Google doodles

[9A]

Nov 30, 2014

Saint Andrew's Day 2014





What better way to mark St Andrew’s Day than to celebrate the 80th anniversary of ‘The Flying Scotsman’ being the first steam locomotive to chug its way to 100mph?

Designed by Edinburgh-born Sir Nigel Gresley, this world famous train vitally linked London to Scotland and went on to record the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive at an incredible 422 miles.

The train steamed along over 2 million miles of track before retiring at its final station in 1963 after 40 years of loyal service.

So light the fires, serve the feasts, play the bagpipes and start the shindigs, all in honour of this inspirational Scotsman.

[9A]

November 30, 2016

Jagadish Chandra Bose’s 158th Birthday





Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose was a master of scientific achievement with numerous accomplishments in various fields. Born in Bangladesh in 1858, Bose was to become known not only for his work in biophysics, but also his innovation in the world of radio and microwave sciences, ultimately inventing an early version of wireless telecommunication. As a testament to his numerous contributions to the field, a moon crater was named in his honor.

Bose’s investigations into nature included the invention of the crescograph – an instrument that measures movement and growth in plant life by magnifying it 10,000 times. He went on to demonstrate the similarities between animals and plants, particularly when it came to reactions to different environmental, electrical, and chemical influences.

Today’s Doodle features Bose and his invention in action on what would be his 158th birthday.

[9A]

December 13, 2018

The Geminid Meteor Shower 2018



Named after the ancient Greek god Apollo’s son, 3200 Phaethon is an asteroid whose orbit brings it closer to our sun than Mercury. First discovered via satellite data 35 years ago, Phaethon is responsible for bringing the spectacular Geminid meteor showers to Earth’s atmosphere each December. With each passing year since the mid-1800s, the proliferation of yellowish streaks of light in the night-time sky have grown more intense.

The so-called “rock comet” came within 6.4 million miles of earth this past December, although last year’s supermoon made it harder to appreciate the celestial light show. That won’t be a factor this year.

If the weather is clear, 2018 should be the best year ever to watch the Gemenides—so named because they seem to originate from the constellation Gemini. No need for a telescope or binoculars: fragments from Phaethon’s debris trail should become visible after 9 pm on December 13, peaking after midnight with as many as 120 meteors per hour. The cosmic dust may have resulted from a crash with another flying object, but there’s little danger of any Geminids landing on earth as it normally disintegrates in the earth’s atmosphere.

Today’s slideshow Doodle1 follows the Geminids’ path through Earth’s atmosphere as it lights up the sky. As Phaethon’s orbit leads it near the sun, the extreme heat causes it to fracture and leaves a trail of debris in its orbital path. Every December, Earth’s orbit leads us through the trail of 3200 Phaethon and its debris crashes into our atmosphere at 79,000 miles [127,000 km] per hour. Once through the Earth’s atmosphere, the Geminids’ radiant [or where it appears to originate] is the constellation Gemini—from which the meteor shower gets its name.

For optimal viewing conditions, get as far away from city lights as possible, face South, and remember to dress warmly as you enjoy one of the greatest shows on—or above—earth.

[9A]

December 13, 2012

Luiz Gonzaga's 100th Birthday



Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento, Sr. was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, musician and poet and one of the most influential figures of Brazilian popular music in the twentieth century. He has been credited for having presented the rich universe of Northeastern musical genres to all of Brazil, having created the musical genre baião and has been called a "revolutionary" by Antônio Carlos Jobim. According to Caetano Veloso, he was the first significant cultural event with mass appeal in Brazil. Luiz Gonzaga received the Shell prize for Brazilian Popular Music in 1984 and was only the fourth artist to receive this prize after Pixinguinha, Antônio Carlos Jobim and Dorival Caymmi. The Luiz Gonzaga Dam was named in his honor.

[9A]

December 13, 2013

Kristian Birkeland's 146th Birthday



Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland [13 December 1867 – 15 June 1917] was a Norwegian scientist. He is best remembered for his theories of atmospheric electric currents that elucidated the nature of the aurora borealis. In order to fund his research on the aurorae, he invented the electromagnetic cannon and the Birkeland–Eyde process of fixing nitrogen from the air. Birkeland was nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times.

[9A]

Jan 9, 2016

41st Anniversary of the Discovery of the Mountain of the Butterflies




In 1975, after a decades long search that involved thousands of volunteers and spanned an entire continent, Ken Brugger and Catalina Trail unlocked one of nature’s most beautiful mysteries: the overwintering place of the monarch butterfly. Led by a team of Canadian Zoologists under Fred Urquhart, the couple followed clues left by tagged butterflies that had strayed or fallen on their migratory journeys south. The scene, in which millions of monarchs cling to oyamel trees in Mexico’s easternmost Sierra Madre Mountains, would have been overwhelming. “They swirled through the air like autumn leaves,” said Urquhart after his first visit, “carpet[ing] the ground in their flaming myriads on the Mexican mountainside.”

With today’s homepage, Artist Kevin Laughlin recognizes the 41st anniversary of an incredible discovery and the singularly awesome beauty of the monarch butterfly.

[9A]

August 31, 2020

Hari Merdeka 2020





Today’s Doodle celebrates Malaysia’s Independence Day, known in Malay as Hari Merdeka, in honor of 63 years of Malaysian autonomy. On this day in 1957, the nation then known as the Federation of Malaya officially gained its sovereignty from British rule.

This holiday, also called Hari Kebangsaan or National Day, is not to be confused with Malaysia Day, which commemorates the date in 1963 when the name Malaysia was officially adopted across the Malay Peninsula. The nation rejoices in their freedom and independence again.

Featured in the Doodle artwork is the orangutan, Asia’s only great ape, which in Malaysia is found in the rainforest of Borneo. These tree-dwelling primates share almost 97% of their genes with Homo sapiens, so they’re considered one of the humans’ closest relatives. This special relationship is reflected in the name “orangutan,” which derives from Malay and translates to “person of the forest.”

Selamat Hari Merdeka! [Happy Independence Day!]

[9A]

October 3, 2007

Sputnik - 50th Anniversary



Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the USSR on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It orbited for three weeks before its batteries died and then orbited silently for two months before it fell back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.

[9A]

October 9, 2015

605th Anniversary of Prague astronomical clock



Check out the Prague Astronomical Clock on Google Street View*, from both the outside
and the inside [and try taking the stairs!]

The hands of Prague’s astronomical clock have measured a staggering amount of history. It predates Shakespeare by over a century, and had been operational for two years by the time Joan of Arc was born. Despite over a half a millennium of wear and a brush with disaster in WWII, much of its original machinery remains intact, making it the oldest functioning clock of its kind in the world. Today’s Doodle honors a magnificent achievement in medieval engineering and a cultural landmark whose symbolism, design, and intermittent repairs are a remarkable catalogue of Europe’s past.

* Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. You can look around by moving your cursor.

[9A]

October 9, 2012

Ivo Andrić's 120th Birthday





Ivo Andrić [born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975] was a Yugoslav[a] novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in his native Bosnia under Ottoman rule.

[9A]

October 9, 2020

Hangul Day 2020




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by South Korea-based artist Jisu Choi, commemorates Korea’s Hangul Day [한글날]. One of the world’s only official holidays dedicated to a writing system, Hangul Day celebrates the invention of Korea’s alphabet known as Hangul.

The Hangul alphabet was first unveiled in 1446 by the Choson dynasty’s King Sejong. More than 500 years later, it is still considered a remarkable achievement, even by modern linguistic standards. The 24-letter alphabet remains the only writing system in the world that separates sentences into words, syllables, individual sounds, and elements of articulation like exhalation or voicing. Despite its sophisticated representation of complex spoken language, the writing system is noted for its elegance and simplicity; in fact, it’s said that a dedicated beginner could learn Hangul in just a few hours!

Happy Hangul Day!

[9A]

October 9, 2011

Hangul Proclamation Day 2011

[9A]

October 9, 2014

Hangul Proclamation Day 2014




This year's Hangul Proclamation Day doodle was designed by renowned artist and fashion designer, Lie Sang Bong.

[9A]

October 9, 2021

Hangul Day 2021





In Korea, citizens and scholars alike take great pride in their unique writing script known as Hangul. So much so, in fact, that there is an annual holiday in its honor! Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Seoul, South Korea-based guest artist Soman, commemorates Korea’s Hangul Day [한글날], the only holiday in the world for an alphabet!

So what makes Hangul important enough to warrant a holiday celebrating it? In the 15th century, many Koreans could not effectively put their thoughts down on paper as the Korean language had no dedicated writing system to express the intricacies of its spoken word. This all changed when the Korean government developed an innovative written script called Hangul that represented the sounds of spoken Korean.

Thanks to the implementation of this efficient writing system, literacy increased dramatically. Today, Korea boasts near 100% literacy nationwide! With a growing global interest in learning about Korean culture and its language, a phenomenon known as “Hallyu” or the Korean Wave, what better time than Hangul Day to try learning it for yourself?

Happy Hangul Day, Korea!

[9A]

Oct 15, 2011

Italo Calvino's 88th Birthday




I was overjoyed to be able to celebrate one of my favorite authors, Italo Calvino. Ostensibly a science fiction writer, Calvino is more of a fabulist, using scientific notions as a jumping-off point for whimsical, delightfully far-fetched, extremely warm and compassionate little tales. The first work of Calvino's that I read was Invisible Cities, an imagined dialogue between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan that meditates on the different ways of conceptualizing cities.

For this doodle, however, I decided to illustrate the first story from my favorite Calvino collection, Cosmicomics. Cosmicomics is an audacious series of myths and legends that covers everything from the creation of the universe, to the evolution of land vertebrates, to the social lives of dinosaurs.

In this story, The Distance of the Moon, the protagonist tells of time when the moon orbited so close to the Earth that it was possible to row out into the middle of the ocean and climb onto the surface of the Moon with a ladder. Once on the moon, the protagonists and his friends would frolic and cartwheel while the Moon's gravity gently pulled jellyfish and crabs up out of the sea. It's a fantastic image, and hopefully one that's very evocative to readers of Calvino.

If you haven't yet, please consider investigating his work!

Posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino

[9A]

October 9, 2018

Lucy Tejada’s 98th Birthday




"My art was always more imaginative.,I would think through the composition and capture it, the colors emerging according to my state of mind.”

-Lucy Tejada

Contemporary painter Lucy Tejada was born on this day in Pereira, Colombia. She attended Javeriana University in Bogota, where she discovered the work of Columbian artist Alejandro Obregón Rosės, which had a profound impact on her life. “I started going to the teacher's exhibitions all the time,” she recalled in an interview, “until one day he came out and asked me: ‘Why do you come so much?’” The elder artist encouraged her to enroll in the School of Fine arts, and she continued her artistic education at the School of Graphic Arts of Madrid, achieving her first solo exhibition in 1947.

During the 1950s Tejada traveled through Europe, immersing herself in great collections like the Madrid’s Prado Museum and the Louvre in Paris. She exhibited her work in the Venice Biennial as well as in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, emerging as an important figure in South American contemporary art. After her travels through Europe she returned to Colombia, building a house in Cali where she raised her two children.

Alejandro Obregón Rosės described her as “painter of the tenderness.” In 2007, Colombia’s Culture Ministry awarded her the Medal of Cultural Merit in recognition of her 50 year career. Her legacy lives on with the Lucy Tejada Cultural Center, which opened this year in Pereira. In accordance with the artist’s wishes, Tejada’s family donated a collection of 163 pieces of her work to be exhibited in the city as well..

Feliz Cumpleaños, Lucy Tejada!

[9A]

October 9, 2011

Mihajlo Pupin's 153th Birthday





Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin , also known as Michael Pupin, was a Serbian physicist, physical chemist and philanthropist based in the United States.

Pupin is best known for his numerous patents, including a means of greatly extending the range of long-distance telephone communication by placing loading coils [of wire] at predetermined intervals along the transmitting wire [known as "pupinization"]. Pupin was a founding member of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics [NACA] on 3 March 1915, which later became NASA, and he participated in the founding of American Mathematical Society and American Physical Society.

In 1924, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography. Pupin was elected president or vice-president of the highest scientific and technical institutions, such as the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Radio Institute of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also an honorary consul of Serbia in the United States from 1912 to 1920 and played a role in determining the borders of newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Pupin's 1899 patent for loading coils, archaically called "Pupin coils", followed closely on the pioneering work of the English polymath Oliver Heaviside, which predates Pupin's patent by some seven years. The importance of the patent was made clear when the American rights to it were acquired by American Telephone & Telegraph [AT&T], making him wealthy. Although AT&T bought Pupin's patent, they made little use of it, as they already had their own development in hand led by George Campbell and had up to this point been challenging Pupin with Campbell's own patent. AT&T were afraid they would lose control of an invention which was immensely valuable due to its ability to greatly extend the range of long-distance telephones and especially submarine ones.

[9A]

Oct 10, 2011

Fridtjof Nansen's 150th Birthday




Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat and humanitarian. He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his Fram expedition of 1893—1896. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.

[9A]

October 10, 2014

Francisco Giner de los Ríos' 175th Birthday



Our homepage in Spain celebrates the 175th birthday of intellectual Francisco Giner de los Ríos. Once described as a Spanish Socrates, de los Ríos advocated for an independent and high quality education in his homeland. His ideas motivated him to establish the “Institución Libre de Enseñanza” [“Free Teaching Institution”], which collaborated with renowned figures like Bertrand Russell, Charles Darwin, León Tolstoi and H. G. Wells.

[9A]

October 10, 2016

50th Anniversary of Health and Sports Day




On Japan’s annual Health and Sports Day, everyone wins! That spirit inspired today’s Doodle, which shows Google-hued characters of all ages crossing the finish line together. First celebrated 50 years ago today, the holiday commemorates the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Since the occasion is all about promoting an active lifestyle, Japanese people both young and old celebrate by going for the gold. Many schools host field days that resemble mini Olympics, featuring events like the relay, long jump, and shot put, along with obstacle courses and tug of war.

For decades, Health and Sports Day was held on October 10th, but it was officially moved to the second Monday in October back in 2000. This year, the holiday happens to fall on its original date — just in time for its 50th birthday.

[9A]

December 30, 2013

Daniil Kharms' 108th Birthday






Daniil Kharms was an early Soviet-era avant-gardist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist.

[9A]

Jan 7, 2014

Yasmin Ahmad's 56th Birthday



Yasmin Ahmad was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well known in Malaysia for being humorous and touching. Her work crossed cross-cultural barriers, particularly her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally. In Malaysia, her films were highly controversial due to their depiction of events and relationships, which have been considered 'forbidden' by social conservatives, especially hard-line interpretations of Islam.

In October 2014, a commemorative museum, named Yasmin at Kong Heng, opened in Ipoh, Malaysia. It features Yasmin's photography, filmography, as well as creations dedicated to her by other artists. There are plans to create an augmented reality series for the museum, using the city's landmarks where Yasmin shot her films.

[9A]

January 7, 2014

Zora Neale Hurston's 123rd Birthday




Zora Neale Hurston was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on hoodoo. The most popular of her four novels is Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937. She also wrote more than 50 short stories, plays, and essays.

Hurston's works concerned both the African-American experience and her struggles as an African-American woman. Her novels went relatively unrecognized by the literary world for decades. Interest was revived in 1975 after author Alice Walker published an article, "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston", in the March issue of Ms. magazine that year. Hurston's manuscript Every Tongue Got to Confess, a collection of folktales gathered in the 1920s, was published posthumously in 2001 after being discovered in the Smithsonian archives. Her nonfiction book Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo", about the life of Cudjoe Lewis [Kossola], was published posthumously in 2018.

[9A]

January 7, 2013

Eliezer Ben Yehuda's 155th Birthday




Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda [ born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman, 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922] was a Hebrew lexicographer and newspaper editor. He was the driving force behind the revival of the Hebrew language in the modern era.

[9A]

January 7, 2013

Nanakusa Gayu [7 Herb Porridge]



The Festival of Seven Herbs or Nanakusa no sekku is the long-standing Japanese custom of eating seven-herb rice porridge on January 7 ; one of the Gosekku.

The seventh of the first month has been an important Japanese festival since ancient times. Jingchu Suishiji, written in the Six Dynasties China, recorded the Southern Chinese custom of eating a hot soup that contains seven vegetables to bring longevity and health and ward off evil on the 7th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. Since there is little green at that time of the year, the young green herbs bring color to the table and eating them suits the spirit of the New Year. The custom was present in Taiwan until the mid-Qing Dynasty, and is still present in parts of rural Guangdong province.

[9A]

Jan 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.

[9A]

May 15, 2012

Teachers' Day 2012

[9A]

May 15, 2013

Frank Hornby's 150th Birthday




Frank Hornby was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, and although he had no formal engineering training, he was responsible for the invention and production of three of the most popular lines of toys based on engineering principles in the 20th century: Meccano, Hornby Model Railways and Dinky Toys. He also founded the British toy company Meccano Ltd in 1908, and launched a monthly publication, Meccano Magazine in 1916.

[9A]

April 14, 2018

Pohela Boishakh 2018




Today’s Doodle celebrates Pohela Boishakh, the day when colorful street festivals mark the start of a new year in the lunisolar calendar. The calendar was originally commissioned by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, who introduced the calendar to facilitate tax collections in the spring—just after the harvest.
Pohela Boishakh is a time to start fresh. People often celebrate by cleaning their entire home and decorating it with Alpana, a colorful painting made from rice and flour paste. The holiday is best known for its colorful celebrations and parades, like the one that takes place in Dhaka, [the capital of Bangladesh] every year.

In Dhaka, streets are filled with people who come to take part in the Mangal Shobhajatra procession. The procession was first organized in 1989 by the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University in order to symbolize peace and unity regardless of religion, gender, class, or age. The most iconic feature of the processions are the giant, colorful, representations of animals—like the elephant in today’s Doodle!
Shubho Noboborsho! [Happy New Year!]

[9A]

April 14, 2005

Leonardo da Vinci's 553rd Birthday



Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he also became known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and paleontology. Leonardo's genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works compose a contribution to later generations of artists matched only by that of his younger contemporary, Michelangelo.

Leonardo is among the greatest painters in the history of art and is often credited as the founder of the High Renaissance. Despite having many lost works and less than 25 attributed major works—including numerous unfinished works—he created some of the most influential paintings in Western art. His magnum opus, the Mona Lisa, is his best known work and often regarded as the world's most famous painting. The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his Vitruvian Man drawing is also regarded as a cultural icon. In 2017, Salvator Mundi, attributed in whole or part to Leonardo, was sold at auction for US$450.3 million, setting a new record for the most expensive painting ever sold at public auction.

Revered for his technological ingenuity, he conceptualized flying machines, a type of armored fighting vehicle, concentrated solar power, an adding machine, and the double hull. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or even feasible during his lifetime, as the modern scientific approaches to metallurgy and engineering were only in their infancy during the Renaissance. Some of his smaller inventions, however, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire. He made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, hydrodynamics, geology, optics, and tribology, but he did not publish his findings and they had little to no direct influence on subsequent science.

[9A]

April 22, 2009

Earth Day 2009

[9A]

April 22, 2012

Grace Cossington-Smith's 120th Birthday



Grace Cossington Smith was an Australian artist and pioneer of modernist painting in Australia and was instrumental in introducing Post-Impressionism to her home country. Examples of her work are held by every major gallery in Australia.

[9A]

April 22, 2012

Earth Day 2012

• An occasion to be particularly mindful of how we care for our planet, Earth Day is a time to show and practice appreciation for this sphere we call home. Fortunately for the doodle team, Earth Day is also the a chance to spruce up the homepage. Having celebrated this occasion with drawings of nature in previous years, we decided to get to the root of the inspiration and actually grow our doodle! Sure it was a simple and practically obvious solution for the logo, but it proved to be a surprising undertaking.
  
  We're illustrators after all, not gardeners, and the team decided that I-- notorious slayer of cacti-- should lead the green-thumb charge.
  
  
  This garden's too small! I grossly underestimated the size of the garden, thinking it would fit in a 7'-wide "pop-up green house." Our gardening experts gave us three reasons why this would not work: the flowers will attract bugs, we will violate health codes, and the flowers are much too big.
  
  
  This garden's too big! How about outside then? My coworker, Stephanie, and I planted the massive garden on one of the balconies. Too bad we couldn't rig a camera high enough for the size.
  
  
  This garden's just right! Alas, we moved the multi-hundred pound garden to another part of campus and replanted the whole thing! It was [relatively] smooth sailing from then on.
  
  We hope that our rigorous efforts to plant the logo will inspire our users to grow their own flowers!
  
  posted by Jennifer Hom
  music: "Professor and the Plant" by Kevin MacLeod

[9A]

April 22, 2013

Dooly the Little Dinosaur's Birthday





Dooly the Little Dinosaur is a cartoon serialized from 1983 to 1993 by South Korean cartoonist Kim Soo-jung with a little dinosaur as the subject, and it refers to animations and other media mix works based on the original. It is a 1987 South Korean comic series and animated film and television series created by Kim Soo-jung. Dooly is one of the most respected and commercially successful characters of South Korean animation. It was printed in 1995 in South Korea. Dooly also has a resident registration card, which means he is a citizen of South Korea.

[9A]

Apr 25, 2013

Ella Fitzgerald's 96th Birthday

• 
• My first encounter with Ella Fitzgerald’s music happened when I was about 12. My parents were hosting a party, and my dad had charged me with the task of burning a CD of jazzy music, suggesting songs by the Queen of Jazz herself. Having only heard her name through word-of-mouth, I sharpied the title “Elephants Gerald” onto the disc. Let’s just say my innocent mistake earned me a few embarrassing laughs.
• 
  Despite my early misunderstanding of Ella’s name, I have grown to adore her music. This is why I jumped at the chance to create today’s doodle!
  
  Ms. Fitzgerald’s songs are soulful, jazzy, and create a very particular mood when played. I wanted to make sure that my doodle captured that essence. I chose to create the doodle out of cut paper because I knew that I could use this technique to imitate real stage-lighting and theatricality.
  
  This was the first time I had ever attempted papercraft illustration, so it was a bit scary for me. I first sketched the entire scene in Photoshop. I wanted to make sure I knew exactly where and what to cut beforehand!
  
  
  
  Once I had a tight sketch, I began to cut out pieces of paper. I printed several copies of my digital sketch and used it as a pattern. My desk became a hugemess very quickly!
  
  
  [this was only the beginning...it got way messier!]
  
  
  I had a lot of fun depicting the lighting with simple, geometric shapes. In some cases, such as with Ella, I added detail with colored pencils. It really helped
  bring her to life!
  
  
  The final doodle was coming together...
  
  
  I did a few test photo shoots, but it still felt like it was missing something! The colors weren’t nearly as vibrant and blues-y as the photographs I had found of Ms. Fitzgerald singing. I could have altered them in Photoshop, but I felt like that would have defeated the purpose of using traditional media.
  
  
  It wasn’t until I started to experiment with colored LED lights that I felt like the piece came together. This really helped the illustration feel like it was a lit stage!
  
  
  
  I am so honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to pay tribute to one of the greatest [and one of my favorite] singers of all time. Happy 96th, Ella!
  
  Posted by Betsy Bauer, Doodler.
  
  ***
  
  Some words from the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation's Executive Director
  
  Never in my wildest, most fantastic dreams did I ever believe that I would work for Ella Fitzgerald. Me, working for the great First Lady of Song? Been doing it since Ella 1996.
  
  How did I end up here? My husband Rich and I have been married since 1980. He’s a lawyer, and when we got married he was practicing business law for a small entertainment firm in L.A. One of the clients was Ella. The first time Rich took me back stage [at the Hollywood Bowl no less] to meet her, I thought I would just keel over and pass out but she was as nice, gracious and warm as my favorite aunt. If you walked into her lovely Beverly Hills home, you were greeted with a huge smile, a big hug and a sandwich.
  
  When Ella died, Rich needed to hire an archivist, and I was the only one he knew. There we were, sitting around telling stories while surrounded by Grammy Awards, Gold Records, Downbeat Awards, Presidential medals and all the tangible items of a life well-sung. I pinched myself a lot.
  
  The summer of 1996 was not an easy one. Ella had just passed away from complications of diabetes and my own mother was ill as well. I would spend mornings at Ella’s, doing archival work, and the afternoons down the street with my Mom. I swear she could hear me scream all the way down the road the day I discovered an original Picasso drawing that Ella had stuck in her bureau drawer. The treasures continued to emerge as I found Ella’s invitation to John F. Kennedy’s inauguration [she performed along with Frank Sinatra among other], a personalized Dodger’s jacket, her director’s chair from the Carol Burnett Show, and the gorgeous red suit and pill box hat she wore for her famous American Express ad [thanks, Annie Leibovitz]. History in my hands. These items and more are now shared with the world as her archives now live at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC.
  
  So here I am, all these years later, still working for Ella running the Charitable Foundation that she started. And having WAY too much fun.
  
  Fran Morris Rosman, Executive Director, The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation

[9A]

April 25, 2015

100th anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli




Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps [ANZAC] who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War [1914–1918].

[9A]

April 25, 2010


ANZAC Day 2010 - Australia

[9A]

April 25, 2011

90th Birthday of Karel Appel


Christiaan Karel Appel was a Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet. He started painting at the age of fourteen and studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam in the 1940s. He was one of the founders of the avant-garde movement CoBrA in 1948. He was also an avid sculptor and has had works featured in MoMA and other museums worldwide.

[9A]

May 9, 2011

76th Birthday of Roger Hargreaves




Charles Roger Hargreaves, better known as Roger Hargreaves, was an English author and illustrator of children's books. He created the Mr. Men and Little Miss series, intended for young readers. The simple and humorous stories, with brightly coloured, boldly drawn illustrations have sales of over 85 million copies worldwide in 20 languages.The first title in the series, Mr. Tickle, was published in August 1971.

[9A]

May 10, 2011

Zhang Daqian's 112th Birthday




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

[9A]

May 10, 2019

Minarni Soedarjanto’s 75th Birthday




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

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

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

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

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

[9A]

February 23, 2020

Ca Trù's Founder Commemoration Day 2020





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Ho Chi Minh City-based guest artist Xuan Le, celebrates Ca Trù’s Founders Commemoration Day, a time to honor the genre widely considered to be Vietnam’s most revered traditional form of music.

A style that fits somewhere in between the geisha ceremonies of Japan and the dramatic performances of opera, Ca trù’s unique sound has roots that stretch back to the 11th century. First gaining popularity as entertainment for the aristocracy of Vietnam’s royal palaces, it later made its way into the inns and communal spaces of what is now modern-day Hanoi.

The ensemble is composed of at least three performers, including one female singing intricate poetry while tapping a phach [a small bamboo box], two musicians playing traditional instruments, and occasionally dancers. Ca trù is now found in cities across Vietnam.

Performed in designated Ca trù clubs and at annual festivals, the genre has seen a recent revival due to a concentrated effort from state-run organizations and international agencies. Preservation of Ca trù is elusive due in part to it being a strictly oral tradition that is passed down only through one elite practitioner to the next generation after years of committed study.

Taking into account the precious nature of an invaluable historical relic and the difficulty of its safeguarding, UNESCO is dedicated to protecting the practice and inscribed Ca trù on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

[9A]

February 28, 2019

Trịnh Công Sơn's 80th Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and legacy of Trịnh Công Sơn, a prolific and powerful Vietnamese musician, songwriter, poet, and painter.

Born in Đắk Lắk in Vietnam’s central highlands on this day in 1939, Sơn was raised in a Buddhist family by parents who both wrote poetry. His father was imprisoned for several years during Sơn’s youth in the capital city of Buôn Ma Thuột for his vocal resistance to the Vietnamese War. In fact, around the age of 10, Sơn spent a year living with him in Thừa Phủ Prison. Educated at the Lycée Francais school in the ancient imperial capital city of Huế, Sơn also studied philosophy at Lycée Jean Jacques Rousseau in Saigon.

Sơn first worked as a teacher before pivoting careers to become a songwriter in the 1950s. His songs protesting the Vietnam War—particularly those on the 1966 collection Songs of Golden Skin—were popular with soldiers on both sides of the conflict. After the war ended, much of his family fled their homeland, but Sơn chose to stay, writing songs about the unification of North and South Vietnam that displeased government authorities, who sent him to do forced labor in a “re-education camp.” Following his release, he continued to record music and paint throughout his life.

Widely considered one of Vietnam’s most important modern musicians, Sơn was admired by international singers such as Joan Baez. His song “Ngủ Đi Con” [Lullaby] about the mother of a fallen soldier was a hit in Japan. Today, his music is still recorded by popular Vietnamese singers, such as Hồng Nhung.

Happy Birthday, Trịnh Công Sơn!

[9A]

February 28, 2020

Sir John Tenniel's 200th Birthday




“‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ [said Alice].
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.”
—Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland”


Don’t be late for today’s very important date! That is, the 200th birthday of British illustrator and artist Sir John Tenniel, celebrated by today’s Doodle. Tenniel is one of the most highly-regarded Victorian illustrators and painters, and is perhaps best remembered for bringing to life the characters of Lewis Carroll’s timeless “Alice in Wonderland” series.

Tenniel was born in London on this day in 1820, and his talent was clear from a young age. At just 16, the mostly self-taught artist submitted his first work, an oil painting, for exhibition at the Society of British Artists. Tenniel found his calling as an illustrator in 1850 when he became a political cartoonist with the historic weekly magazine Punch. Tenniel developed a distinctive style, due in part to his near-photographic memory.

It was this unique approach that most likely caught the attention of writer and professor Charles Dodgson, whose pen name was Lewis Carroll. After an introduction in 1864, Tenniel agreed to illustrate Carroll’s new book, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” released the following year.

Thus began a highly successful, if strained, creative partnership that continued with “Through the Looking Glass” in 1872. The result: a series of classic characters, such as Alice and the Cheshire Cat, as depicted in the Doodle artwork’s rendition of their iconic meeting—characters who, along with many others, remain beloved by readers of all ages to this day.

After his work with Caroll, Tenniel never accepted another illustration job again; instead, he returned to his political cartoon work at Punch. For his considerable contributions to both the magazine and “Alice in Wonderland,” Tenniel received a knighthood in 1893.

Tenniel’s illustrations have animated the imaginations of children and adults alike for generations. His legacy continues to thrive, as readers cherish these timeless works of art to this day.

[9A]

November 4, 2021

Charles K. Kao's 88th Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the visionary Chinese-born, British-American physicist and educator Charles K. Kao, considered the father of fiber optics whose innovations revolutionized global communication and laid the groundwork for today’s high-speed internet.

Charles Kuen Kao was born on this day in 1933 in Shanghai, China. Drawn to intellectual work early in life with notable academic success, he went on to study electrical engineering in England. He supported his graduate studies as an engineer at Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd., where his colleagues invented the laser in 1960.

Shortly after earning his doctorate, Kao and his collaborator George Hockham published a groundbreaking paper in 1966 that proposed fibers fabricated with purified glass could carry a gigahertz [1 billion hertz] of information over long distances using lasers. Kao led the development of this revolutionary technology, and in 1977, the first telephone network carried live signals through optical fibers. By the 1980s, Kao was overseeing the implementation of fiber-optic networks worldwide.

Kao was a dedicated educator in addition to being a trailblazing researcher. Beginning in 1987, he spent nearly a decade as Vice-Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and founded Hong Kong’s Independent Schools Foundation. Kao’s landmark research in the 1960s earned him a joint Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009 and cleared the path for the over 900 million miles of fiber-optic cables that carry massive quantities of data across the globe today.

Happy birthday, Charles K. Kao—thank you for using every fiber of your being to make the world a more connected place!

[9A]

November 4, 2016

Walter Cronkite's 100th Birthday





Today would be the 100th birthday of the man known widely throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s as “the most trusted man in America.” Walter Cronkite, the legendary broadcast journalist reported, served, and comforted a nation during its most trying times, including World War II, Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the assassination of JFK, to name a few.

Walter perpetuated an objective reporting style rooted in justice and integrity: “Press freedom is essential to our democracy, but the press must not abuse this license. We must be careful with our power. The free press, after all, is the central nervous system of a democratic society.”

Affectionately known as “Uncle Walter” to the American public, he was a devout political advocate in the interest of free speech and media, an enthusiastic NASA supporter, and a sailing aficionado. As a fixture in our living rooms, Walter brought a calm dose of consistency during the most pressing times with his end-of-segment catchphrase: “and that’s the way it is.”

[9A]

April 8, 2017

Mary Pickford’s 125th Birthday




Lights, camera, action! Today’s doodle honors the “Queen of the Movies,” Mary Pickford. An actress, a film director, and a producer, Mary Pickford proved that actors weren’t relegated to careers in front of the camera. She co-founded the film studio United Artists and was one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Before she became one of the most powerful women who has ever worked in Hollywood, she was “the girl with the curls,” and one of the most beloved stars of the silent film era. She appeared in as many as 50 films per year, and eventually negotiated wages that were equal to half of each of her films’ profits. She went on to demand full creative and financial control of her films, a feat still unheard of to this day.

She used her stardom to bring awareness to causes close to her heart. She sold Liberty Bonds during World War I, created the Motion Picture Relief Fund, and revolutionized the film industry by giving independent film producers a way to distribute their films outside the studio system. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role in Coquette [1929], and an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1976.

Today, we pay tribute to Mary Pickford’s enterprising leadership on what would be her 125th birthday.

[9A]

July 9, 2017

660th Anniversary of Charles Bridge



On this day in 1357, construction began on the Charles Bridge, Prague’s oldest stone bridge, and one of the Czech capital’s most popular tourist destinations. Round the clock, visitors, vendors and locals alike cross the 1,700-ft. expanse from the east bank to the west, taking in views of the Vltava River.

King Charles IV commissioned architect Peter Parler to build the bridge, which was completed in 1402. Originally called the Stone Bridge, it took on the monarch’s moniker centuries later, around 1870. The low-lying medieval structure is comprised of 16 shallow arches and three Gothic towers, and lined with 30 Baroque-style statues, initially made of sandstone. According to legend, during construction, masons added a secret ingredient to the mortar that they thought would make it stronger: eggs!

Today’s Doodle pays tribute to Prague’s iconic masterpiece with an animation that shows the majesty of Charles Bridge by day and by night.

[9A]

Jul 21, 2017

Belgium National Day 2017




On this day, Belgium commemorates the inauguration of King Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German prince, embraced his royal role on June 26th, 1831, and pledged his allegiance to the fledgling country just a few weeks later, on July 21.

Previously known as Southern Netherlands, Belgium had been governed by various foreign countries over the centuries, including Spain and France. It also withstood the Dutch Period [1815 – 1830] under King William I, a vigorous advocate of industrialization, before finally attaining its longed-for freedom from the United Kingdom of Netherlands.

Belgian National Day is a festive public holiday celebrated with military parades, air force aerial demonstrations, and free concerts, finished with fireworks. Some Belgians also show their national pride by dressing in red, yellow and black, the colors of the country’s flag.

Our Doodle, illustrated by KHUAN+KTRON, takes us on a joyful tour of Belgium’s iconic Flemish and Wallonian landmarks and sights, from the Royal Palace in Brussels, where Leopold I was sworn in, to the Sint-Truiden, known for its blossoming fruit trees, to Antwerp Cathedral and the Pairi Daiza zoo, home of the giant panda, with stops along the way for such Belgian treats as frieten [fries], cheese and chocolate.

Happy birthday, Belgium!

[9A]

July 21, 2021

Belgium National Day 2021



On this day, Belgium commemorates the inauguration of King Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German prince, embraced his royal role on June 26th, 1831, and pledged his allegiance to the fledgling country just a few weeks later, on July 21.

Previously known as Southern Netherlands, Belgium had been governed by various foreign countries over the centuries, including Spain and France. It also withstood the Dutch Period [1815 – 1830] under King William I, a vigorous advocate of industrialization, before finally attaining its longed-for freedom from the United Kingdom of Netherlands.

Belgian National Day is a festive public holiday celebrated with military parades, air force aerial demonstrations, and free concerts, finished with fireworks. Some Belgians also show their national pride by dressing in red, yellow and black, the colors of the country’s flag.

Our Doodle, illustrated by KHUAN+KTRON, takes us on a joyful tour of Belgium’s iconic Flemish and Wallonian landmarks and sights, from the Royal Palace in Brussels, where Leopold I was sworn in, to the Sint-Truiden, known for its blossoming fruit trees, to Antwerp Cathedral and the Pairi Daiza zoo, home of the giant panda, with stops along the way for such Belgian treats as frieten [fries], cheese and chocolate.

Happy birthday, Belgium!