Google doodles

[9A]

October 31, 2016

Halloween 2016




Happy Halloween!
Grab your wand and help fend off a ghostly catastrophe. Press play to swipe spells, save your friends, and help restore the peace at the Magic Cat Academy.

This year’s Halloween Doodle follows freshman feline Momo on her mission to rescue her school of magic. Help her cast out mischievous spirits by swiping in the shape of the symbols above the ghosts’ heads. And you’d better pounce fast—the ghost that stole the master spellbook is getting away!

From the team that created the Magic Cat Academy:

The inspiration for this year’s cat spell-casting game came from a real-life black cat named Momo that belongs to Doodler Juliana Chen. It seemed like a good opportunity for a cat hero, since the winner of last year’s Candy Cup Doodle was Yellow Witch and her black cat.

Momo the muse

The original concept for the game involved a magic cat making a soup that was so good, it raised the dead. Connecting soup to Halloween proved too abstract, so the team shifted to the idea of a wizard school. This opened the door to a more robust world filled with interesting characters and paw-some themes.

“Graveyard” concepts included vacuums, candy-eating ghosts, and hiss-worthy exams.

The game includes five levels set in a school environment: the library, cafeteria, classroom, gym, and the building’s rooftop. We had lots of fun ideas for the resident foe of each level, including a chef ghost, a venn diagram ghost, and a big whistle ghost that summons other spirits.

Early mock-up of gameplay

Doodling for a whole Doodle game was very exciting for us. We had so many ideas for elaborate symbols to draw, like a witch’s hat that would appear on the character’s head after it was drawn! In the end we decided that for a short game against the clock, simple was better. Plans like the “Eiffel Tower spell” were abandoned, and similarly, gag spells didn’t make the cut. Regardless, we loved the process of dreaming up the possibilities.

Cat Hat Spell in a previous concept

That’s all for meow. We hope that every human, creature, and ghost has a purrfectly magical day.

Meow-loween Team

Art Olivia When Juliana Chen Kevin Laughlin Leon Hong Kevin Burke	Engineering Kris Hom Jacob Howcroft Mark Ivey Will Knowles
Production My-Linh Le Perla Campos Brian Kaas Ryan Germick	External Help Harmony Music [David Levison & Nicole Paul] Momo [black cat] Ripley [black cat] Nimbus [black cat] Harley [black cat] Baxter [black cat]

✨ Thanks for playing our game! ✨

[9A]

October 31, 2015

Halloween - Global Candy Cup 2015

Welcome to the Global Candy Cup, a fierce competition where four extraordinary witches race to collect the most candy before the end of Halloween. Join one witch’s worldwide team and keep playing throughout the day to add to your team’s score. Only one team will go home with the Cup — will it be yours?

[9A]

October 31, 2020

Halloween 2020






They're baaack!

The Levels : A deep dive

Level 1 — Sunlight Zone | Aquatic foe: Immortal Jellyfish
Fun Fact: When nearing death, the Immortal Jellyfish can revert back to the polyp stage & start its life cycle all over again—and can do so an unlimited amount of times!



Level 2 — Twilight Zone | Aquatic foe: Boops Boops
Fun Fact: "Boops" derives from the Greek "boōps," meaning “cow eye.” In most languages, the fish's name refers to its large buggy eyes.




Level 3 —Midnight Zone | Aquatic foe: Vampire Squid
Fun Fact: The Vampire squid has no teeth & doesn't hunt prey! It lives off small, organic material that falls to the ocean bottom known as "marine snow."



Level 4 — The Abyss | Aquatic foe: Anglerfish
Fun Fact: Talk about a fish gone fishin'. Instead of hunting, the Anglerfish uses its esca [or modified fin ray] to lure prey. The esca can illuminate thanks to bacteria!

This Halloween, we’re picking up right where our 2016 Magic Cat Academy Doodle left off with a subaquatic shriek-quel! Dive in with Momo the cat to help new friends and reach new depths in her adventure against the Big Boss ghost and its school of ghouls...underwater.


Feline lucky? Swim and swipe to PURR-tect the ocean and its creatures before it’s too late!

[9A]

Nov 4, 2020

Miliki's 91st Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Spain-based guest artist Cinta Arribas, celebrates Spanish clown, actor, director, writer, singer, and composer Emilio Aragón Bermúdez, known fondly by his stage name Miliki. Among his many artistic accomplishments, Aragón starred in the Spanish children’s program “El Gran Circo de TVE” [“TVE’s Great Circus”] which is widely considered one of the most iconic shows in the history of Spanish television.

Emilio Alberto Aragón Bermúdez was born on this day in 1929 in the town of Carmona in southwestern Spain. The son of a clown and an equestrian acrobatics specialist, Aragón honed his talent for performance art as a child surrounded by entertainers. Determined to carry on the family tradition, Aragón launched his clowning career by the age of 11, performing with his brothers at venues like Madrid’s legendary Circo Price [Price Circus].

The siblings moved to Cuba in the 1940s and achieved fame over the following decades as they showcased their endearing talents across the Americas. They found their way back to Spain in 1972 and the very next year, they took Spanish television by storm as the hosts of the children’s show which eventually became known as “El Gran Circo de TVE.”

After a hugely successful decade on air, Aragón moved beyond his identity as a clown and throughout the rest of his career explored new endeavors as a writer, TV presenter, filmmaker, and recording musician—a talent which earned him two Latin Grammy Awards.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Miliki!

[9A]

Nov 5, 2020

Martín Chambi's 129th Birthday












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

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

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

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




Happy birthday, Martín Chambi!

[9A]

Nov 9, 2020

Marie Dressler's 152nd Birthday




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

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

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

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

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

[9A]

Nov 18, 2020

Celebrating Fanny Eaton




Today’s Doodle celebrates Jamaican-British artist muse Fanny Eaton. Eaton modelled throughout the 1860s for a variety of notable English painters in work that helped redefine Victorian standards of beauty and diversity. On this day in 1874, it is recorded that Eaton sat for life classes at the Royal Academy of London, sessions which were integral to the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

Fanny Eaton was born Fanny Matilda Antwistle in Surrey, Jamaica on July 13, 1835. She moved with her mother to Britain during the 1840s, towards the beginning of the Victorian Era. In her 20s, she began modelling for portrait painters at the Royal Academy of London, and she soon captured the attention of a secret society of rising young artists called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Eaton made her public debut in Simeon Solomon’s painting The Mother of Moses, which was exhibited in 1860 at the Royal Academy. Over the following decade, she was featured by a variety of prominent Pre-Raphaelite artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, and Rebecca Solomon. The group held Eaton up as a model of ideal beauty and featured her centrally at a time when Black individuals were significantly underrepresented, and often negatively represented, in Victorian art.

Eaton’s modeling career lasted through much of the decade, and Millais’ 1867 work Jephthah is believed to feature her last known appearance in a painting.

Thank you Fanny Eaton, for helping move artistic inclusion forward.

[9A]

August 30, 2018

Prayoon Yomyiam’s 85th Birthday




Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Prayoon Yomyiam, a singer affectionately known in Thailand as Mae Prayoon or “Mother Prayoon.” Born on this day in 1933, she began singing at the age of 15 in a style of traditional Thai folk music known as Lam Tad. Originating in central Thailand, this popular form of antiphonal singing involves groups of men and women who take turns playfully poking fun at each other with improvised humorous lyrics, accompanied by a drum called a Klong Ramana.

Renowned for her clever lyrics with dual meanings [a technique known in Thailand as song ngae song ngam] Prayoon Yomyiam never failed to delight audiences. Cassette recordings and videos of her Lam Tad performances circulated widely throughout Thailand, helping to promote the Lam Tad tradition and keep it alive. By 1994 she was named a National Artist of Thailand, a title conferred annually by the National Culture Commission of Thailand recognizing notable artists in the country’s cultural heritage.

Prayoon helped to preserve and popularize the Lam Tad style of music,which once faced extinction before being introduced into nationwide popular culture via television. Aside from helping the music make a comeback domestically, she introduced Lam Tad to other countries as part of Thailand’s state-sponsored tourism campaign. Using her talents to spread laughter and cheer, Yomyiam helped keep Thailand’s folk culture alive for generations to come.


Happy Birthday, Mae Prayoon!

[9A]

September 2, 2021

Rudolf Weigl's 138th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 138th birthday of Polish inventor, doctor, and immunologist Rudolf Weigl. He produced the first effective vaccine against epidemic typhus—one of humanity’s oldest and most infectious diseases.

On this day in 1883, Rudolf Stefan Weigl was born in the Austro-Hungarian town of Przerów [modern-day Czech Republic]. He went on to study biological sciences at Poland’s Lwów University and was appointed as a parasitologist in the Polish Army in 1914. As millions across Eastern Europe were plagued by typhus, Weigl became determined to stop its spread.

Body lice were known to carry the typhus-infecting bacteria Rickettsia prowazekii, so Weigl adapted the tiny insect into a laboratory specimen. His innovative research revealed how to use lice to propagate the deadly bacteria which he studied for decades with the hope of developing a vaccine. In 1936, Weigl’s vaccine successfully inoculated its first beneficiary. When Germany occupied Poland during the outbreak of the Second World War, Weigl was forced to open a vaccine production plant. He used the facility to hire friends and colleagues at risk of persecution under the new regime.

An estimated 5,000 people were saved due to Weigl’s work during this period--both due to his direct efforts to protect his neighbors and to the thousands of vaccine doses distributed nationwide. Today, Weigl is widely lauded as a remarkable scientist and hero. His work has been honored by not one but two Nobel Prize nominations!

From studying a tiny louse to saving thousands of human lives, the impacts your tireless work had on the world are felt to this day—Happy Birthday, Rudolf Weigl!

[9A]

July 10, 2017

Eva Ekeblad’s 293rd Birthday



Today we celebrate Eva Ekeblad’s 293rd birthday. The Swedish scientist brought potatoes, then a greenhouse curiosity, to the people. Eva discovered the starch was humble but mighty – potatoes could be ground into flour or distilled into spirits. Her discovery helped reduce famine in years to come.

For her scientific and delicious work, Eva Ekeblad became the first woman elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1748. She was truly a pioneer - the next woman recognized in those ranks would come 203 years later.

Today we we honor Eva Ekeblad's ingenuity and her scientific achievements. Happy birthday, Eva!

[9A]

July 10, 2009

Nikola Tesla's Birthday





Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current [AC] electricity supply system.

Born and raised in the Austrian Empire, Tesla studied engineering and physics in the 1870s without receiving a degree, gaining practical experience in the early 1880s working in telephony and at Continental Edison in the new electric power industry. In 1884 he emigrated to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen. He worked for a short time at the Edison Machine Works in New York City before he struck out on his own. With the help of partners to finance and market his ideas, Tesla set up laboratories and companies in New York to develop a range of electrical and mechanical devices. His alternating current [AC] induction motor and related polyphase AC patents, licensed by Westinghouse Electric in 1888, earned him a considerable amount of money and became the cornerstone of the polyphase system which that company eventually marketed.

Attempting to develop inventions he could patent and market, Tesla conducted a range of experiments with mechanical oscillators/generators, electrical discharge tubes, and early X-ray imaging. He also built a wireless-controlled boat, one of the first-ever exhibited. Tesla became well known as an inventor and demonstrated his achievements to celebrities and wealthy patrons at his lab, and was noted for his showmanship at public lectures. Throughout the 1890s, Tesla pursued his ideas for wireless lighting and worldwide wireless electric power distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs. In 1893, he made pronouncements on the possibility of wireless communication with his devices. Tesla tried to put these ideas to practical use in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project, an intercontinental wireless communication and power transmitter, but ran out of funding before he could complete it.

After Wardenclyffe, Tesla experimented with a series of inventions in the 1910s and 1920s with varying degrees of success. Having spent most of his money, Tesla lived in a series of New York hotels, leaving behind unpaid bills. He died in New York City in January 1943. Tesla's work fell into relative obscurity following his death, until 1960, when the General Conference on Weights and Measures named the SI unit of magnetic flux density the tesla in his honor. There has been a resurgence in popular interest in Tesla since the 1990s.

[9A]

Jul 12, 2009

Pablo Neruda's Birthday




Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto, better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda, was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old, and wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, overtly political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems such as the ones in his collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair [1924].

[9A]

July 12, 2011

450th Anniversary of St. Basil's Cathedral





Built in 1561, St. Basil's Cathedral is an architectural treasure for both Russia and the world. As this is one of my personal favorite buildings of all time, it was difficult for me to not become completely caught up in every detail while drawing [even knowing how small it appears on the homepage]. Never the less, above is the high resolution version of this doodle!


posted by Jennifer Hom

[9A]

July 12, 2017

Tayeb Salih’s 88th Birthday




“There are many horizons that must be visited, fruit that must be plucked, books read, and white pages in the scrolls of life to be inscribed with vivid sentences in a bold hand,” claims the narrator of Tayeb Salih’s most critically acclaimed novel, Seasons of Migration to the North.

First published in Arabic in 1967, Seasons of Migration to the North was an international hit and is considered a national treasure of Sudan. It was eventually translated into 20 languages, and in 2011 it was deemed the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century by the Arab Literary Academy.

Before his literary successes, Salih was born to a poor family in a village in northern Sudan in 1929. He studied in the capital, Khartoum, before moving to England four years before his country gained its independence in 1956. After leaving Sudan, Salih spent much of his life living in various cities across Europe and the Arab world, but his work always found a firm foundation in his homeland -- mostly the fictional village of Wad Hamid.

Today’s doodle honors his sense of a setting, incorporating recurring elements from some of Salih’s most popular stories, like Seasons, The Wedding of Al Zein [1962], and A Handful of Dates [1964]. Through Salih’s window we can see a boy and his beloved grandfather, the shade of a palm tree, and the river Nile.

Happy 88th birthday, Salih!

[9A]

July 12, 2013

Claude Bernard's 200th Birthday






Claude Bernard was a French physiologist. Historian I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". Among many other accomplishments, he was one of the first to suggest the use of a blinded experiment to ensure the objectivity of scientific observations. He originated the term milieu intérieur, and the associated concept of homeostasis [the latter term being coined by Walter Cannon].

[9A]

August 12, 2019

Vikram Sarabhai’s 100th Birthday






Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Mumbai-based guest artist Pavan Rajurkar, celebrates the 100th birthday of award-winning Indian physicist, industrialist, and innovator Vikram Sarabhai, remembered by many as the father of India’s space program. Beyond his personal interest in cosmic rays, rockets, and satellites, Dr. Sarabhai believed in using science and technology as “levers of development.”

Born in the city of Ahmadabad on this day in 1919, Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai attended Gujarat College before traveling to England to earn his doctorate at Cambridge.

"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation,” said Dr. Sarabhai following the launch of Russia’s Sputnik satellite. “To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose… We must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."

Dr. Sarabhai established the Indian National Committee for Space Research in 1962, later renamed the Indian Space Research Organization [ISRO]. This led to the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in southern India, which had its first successful launch on November 21st, 1963. His dream of an Indian satellite was realized when Aryabhata went into orbit in 1975.

He also founded many important institutions in his homeland, such as the Physical Research Laboratory [when he was just 28 years old], the Indian Institute of Management, and the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology. He also served as chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission.

Dr. Sarabhai's commitment to science education led to the Community Science Center in Ahmedabad, which now bears his name. A crater on the moon was named in his honor in 1973. Earlier this summer the ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-2 mission in hopes of making India the fourth country to land on the moon. The Vikram lander is scheduled to touch down on the lunar surface on September 7th of this year.

[9A]

August 12, 2012

Closing Ceremony 2012





The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London.

[9A]

Aug 15, 2012

Julia Child's 100th Birthday








The scene in our living room in the early ‘60s will be familiar to many. I can picture my dad sitting in his chair, glued to the new black-and-white miracle of technology in our house, watching The French Chef... for the sheer fun of the show. Fast-forward nearly 15 years and I would find myself, as a young student at La Varenne cooking school in Paris, standing in front of Julia Child herself. At that first meeting, for a moment, I had Julia’s undivided attention and her intent interest in my goals and plans as a cook. [Happily, that encounter would lead to opportunities to work as a member of Julia’s team, to travel with her around the U.S. and in France, and to a treasured friendship until her death in 2004. I would even become executive director of that esteemed cooking school – due, in large measure, to her influence and support.] Countless times throughout the years that’s the scene which would became familiar to me – Julia engaging and encouraging both professional chefs and home cooks. She would rarely leave a restaurant without a visit to the kitchen or exit a book signing without having communed with everyone in line; she was an active mentor to many of us. Julia was so approachable that people felt they knew her – no one hesitated to stride right up and start a conversation – and in fact, they did know her. After all, she’d been in our living rooms taking us by the hand in the kitchen for years. [Ever-embracing of new technologies, I believe Julia would be thrilled to know that she’s now literally in people’s hands, on digital devices.] But more than that, what people saw on camera was what they’d experience in person. It was all pure Julia. Especially on the occasion of what would have been her 100th birthday, it’s clear that Julia Child is simply someone we love to love. For good reason – there are many qualities that endear her to us. She came into her own later in life and helped to redefine age. [One of her secrets to aging, I discovered, is that she never saw herself as old. After attending a Smith College reunion in her late 70s, she told me she’d never go to another. “Too many old people,” she said. Julia loved hard and worked hard [more than anyone I have ever known] and accomplished great things that endure. [How many authors have a New York Times best seller nearly 50 years after publication?] She was opinionated, utterly authentic, and a self-professed ham. She managed to be both serious and a showman, making things look easy while never compromising her incredibly disciplined approach. She demystified and democratized French cooking [the gold standard and height of sophistication when she took the stage] and appeared to have a ball doing it. Julia dedicated her support to the organizations and causes that mattered to her most, particularly those related to cooking and the pleasures of the table. In 1995, Julia created the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts [juliachildfoundation.org] for the purpose of continuing that support after she’d “slipped off the raft”, as she would often refer to dying. The Foundation is proud to help further Julia’s life’s work. Julia believed in all of us. She felt that if she could show us how to cook well, we’d do just that. She wanted us to experience the pleasures – in both life and work – that she had, and to revel in good food. “The thing about food,” she said in a 1966 Time Magazine cover story, “is you’re a much happier person if you eat well and treasure your meals.” So to quote Julia once again – on the occasion of her 100th birthday – “Bon Appétit!”


Susy Davidson Executive Director, The Julia Child Foundation

[9A]

August 15, 2017

South Korea National Day 2017





National Liberation Day, also called Gwangbokjeol [“the day the light returned”], marks South Korea’s independence following the end of WWII. Today, South Koreans embrace their hard-earned nationhood with patriotic fanfare, participating in parades and community festivals. In South Korea’s capital of Seoul, dignitaries and prominent political figures gather at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts for the annual ringing of the bell at 12 PM on the dot to commemorate former leaders.

Today’s Doodle welcomes National Liberation Day with an intricate rendering of a mugunghwa [botanical name: Hibiscus syriacus], Korea’s national flower. Beloved by Koreans for over a thousand years, this bloom symbolizes perseverance and loyalty — the perfect complement to the country’s flag, known as taegukgi, which is emblazoned with a bold blue and red circle representing the harmony of yin-yang.

[9A]

August 15, 2016

India Independence Day 2016




“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now that time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of today's midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”

These mindful words, spoken by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947, introduced the world to the free nation of India. Nehru’s speech marked the culmination of the Indian independence movement, which was in motion for nearly a century. “Tryst with Destiny” was the climax; the power of nonviolence had, in the end, freed India.

Today’s Doodle depicts the speech’s historic delivery in the Parliament House before the Indian Constituent Assembly. We celebrate India’s independence and as Nehru so eloquently stated, her leaders’ “pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people.” Jai hind!

[9A]

August 15, 2018

Carmen Conde’s 111th Birthday





Poet, teacher, novelist, playwright, author of over 100 books, and cofounder of Cartagena’s Popular University, Carmen Conde Abellán was a pioneer in multiple fields. Born in 1907 on Cartagena’s southeast coast, Conde used to read and write under her bed as a child since her parents didn't appreciate her literary aspirations. Her gift with words became evident early as she saw her first writings published in the national press when she was 15 and published her first book, La Lectura, in 1929.

The first woman elected to the Royal Spanish Academy in 1978, Conde is celebrated in literary circles for her poetry. Yet her restless creativity found other outlets as well. Writing under the pseudonym Florentina del Mar, she produced 20 volumes of children’s literature and went on to premiere children’s plays on the radio.

Her best-known works include Longing for Grace [Ansia de la Gracia] and Woman Without Eden [Mujer sin Edén], an allegorical poem tracing the lives of womankind ever since the Garden of Eden.

Conde was given a a seat in the RAE, the royal Spanish Academy, 300 years after its founding, and after six other women’s candidacy had been considered, voted upon and rejected. Conde attributed her recognition to “40 years of endurance with dignity and courage and work.”

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Carmen Conde!

[9A]

August 15, 2013

KR Liberation Day





Today’s Doodle celebrates the National Liberation Day of Korea, known in Korean as Gwangbokjeol [광복절], which translates literally to “Restoration of Light Day.” This public holiday commemorates the anniversary of the day Korea was liberated following the end of World War II in 1945. August 15 also recognizes the establishment of the first official South Korean government on this day in 1948.

Gwangbokjeol is a combination of three carefully chosen Korean characters: ‘광’ [gwang] or “light”; ‘복’ [bok] or “restoration”; and ‘절’ [jeol] or “holiday.” As the nation’s history on the Korean peninsula extends as far back as 4 BCE, the character for “restoration” is used instead of “independence” to highlight the thousands of years of history that preceded its occupation by other forces.

Koreans worldwide celebrate the nation’s hard-won independence and rich history with public displays of the taegeukgi [the South Korean flag depicted in the Doodle artwork], while official government ceremonies honor those who made sacrifices to establish a sovereign state.

광복절 만세 [Gwangbokjeol manse]! Happy National Liberation Day, Korea!

[9A]

Aug 15, 2013

Edith Nesbit's 155th Birthday




Edith Nesbit [married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924] was an English author and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist and co-founder of the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later affiliated to the Labour Party.

[9A]

Aug 26, 2013

Rufino Tamayo's 114th Birthday




Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo [August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991] was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico. Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction with surrealist influences.

[9A]

Aug 31, 2012

Maria Montessori's 142nd Birthday







Legendary educator Maria Montessori pioneered her self-titled teaching technique in the early 20th century, revolutionizing the classroom. Until then, typical curriculum consisted of lectures, rote memorization, and strict testing. There was little to no chance for children to explore concepts on their own or learn at their own pace. Montessori's innovative contribution to educational philosophy consisted of allowing students to be self-directed in their approach to learning. The teacher's role became less directly didactic, more nurturing – educators were there to enable the discovery of knowledge, not to simply repeat facts.

Some of the most iconic embodiments of the Montessori method are the materials used in pre-k learning, some of which can be seen above. I attended a Montessori school from preschool to eighth grade, and researching this doodle made for an evocative trip down memory lane. Looking at pictures of her materials immediately called back memories of playing with number beads and trinomial cubes. These simple, brightly-colored objects taught me the foundations of arithmetic, geometry, spelling, and grammar, not to mention [not pictured] geography, biology, and botany.

Though Maria Montessori's techniques were considered audacious and controversial when she pioneered them, the Montessori method lives on today in more than seven thousand schools worldwide, teaching generation after generation of children to be independent, intellectually curious, and innovative.


Posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino, Doodler

[9A]

August 31, 2016

Malaysia Independence Day 2016




It’s difficult to find a creature with a more regal air than the tiger. Called harimau in Malay, the Malayan tiger is primarily found in southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula.

It’s fitting that the Malayan tiger is also the national animal of Malaysia, a dynamic, robust country. In 1957, Malaysia won its independence from British colonization. Since then, Malaysians raise their flags every year on this day to those who fought valiantly for the nation’s liberation. Happy Independence Day, Malaysia!

[9A]

Sep 1, 2016

34th Anniversary of Similan Islands National Park




Today’s Doodle takes you under the stunning waters of Thailand’s Similan Islands. Located northwest of Phuket in the Andaman Sea, the archipelago of 11 islands is famous for its breathtaking dives. Sea turtles, zebra sharks, and blue-spotted stingrays are just a few of the species an underwater adventurer might encounter.

Equally as inviting as the coral reefs are the park’s white sandy beaches. From there, long-tail boats can be spotted navigating the waters against a backdrop of ironwood and gum trees. Also fluttering above sea level, a number of feathered species call the islands home — everything from white-bellied eagles to yellow-browed warblers.

Rich in both wildlife and natural beauty, the Similan Islands were named a national park 34 years ago today. Now it’s time to dive in and celebrate!

[9A]

Sep 7, 2015

Brazil's Independence Day 2015






Orchids! Palm trees! Passion flowers! There’s no landscape in the world quite as colorful as Brazil’s, whose independence we celebrate today. In 1822, from the banks of the grassy Ipiranga Brook in São Paulo, Dom Pedro I declared Brazil a free nation. Centuries later, visitors to the Terra do Brasil come to enjoy its awesome mix of natural offerings, captured in this doodle by Kevin Laughlin. Its main rainforest “is home to as many as 80,000 plant species,” according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. Brazil’s fauna is also impressive, with hundreds of unique mammals roaming its land, and thousands of fish species swimming through its waters. Happy independence day to beautiful, bountiful Brazil!

[9A]

September 7, 2016

Paralympics 2016






What started as a small gathering of British WWII veterans in 1948 has bloomed into the world’s largest sporting event for athletes with physical disabilities, drawing 4,500 athletes from 176 countries worldwide.

Today’s Doodle celebrates the opening of the 2016 Summer Paralympics and highlights the incredible feats of athleticism the participants will demonstrate in Rio. They’ll go for gold during a year of firsts: Rio, the first Latin American city to host the Paralympics, will debut canoeing and paratriathlon among the more than 500 existing events.

Tune in to cheer your favorite Paralympians on through September 18 when the Games wrap up.

[9A]

March 9, 2018

Paralympics 2018





The world’s eyes will once again turn to PyeongChang this week as the 2018 Paralympic games get under way! 80 countries around the world are sending their athletes to compete in the games, held from March 9 to 18 this year. Over 670 athletes, including more female athletes than ever before, have the chance to show their skills after years of hard work and training.

The lineup of the Paralympic games will include: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, snowboarding, and wheelchair curling. Over the next 10 days, more than 80 medals will be awarded across the sports.

Today’s Doodle represents athletes from each of the sports in competition, all racing together to capture a spot on the podium.

Good luck to all and let the games begin!

[9A]

Sep 7, 2016

Brazil National Day 2016





Independence can mean many things, including liberty, strength, and peace. It can be a personal feeling of freedom or a public expression of pride. Today we celebrate two shining examples of independence: Brazil National Day and the start of the 2016 Paralympic Games. In September of 1822 on the banks of the Ipiranga Brook, Dom Pedro declared Brazil's autonomy. And in present-day Rio, the athletes of the Paralympic Games pursue their passions in more than 20 sports, including canoe and triathlon for the first time.

These occasions are centuries apart, but they share a soaring sense of independence that's worth celebrating every day.

[9A]

Sep 12, 2016

Takizo Iwasaki’s 121st birthday




Most of us are familiar with the wax and plastic replica foods that help you decide what to order at a restaurant, but did you know that the practice dates back to the 1920s?

Takizo Iwasaki re-invented a practice that had been around for over a decade, of creating sampuru [or samples] of food served by restaurants. He started with a perfectly 'cooked' omelet made of wax. Reportedly, upon showing it to his wife, she couldn't even tell the difference between the sampuru and the real thing! The omelet was once open for public viewing in his home prefecture of Gifu, where most of the world's replica food is still made.

Although replica foods are now more often made of plastic than wax, the practice is still done by hand and rarely mass-produced. This is to maintain the quality of the sampuru and the unique dishes that each restaurant requests.

Today's doodle celebrates Takizo Iwasaki on what would be his 121st birthday, with an homage to that original omelet that changed the landscape of sampuru forever.

[9A]

September 12, 2011

Korean Thanksgiving 2011





The origins of Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving can be traced back to Korea’s past as an agrarian society. Chuseok is also known as Hangawi, which means the 15th day of August, according to the lunar calendar. On this day, a full harvest moon appeared in the sky and families gathered to enjoy time together and give thanks to their ancestors for the plentiful harvest. The women of the family also prepared an ancestral memorial ceremony called charye by filling a table with food including newly harvested rice and fruit.

Koreans celebrate Chuseok by making special foods, particularly a certain kind of rice cake called songpyeon. Songpyeon is made with finely ground new rice and the dough is kneaded into small round shapes and filled with sesame seeds, chestnuts, red beans, or other similar ingredients. The rice cakes are arranged upon layers of pine needles as they are steamed, filling the home with the delicate and fresh fragrance of autumn. On the eve of Chuseok, family members gather to make songpyeon together, illustrating the importance of family in Korean society.

Another Chuseok tradition in modern-day Korea is that of gift-giving. Koreans will present gifts to not only their relatives, but also to friends and business acquaintances to show their thanks and appreciation. Some customary gift ideas are high-quality cuts of beef, fresh fruit such as apples, and gift sets of everything from traditional Korean snacks to useful items like shampoo. If you look around supermarkets and department stores before Chuseok, you will no doubt encounter a huge variety of gift sets on sale. Spam, which is extremely popular in Korea, is actually one of the most popular gift sets to present to those near and dear to you.

[9A]

October 19, 2020

Farid al-Atrash’s 110th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 110th birthday of Syrian-born Egyptian composer, singer, instrumentalist, actor, and film producer Farid al-Atrash, widely considered one of the Arab world’s great performers of his time. A virtuosic player of the stringed Middle Eastern instrument called the oud, al-Atrash forever left his mark on music and cinema in Egypt and beyond, releasing over 220 original songs and starring in 31 musical films across his prolific career.

Farid al-Atrash was born on this day in 1910 into the prominent al-Atrash family in Jabal Druze in the Syrian province of Suwayda. As a child, al-Atrash emigrated with his mother and siblings to Egypt, escaping the French occupation. Later, they were naturalized by the Egyptian government as citizens. There, he went on to pursue a musical education— inspired by his mother who was a professional singer and musician herself. Exhibiting a rare musical talent, by the early ‘30s he was singing regularly on Egyptian radio.

Al-Atrash soon began to release his own music and rose to a new level of fame with his big-screen debut–alongside his sister [Asmahan]–in the 1941 film “Intisar al-Shabab” [“The Triumph of Youth”]. He went on to lead a massively successful film career during Egypt’s golden age of cinema over the following decades. Meanwhile, he composed many songs considered classics of modern Arab music and through his extraordinary instrumental prowess earned the nickname “King of the Oud.”


Happy birthday, Farid al-Atrash!

[9A]

September 20, 2018

Josefa Llanes Escoda’s 120th Birthday





When Josefa Llanes Escoda was attending elementary school in Dingras, her hometown in the Philippines, she went to class despite an impending typhoon. “I'll not let the weather keep me away from school,” the determined young student told her mother. After graduating as valedictorian, she went on to join the Red Cross and win a scholarship to the United States, where she studied social work, earning a masters degree from Columbia University.

Born on this day in 1898, Escoda was the eldest of seven children and always showed a great interest in women’s issues. A strong advocate for female suffrage, she worked tirelessly to make sure voting rights were extended to all citizens. She founded the Boy's Town in Manila for underprivileged youth in 1937 and the Girl Scouts of the Philippines in 1940, changing the lives of young people in her native country for the better.

Escoda’s face appears on the 1000 peso bill and streets, buildings, and a monument have been dedicated in her honor. As a living legacy to her work, the Girl Scouts of the Philippines honor Escoda by celebrating her birthday each year with acts of service, carrying the example she set forward for generations to come.

[9A]

September 20, 2021

Respect the Aged Day 2021





On the third Monday of September, the people of Japan honor the eldest in their communities during Respect for the Aged Day. Today's Doodle by Ishikawa, Japan-based guest artist Maiko Dake captures the joy provided by elderly people and their contributions to society.

The holiday, also known as Keirō no Hi, started as a local festival in 1947 when the mayor of Nomadani-mura [now Taka-cho] in the Hyōgo Prefecture wanted to host an event during which people could look to their elders for guidance and wisdom. The idea soon caught on in other communities and Japan declared Respect for the Aged Day a national holiday in 1966.

In years past, many people used the long weekend to visit aging relatives or bring meals to the elderly. Some cities also hold athletic competitions for seniors! Others call or send flowers like those represented in today’s Doodle to honor their loved ones.

People who have recently celebrated their 100th birthdays can look forward to official congratulations, and of these more than 80,000 centenarians, some appear on television to share their advice for a long and healthy life.

Happy Respect for the Aged Day, Japan!

[9A]

Sep 21, 2021

Chuseok 2021




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Seoul, South Korea-based guest artist Kim Jam, celebrates Chuseok, a three-day, harvest festival observed across the Korean peninsula. As one of the three most important holidays on the Korean lunar calendar, Chuseok is a time for families to come together and show gratitude for a fruitful harvest with traditional food, stories, and games.

Chuseok is also known in Korean as Hangawi, with “han” meaning “large” and “gawi” meaning “middle,” referring to a big celebration in the middle of the month! The date for this holiday, the middle of the 8th lunar month, was chosen to align with the harvest moon, which is the largest full moon of the year. Families traditionally start the day’s festivities with a memorial service known as charye which commemorates their ancestral heritage with enough songpyeon [half-moon rice cakes] for everyone to enjoy.

To honor an abundant harvest, holiday activities are livened with vibrant traditions of Korean entertainment. Samulnori [a percussion quartet] drums up the sounds for talchum [a mask dance] and ganggangsullae [an ancient circle dance] while celebrants play Chuseok games such as yutnori [a board game using four wooden sticks], and neolttwigi [standing seesaw].

Happy Chuseok, Korea!

[9A]

April 5, 2013

Arbor Day 2013



Arbor Day is a holiday that celebrates planting and caring for trees around the US. It started on April 10, 1872, when an estimated 1 million trees were planted in the state of Nebraska. Many countries today also celebrate Arbor Day, but the date varies depending on climate and growing season. This 2013 doodle includes an animation of a tree growing.

[9A]

December 16, 2014

Tadas Ivanauskas' 132nd Birthday




Tadas Ivanauskas [December 16, 1882 – June 1, 1970] was a prominent Lithuanian zoologist and biologist, and one of the founders of Vytautas Magnus University.

Among his other achievements, he is known for opening one of the first bird banding stations in Europe, at Cape Ventė in 1929. He also founded the Zoological Museum in 1918, the Kaunas botanical garden in 1923, Žuvintas reserve in 1937, and the Kaunas Zoo in 1938.

Ivanauskas published 37 books and brochures, most famous of them - Birds of Lithuania. Since 1941 he was a full member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.

[9A]

Jan 6, 2015

Gaspar Henaine [Capulina]’s 89th Birthday





Gaspar Henaine, more commonly known by his pseudonym Capulina, was a Mexican comedian, actor, singer, film producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for partnering with Marco Antonio Campos as the double act Viruta and Capulina and for his subsequent solo career. He was later given the nickname "El Rey del Humorismo Blanco" [The King of White Humor], due to his clean, innocent style of comedy.

[9A]

Jan 30, 2015

Vsevolod Nestayko’s 85th Birthday




Our doodle in Ukraine draws inspiration from the children’s book Toreadors from Vasyukivka for writer Vsevolod Nestayko’s 85th birthday. Nestayko is widely considered to be Ukraine’s best-known author of children’s literature.

[9A]

January 30, 2012

I.L. Caragiale's 160th birthday






Ion Luca Caragiale was a Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist. Leaving behind an important cultural legacy, he is considered one of the greatest playwrights in Romanian language and literature, as well as one of its most important writers and a leading representative of local humour.

[9A]

Jan 31, 2012

Discovery of the Iguacu Falls




Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. Together, they make up the largest waterfall in the world. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the heart of the city of Curitiba. For most of its course, the river flows through Brazil; however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, the Iguazu River forms the border between Argentina and Brazil.

The name Iguazú comes from the Guarani or Tupi words "y", meaning "water", and "ûasú "[waˈsu], meaning "big". Legend has it that a deity planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In a rage, the deity sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall. The first European to record the existence of the falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541.

[9A]

Jan 31, 2012

Atahualpa Yupanqui's 104th Birthday





Atahualpa Yupanqui was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century.

[9A]

January 31, 2013

Jackie Robinson's 94th Birthday





Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball [MLB] in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.

In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.

Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field.

Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954




Robinson as an ABC sports announcer, 1965

[9A]

February 4, 2016

Weiberfastnacht 2016




Weiberfastnacht — the Thursday before Carnival Monday in Germany and the official start of the Carnival weekend — is one such tradition that dates back centuries. In the Middle Ages, upper-class woman were allowed to throw their manners out the window on this day, which was dubbed "the drinking day for dear women."

“Weiberfastnacht,” or Women's Carnival Day, marks an unofficial holiday in towns along the Rhine like Mainz, Cologne, and Dusseldorf, where ladies are given the key to the city by the Lord mayor and have free reign for the remainder of the day.

[9A]

February 4, 2013

Manuel Alvarez Bravo's 111st Birthday




Manuel Álvarez Bravo was a Mexican artistic photographer and one of the most important figures in 20th century Latin American photography. He was born and raised in Mexico City. While he took art classes at the Academy of San Carlos, his photography is self-taught. His career spanned from the late 1920s to the 1990s with its artistic peak between the 1920s and 1950s. His hallmark as a photographer was to capture images of the ordinary but in ironic or Surrealistic ways. His early work was based on European influences, but he was soon influenced by the Mexican muralism movement and the general cultural and political push at the time to redefine Mexican identity. He rejected the picturesque, employing elements to avoid stereotyping. He had numerous exhibitions of his work, worked in the Mexican cinema and established Fondo Editorial de la Plástica Mexicana publishing house. He won numerous awards for his work, mostly after 1970. His work was recognized by the UNESCO Memory of the World registry in 2017.

[9A]

February 15, 2007

Fat Thursday 2007





Fat Thursday is a traditional Christian feast marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opportunity for feasting [including simply eating forbidden items] until Easter. Traditionally it is a day dedicated to eating, when people meet in their homes or cafés with their friends and relatives and eat large quantities of sweets, cakes and other meals usually not eaten during Lent. Among the most popular all-national dishes served on that day are pączki in Poland or berliner, fist-sized donuts filled with rose hip jam, and angel wings [faworki], French dough fingers served with powdered sugar.

[9A]

Jul 26, 2019

Pan American Games 2019








For the next 17 days, approximately 6,700 of the best athletes across North and South America will come together in Lima, Peru to compete in 61 disciplines, including 22 qualifying contests for the Olympics. Today’s Doodle celebrates one of the world’s biggest sporting events—the Pan American Games.

Devised by the International Olympic Committee as a way of encouraging American nations to become more involved in worldwide competition, the Pan Am Games were planned to launch in Buenos Aires in 1942, but were postponed to 1951 because of World War II. Starting that year with 2,513 athletes from 21 participating countries, the Pan Am Games have grown considerably over the past half-century.

This year marks the games’ 18th staging and will feature new events such as surfing, which will make its Olympic debut at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The games will highlight the indigenous culture of Peru, with a torch run starting in the ancient mountain citadel of Machu Picchu. Immediately following the Pan American Games, physically challenged athletes from all over the Americas will compete in 17 different sports for the Parapan Games.

Spotted throughout the games will be the official mascot of the Lima 2019 Pan-Am and Parapan Games, “Milco.” A ceramic sculpture character whose winning design was submitted by 24-year-old Andrea Norka Medrano Moy and garnered 19,895 votes, Milco was inspired by indigenous Peruvian pottery known as cuchimilco or huaco, which dates back to the ancient Incan empire.

“I made this design because I like what the cuchimilcos represent in the history of our country. With its outstretched arms, Milco is welcoming everyone,” said Medrano.

[9A]

July 26, 2016

Maria Severa Onofriana's 196th Birthday





A legend in her native Lisbon, Maria Severa Onofriana, known simply as Severa, is remembered as the voice that brought fado into popular culture. By performing at taverns across the Alfama district, she helped spread this expressive style of music in the 1830s and 40s.

Often somber in tone, fado [which translates roughly to “fate”] is a lyrical ode to the trials of everyday life. Although Severa told many of these tales through her songs, very little is actually known about her life. For that reason, the singer’s story has been reimagined many times in music, theater, and film.

Today’s Doodle is yet another take on the famous fadista. Donning her signature dark shawl, Severa plays the “Portuguese blues” as we celebrate her contributions to music on what would have been her 196th birthday.