimon Kulish, born on this day in 1819. Through his literary works, including the epic poem Ukraïna, and historical novels like Chorna Rada [The Black Council], Kulish helped establish a cultural identity for his homeland, the second largest country on the European continent after Russia. Kulish was also the first person to translate the Bible into the Ukrainian language.

Raised in a poor family of Cossack descent, Kulish was not allowed to finish his studies at Kyiv University, since his family was not of the noble class. Nevertheless, he was able to hold various teaching positions, as well as become a prolific author. Inspired by the Cossacks, who were adventurous outdoorsmen who fought for a free Ukrainian state during the 17th century, Kulish and the poet Taras Shevchenko were at the forefront of a Ukrainian national revival.

Although the country was ruled by Russia during his lifetime, Kulish’s writing—heavily influenced by European Romantic literature and the Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott—championed the unique qualities of Ukrainian heritage and culture. He joined Shevchenko in the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood, a secret society that sought independence for Ukraine. As a result, he was arrested by Tsarist police and imprisoned in 1847 before being exiled to the Russian city of Tula for three years.

He married the writer Hanna Barvinok, established his own printing press, and continued to publish and translate throughout his life. Notes on the Southern Rus, his collection of Ukrainian folklore, is still studied by many to this day.

[9A]

Aug 11, 2019

Mountain Day 2019





Today’s Doodle celebrates Japan’s Yama no Hi, or Mountain Day. Announced in 2014 and first observed in 2016, this day encourages the people of Japan to take time out to explore and appreciate the majestic mountains that cover nearly three-quarters of the country’s landscape.

The date August 11th was reportedly chosen because the eighth-month kanji ‘八’ looks like a mountain, and the number ‘11’ resembles a pair of trees.

Some of Japan’s most breathtaking mountains are located in Nagano and Yamanashi Prefecture, which inspired today’s Doodle art. Amongst these mountains is Mount Fuji, commonly referred to as the most iconic peak in all the land—and also the tallest, rising to a height of 3,776 meters [12,389 feet].

Tokyo city-dwellers can reach Mount Takao without traveling far, and many of its popular trails can be hiked in just 90 minutes, whereas it takes a bit more time to hike the ancient Kumano Kodo trails in the Kii Mountains. Winding past waterfalls and pagodas, this network of seven pilgrimage routes is one of just two such routes in the world to be recognized by UNESCO as part of humanity’s intangible heritage.

[9A]

September 16, 2020

Celebrating Mascha Kaléko





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Hamburg-based guest artist Ramona Ring, celebrates the German-Jewish poet Mascha Kaléko, whose incisive poems and chansons earned her notable acclaim among the literary avant-garde in 1930s Berlin. On this day in 1974, Kaléko held her final reading in Berlin’s America Memorial Library.

Mascha Kaléko was born Golda Malka Aufen in 1907 in Schidlow, Galicia, in what is today southern Poland. With the outbreak of World War I, she and her family fled the country for Germany and eventually made a new home in Berlin in 1918.

As a teenager, she began to write poetry, and within several years, she achieved a level of celebrity as newspapers began publishing her work throughout the capital. In Kaléko’s poem “Das Bißchen Ruhm” [“A Little Bit of Glory,” 2003] she metaphorically wrote of her fame as plants that must be maintained with daily care, a concept reflected in the illustration of today's Doodle.

By the early 1930s, Kaléko was an established figure among Berlin’s literary avant-garde. She could often be found deep in conversation at the Romanische Café, the iconic bohemian hub frequented by notable contemporaries like Else Lasker-Schüler and Erich Kästner.

In 1933, she published her first book, “Das Lyrische Stenogrammheft” [“The Lyrical Shorthand Pad”], followed two years later by “Kleine Lesebuch für Große” [“The Little Reader for Grown-Ups”]. Kaléko’s work wittily captured the essence of daily urban life during the twilight of the Weimar Republic and through satirical verses explored weighty themes like social injustice and exile.

After nearly two decades spent in the United States, Kaléko settled in Israel and continued to write poetry for the rest of her life.

[9A]

September 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]

September 16, 2019

Mexico Independence Day 2019






Today’s animated Doodle, illustrated by Mexico-based guest artist Dia Pacheco, depicts indigenous Mexican crafts and textiles—particularly Oaxacan embroidery and the traditional children’s toys known as rehilete or pinwheels—in honor of Mexican Independence Day. Doodler artist Sophie Diao, inspired by Dia’s work, added to the festivities by animating the rehiletes. This national holiday commemorates Mexico becoming a free nation.

In the town of Dolores, on el dieciséis de Septiembre [[September 16th) 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang a bell and delivered his famous cry of independence El Grito de la Independencia, motivating fellow Mexicans to rise up against Spanish rule. Although Hidalgo was captured the following year, the battle had begun. To this day, Mexico’s president pays respect to this historic moment at Mexico City’s National Palace.

Mexico’s national colors—red, white, and green—flood every public place at this time of year as horns, whistles, confetti, and shouts of "Viva Mexico" and "Viva la independencia” fill the streets. Woven as they are into the fabric of this rich culture, traditional Mexican crafts, clothing, and textiles, are very much a part of the festivities, along with food, music, dancing, and fireworks.

¡Viva Mexico!

[9A]

Sep 18, 2013

Léon Foucault's 194th Birthday





Jean Bernard Léon Foucault was a French physicist best known for his demonstration of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation. He also made an early measurement of the speed of light, discovered eddy currents, and is credited with naming the gyroscope.

[9A]

September 18, 2013

203rd anniversary of the First Government Assembly in Chile



Government Assembly of the Kingdom of Chile [September 18, 1810 – July 4, 1811], also known as the First Government Gathering, was the organization established to rule post-colonial Chile following the deposition and imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte.

[9A]

January 13, 2017

Flora Nwapa’s 86th Birthday




Flora Nwapa, Nigeria's first published female novelist and Africa's first internationally-acclaimed English-language female writer, held the spotlight for nearly her entire adult life. She was not only an accomplished author, but a publisher, public servant, and activist.

From Nwapa's first novel, Efuru, published in 1966, to the establishment of her publishing company, Tana Press, Nwapa demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing and highlighting the women of Nigeria. Additionally, she used her books, and the books she published, to introduce Nigeria’s rich culture to a global audience.

Nwapa served by day in the Nigerian government, becoming the first female Minister of Health and Social Welfare for Nigeria’s former East Central State in 1970. During that time, she worked to reunite children and their parents who were divided as a result of the Biafran War. Afterwards, she became Minister of Lands, Survey, and Urban Development, a position she held until 1974.

Today’s Doodle pays homage to Nwapa, known as the “mother of modern African literature,” on what would be her 86th birthday.

[9A]

January 13, 2013

Aleko Konstantinov's 150th birthday





Aleko Konstantinov was a Bulgarian writer, best known for his character Bay Ganyo, one of the most popular characters in Bulgarian fiction.

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Jan 16, 2013
Zamboni




See the interactive version here!

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Jan 16, 2013

Teacher's Day 2013

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November 3, 2017

Loy Krathong 2017





On this night of the full moon, lotus baskets adorned with candles and incense float along rivers, lakes, and ponds across Thailand. For centuries, people have gathered on this day of the twelfth lunar month that marks an end to the rainy season. In some provinces, thousands of paper lanterns are released up into the sky. It is believed that floating away one’s bad luck [loy] on these flower baskets [krathong] brings blessings and good luck.

The sight of thousands of softly glowing flower baskets floating up and down the country against the backdrop of a moonlit horizon makes this a picturesque and magical Thai festival.

Doodle by Sophie Diao

[9A]

November 3, 2014

114th anniversary of the premiere of The Tale of Tsar Saltan





Our doodle in Russia today depicts a scene from the 20th century opera, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, for the libretto’s 114th anniversary.

[9A]

November 3, 2011

Oodgeroo Noonuccal's 91st Birthday





Oodgeroo Noonuccal [Born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, later Kath Walker] was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, artist and educator, who campaigned for Aboriginal rights. Noonuccal was best known for her poetry, and was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse.

[9A]

Nov 7, 2011

Marie Curie's 144th Birthday





A pioneer in the sciences, Marie Curie's research led to such achievements as the discovery of polonium and radium and the development of the theory of radioactivity. Her life's work earned her two Nobel Prizes and solidified her place in history as an icon in physics and chemistry.


Posted by Jennifer Hom

[9A]

Nov 11, 2011

Magusto 2011





"Magusto" is a Portuguese tradition celebrated by all generations: from grandparents, to moms and dads, and little children. On this day, people come together to eat chestnuts, drink new wine and mingle with friends and family. The event tends to happen around a bonfire, with the younger generation energetically jumping over it [editor's note: kids, don't try this at home, but if you must, ask your parents first]!

We all have great memories of coming to school on this day with a bag of chestnuts, learning how to prepare them and, of course, ending the afternoon eating them together

Happy Magusto to All!


doodle by Mike Dutton. post by Monica Bagagem

[9A]

November 11, 2019

Veterans Day 2019

Today’s Doodle, painted by Massachusetts-based veteran and guest artist Pete Damon, celebratesVeterans Day in the United States. One of the country’s 10 federal holidays, this day specifically honors members of the nation’s armed forces.Below, Pete shares his story and thinking behind the Doodle:

As a severely injured Iraq War veteran, the celebration of all those who serve is of paramount importance to me. In 2003, I lost parts of both arms while serving in-theater as a helicopter mechanic. I would not be alive today were it not for my fellow service members who sprang into action to save my life.

I started painting as a form of therapy, which led me to pursue a career in art. I've been painting scenes of children planting flags for some time now. As a young Cub Scout, my son's troop would often be recruited to plant flags to honor veterans. My wife and I would often tag along. I found the scene of those children honoring veterans to be very moving and profound. I would ask my wife Jenn to take photos for possible future paintings.

I've witnessed children taking part in similar displays of patriotism on Veterans Day when large fields, usually in public spaces, are filled with a sea of little flags. I thought it would make for the perfect painting subject. I asked permission from a friend and fellow veteran, Hillary Moll, who captured these scenes in photographs to use some of them as a reference.

Those photographs provided me with the perfect inspiration for this Doodle. When I was approached about the project, I was extremely honored and more than a little apprehensive. I was not sure I was up to the task, but was willing to give it my best.

I named this piece “Paying Tribute,” showing two children, one wearing camouflage and the other with a sailor’s cap and navy blue shirt, setting up a Veterans Day flag display. It is meant to honor all of those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

With this piece, I hope people will realize and appreciate the personal sacrifice that all who serve in the military endure securing the liberty of all Americans. I particularly hope that people will recognize the importance of teaching children to honor their service.

Pete alongside the Doodle he created and working on another painting

[9A]

Nov 19, 2013

Helena Zmatlíková's 90th Birthday







Helena Zmatlíková was a Czech illustrator, especially of children's books. For her works she received numerous awards. She also participated in the 1958 World Exhibition.

[9A]

Nov 20, 2013


Children's Day 2013 [Multiple Countries]

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November 20, 2019

Maude ‘Lores’ Bonney’s 122nd Birthday




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

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

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

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

[9A]

November 20, 2014

Corita Kent's 96th Birthday





American nun and artist Corita Kent said it best with her quote, “To understand is to stand under which is to look up to which is a good way to understand.” Kent gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s with her artwork that featured messages of love and peace. Today, we mark her 96th birthday.

[9A]

Nov 24, 2014

Henri de Toulouse Lautrec's 150th Birthday





French painter Henri de Toulouse Lautrec was a man who immersed himself in the color and theatrics of life. True to his spirit, Lautrec’s artwork portrayed the grandeur and excitement of the world he lived in.

When doodler Jennifer Hom was tasked with making a doodle for the renowned artist’s 150th birthday, she immediately looked to his work for inspiration.

Wanting to capture what essentially was the Golden Age of Paris, Jennifer focused her design around the iconic imagery of the Can-can Dancers and the lithograph style, symbols that best embodied the lively spirit of the “La Belle Époque” [“The Beautiful Era”]. The fluid-like forms of the dancers revealed the sense of joy and freedom that was characteristic of the time period.

As a final touch, Jennifer incorporated the portrait of Lautrec into the doodle to reference another of one of his posters. Surely a man who is remembered for his provocative and engaging imagery of Parisian nightlife has a place alongside his illustrations that have captivated the world for decades.