Google doodles

[9A]

Dec 20, 2004

Happy Holidays from Google 2004 - 1

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Dec 21, 2004

Happy Holidays from Google 2004 - 2

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Dec 22, 2004

Happy Holidays from Google 2004 - 3

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Dec 23, 2004

Happy Holidays from Google 2004 - 4

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Dec 24, 2004

Happy Holidays from Google 2004 - 5

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Dec 23, 2014

Holidays 2014 [Day 1]

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Dec 24, 2014

Holidays 2014 [Day 2]

[9A]

Dec 22, 2012

Herman Potočnik's 120th Birthday




Herman Potočnik [pseudonym Hermann Noordung; 22 December 1892 – 27 August 1929] was an ethnically Slovenian Austro-Hungarian Army officer, electrical engineer and astronautics theorist. He is regarded as a pioneer and visionary of modern space flight and is chiefly remembered for his work addressing the long-term human habitation of space.

[9A]

Dec 22, 2012

Srinivasa Ramanujan's 125th Birthday




Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who lived during the British Rule in India. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. Ramanujan initially developed his own mathematical research in isolation: according to Hans Eysenck: "He tried to interest the leading professional mathematicians in his work, but failed for the most part. What he had to show them was too novel, too unfamiliar, and additionally presented in unusual ways; they could not be bothered". Seeking mathematicians who could better understand his work, in 1913 he began a postal correspondence with the English mathematician G. H. Hardy at the University of Cambridge, England. Recognising Ramanujan's work as extraordinary, Hardy arranged for him to travel to Cambridge. In his notes, Hardy commented that Ramanujan had produced groundbreaking new theorems, including some that "defeated me completely; I had never seen anything in the least like them before", and some recently proven but highly advanced results.

[9A]

May 13, 2021

Zofia Stryjeńska's 130th Birthday


Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Poland-based guest artist Dixie Leota, celebrates the 130th birthday of Polish painter, graphic designer, illustrator, and stage designer Zofia Stryjeńska, who is widely regarded as one of the most significant Polish art deco artists of the early 1900s. Across its countless mediums, Stryjeńska’s bold and adventurous work mirrors her personality as an uncompromising heroine of creativity and artistic expression.

Born Zofia Lubańska on this day in 1891 in Kraków, Poland, Zofia Stryjeńska began painting caricatures of her father’s customers in his glove shop, developing a talent that became her life’s passion. But gender barriers stood in the way of her artistic pursuits; barriers she was determined to break. As the Munich Academy of Fine Arts—her top choice of schools—was a traditionally all-male institution, Stryjeńska cut her hair and attended the university disguised as a man. But after a year in Munich, the pressure of keeping her identity hidden pushed her to return home to Kraków.

Inspired by the history of her national identity, Stryjeńska began her career at 21 with a series of paintings based on Polish folklore. This modern take on a traditional art form became her hallmark; a style that gained popularity as Poland had recently regained its independence in 1911 and its citizens cherished their historical iconography. Her 1917 series of surrealist lithographs entitled “Bożki Słowiańskie” [“Slavic Idols”] saw massive success and was printed on everything from postcards to chocolates.

An expert of folk costumes and Slavic mythology, Stryjeńska expressed the love of her heritage in work that ranged from wooden chess pieces to ballet costumes, like those designed for the 1930s Polish ballet “Harnasie.”

Happy birthday, Zofia Stryjeńska!

[9A]

May 13, 2015

Inge Lehmann’s 127th Birthday




Editor’s note: News of a second major earthquake within a short time in Nepal today provides a sad context to this post -- and reminds us of the importance of science in predicting earthquakes so that more lives can be saved.

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At the turn of the twentieth century, a teenager in Østerbro, Denmark felt the ground move beneath her feet. It was her first earthquake, but it wouldn’t be her last.

More than two decades of study and observation later, Inge Lehmann’s work sent shockwaves through the scientific community. By observing earthquakes, she discovered the earth has both inner and outer cores. Her work has withstood the test of time. In fact, it’s still the foundation for seismological science today.

Inge used deduction and evidence to discover something unseeable. Today’s Doodle sheds light on her powerful but invisible discovery. Doodler Kevin Laughlin helps us experience the gift Inge illuminated for the world by revealing it as a glowing orb. Not all of his early drafts looked the same, but the earth’s inner core glowed at the center of each.

Pioneers like Inge make this world a better place by helping us understand it from the inside out. But Lehmann’s legacy isn’t just scientific. Having been educated at a very young age in a Copenhagen school that treated female and male students as absolute equals, she was a strong proponent of gender equality. Her pioneering spirit is an inspiration to us as we continue to do more on diversity.

[9A]

May 17, 2010

Martin Kukucin's 150th Birthday




Martin Kukučín was a Slovak prose writer, dramatist and publicist. He was the most notable representative of Slovak literary realism, and is considered one of the founders of modern Slovak prose.

[9A]

May 28, 2010

Milutin Milankovich's Birthday



Milutin Milanković [28 May 1879 – 12 December 1958] was a Serbian mathematician, astronomer, climatologist, geophysicist, civil engineer and popularizer of science.

Milanković gave two fundamental contributions to global science. The first contribution is the "Canon of the Earth’s Insolation", which characterizes the climates of all the planets of the Solar System. The second contribution is the explanation of Earth's long-term climate changes caused by changes in the position of the Earth in comparison to the Sun, now known as Milankovitch cycles. This explained the ice ages occurring in the geological past of the Earth, as well as the climate changes on the Earth which can be expected in the future.

He founded planetary climatology by calculating temperatures of the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere as well as the temperature conditions on planets of the inner Solar System, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon, as well as the depth of the atmosphere of the outer planets. He demonstrated the interrelatedness of celestial mechanics and the Earth sciences and enabled a consistent transition from celestial mechanics to the Earth sciences and transformation of descriptive sciences into exact ones.

[9A]

May 28, 2012

Ruby Payne-Scott's 100th Birthday





Ruby Violet Payne-Scott, [28 May 1912 – 25 May 1981] was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was the first female radio astronomer.

[9A]

May 28, 2016

Nepal Republic Day 2016




Happy Republic Day, Nepal!

Today's doodle shows Nepal's national bird, the Danphe, or the Himalayan Monal. The male pheasant is brilliantly plumed with iridescent colors highlighting the beauty of Nepal. The female, a mild brown, represents its constancy and warmth. Similarly, Nepal is a nation of vibrancy and contrast, counting among its features both the world's highest and most unforgiving peak and the well-preserved and magical temples and shrines of Kathmandu.

The landscape is an appropriate metaphor for the history of a nation in which, despite great upheaval, peace prevails. We hope today's doodle by Alyssa Winans brings pride and joy to the people of Nepal.

[9A]

October 15, 2020

Dr. Zohra Begum Kazi’s 108th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the 108th birthday of Indian-born physician, professor, and social reformer Dr. Zohra Begum Kazi, a 20th-century pioneer for women in medicine on the Indian subcontinent. At a time when the medical field was reserved primarily for men, Dr. Kazi broke barriers with an unwavering dedication to patient care and fierce advocacy for female education.

Zohra Begum Kazi was born into an aristocratic medical family on this day in 1912 in Rajnandgaon, British India. Her father was a physician who encouraged his daughters to break from cultural norms by pursuing careers in medicine. A brilliant student, Kazi graduated in 1935 with a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from Delhi’s Lady Hardinge Medical College for Women.

Over the following 13 years, Dr. Kazi developed her expertise as an assistant surgeon in various hospitals across British India. In the wake of India’s partition in 1947, she relocated to Dhaka, present-day Bangladesh, where she joined the Medical College and Hospital as a resident surgeon. Following post-graduate studies, she rose to the top of her field, becoming a professor and head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Kazi worked to redefine women’s attitudes towards medicine, providing door-to-door care to countless women who were previously intimidated by the male-dominated world of medical care.

Throughout her life, Dr. Kazi committed herself to charitable and educational causes and through her pioneering example helped inspire future generations of women to become doctors, just like her.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Zohra Begum Kazi!

[9A]

April 14, 2017

First Day of Bengali Calendar Pohela Boishakh




Today's doodle marks Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali Calendar. While Pohela Boishakh is a lively festival today, its origins are less fanciful. The Bengali calendar year was developed over 400 years ago by the Emperor Akbar as a way to collect taxes on a specific date every year. When the new year begins, accountants can close their books on the previous year and start fresh.

On this day in Bangladesh, the country comes alive with colorful celebrations and parades. Cities and towns gather together to sing traditional songs like "Esho, he Boishakh". They eat Bengali food such as Panta bhaat [a dish of rice soaked in water], and Illish Maas [fried hilsa fish]. The main attraction in the capital city of Dhaka is the large Mangal Shobhajatra procession. The streets fill up with a parade of huge masks and creatures, each with its own symbolism, but many meant to drive away evil spirits or inspire courage and peace. The masks are often vibrant and imaginative representations of animals native to Bangladesh, like the owl and tiger you see in today's doodle.

Shubho Noboborsho! [Happy New Year!]

[9A]

July 12, 2017
Eiko Ishioka’s 79th Birthday




Earning her an Oscar, a Grammy, and two Tony nominations, Eiko Ishioka’s work had a way of taking center stage no matter the medium. From print ads and album covers to costumes for film, theater, and the Olympics, the iconic Japanese designer did it all during her decades-long career — often unlike anyone before.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Ishioka pursued a career in graphic design at a time when there were few women in the industry. Despite the challenges she faced, Ishioka pushed through boundaries both socially and artistically. Her early print ads evoked many of the same themes that would later define her costume design: bold, surreal, and consistently unexpected.

Ishioka went on to earn global recognition by designing Academy Award-winning costumes for Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film Dracula, a Grammy-winning cover for Miles Davis’ 1986 album Tutu, and Tony-nominated sets and costumes for Broadway’s M. Butterfly. She worked closely with director Tarsem Singh on several films throughout her career, including 2012’s Mirror Mirror.



Showcasing some of Ishioka’s famous designs from Singh’s 2006 movie The Fall, today’s slideshow Doodle celebrates her revolutionary work on what would have been her 79th birthday.

Eiko Ishioka
Eiko Ishioka by Brigitte Lacombe

[9A]

Jul 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]

June 17, 2018

M'hamed Issiakhem’s 90th 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]

June 18, 2019

Celebrating Falafel




Today’s Doodle celebrates falafel, the best thing that ever happened to chickpeas—with the possible exception of hummus, of course.

Although the exact origins of this spicy street food have been lost to the mists of time, falafel has been enjoyed for centuries in many different cultures. India produces the vast majority of the world’s chickpea crop, which currently is in high season. In Egypt, fava beans are ground to make these delicious, crispy balls of fried plant protein, known in Egypt as “ta'amiya.” Israel has a song to celebrate its love affair with the tried-and-true treat, entitled And We Have Falafel.

Over time, more eclectic toppings has been introduced all over the world, ranging from German sauerkraut, to Iraqi fried eggplant, to Indian mango sauce, to Yemeni hot sauce. Even newer variations such as the red falafel—made with jalapeños roasted peppers, tomatoes, and spicy yogurt—or the orange falafel—made with sweet potatoes, cabbage, honey, and ginger tahini—preserve the basic formula of ground legumes, seasoned and fried in oil. The world’s largest falafel, weighing 74.8 kilograms [164.8 pounds] and reaching 152 centimeters [59.8 inches] in height, was fried for 25 minutes at the Landmark Hotel in Amman, Jordan.

Happy chickpea season!

[9A]

June 18, 2008

Centenary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil




Japanese Brazilians are Brazilian citizens who are nationals or naturals of Japanese ancestry or Japanese immigrants living in Brazil or Japanese people of Brazilian ancestry.

The first group of Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908. Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. Since the 1980s, a return migration has emerged of Japanese Brazilians to Japan. More recently, a trend of interracial marriage has taken hold among Brazilians of Japanese descent, with the racial intermarriage rate approximated at 50% and increasing.

[9A]

June 18, 2014

World Cup 2014 #15



Inspiration from the streets of Rio straight to the homepage.

Sketch & doodle by Matt Cruickshank

[9A]

June 18, 2014

World Cup 2014 #16


Chile v Spain

[9A]

Jun 19, 2014

World Cup 2014 #18



We hope to see some goals in today's game of England vs. Uruguay, and, by extension, the greatest of all football/soccer plays–the goal scoring dance!

[9A]

June 19, 2014

World Cup 2014 #19



The little "g" getting his drills in.

Here's this doodle's animator, Sophie Diao, studying the finer points of the game in São Paulo's Football Museum:



You can visit the museum too, even if you're not in Sao Paolo, thanks to the Google Culture Institute's interactive exhibition.

[9A]

Jun 16, 2014

World Cup 2014 #13




USA & Ghanaian eagles go beak to beak. What an eggcellent game.

[9A]

June 16, 2014

World Cup 2014 #12



The football/soccer craze is making waves for... just about everyone.

[9A]

Oct 26, 2018

Austria National Day 2018




Each year on October 26, Austrians celebrate the day in 1955 when the Austrian Parliament declared permanent neutrality, establishing the country as independent democratic and multicultural state, respecting its neighbors and the human rights of all its citizens. This year’s Nationalfeiertag [national holiday] is special because it also marks 100 years since the formation of the Republic of German Austria.

Today’s Doodle depicts the Pallas-Athene-Brunnen Fountain, situated on Vienna’s famous Ringstrasse in front of the Parliament building. The Austrian sculptor Karl Kundmann created the marble figure of the Greek goddess of wisdom, seen here wearing a sash to commemorate Austria’s centennial.

National Day celebrations include a ceremony at Heldenplatz [Hero’s Square] featuring the Federal President and Minister of Defense, a televised state of the union address, and the swearing-in of new recruits to the Austrian armed forces. At the Heldenplatz the Austrian military performs, twirling and tossing their rifles in the air as the music plays.

Happy National Day, Austria!

[9A]

Oct 21, 2012

Jonas Maciulis-Maironis' 150th Birthday




Maironis [born Jonas Mačiulis] is one of the most famous Lithuanian poets and was also a Catholic priest and educator.

[9A]

October 21, 2011

Mary Blair's 100th Birthday



I was greatly honored for the opportunity to create a doodle for Mary Blair's 100th birthday. Not to mention somewhat intimidated! Her work was and continues to be a major source of inspiration for a large number of artists working in animation, illustration, and fine art... and the Google Doodle team. So there was some pressure to get it right!






Early "character" studies. Working right to left, I drew her more representationally before "cartoonizing" her. Valuable team feedback led to her being portrayed to look like one of her illustrated children, further emphasizing the youthful quality of Mary's work.


Of course, for all her technical mastery, from her wonderful color schemes to her deceptively simple shapes and compositions, what I've always admired most about her work is the sense of joy that went into making each picture. As a viewer, I can't help but sense that childlike enthusiasm and smile in response. This was Mary's ultimate goal, as she wrote in a letter to her husband, to "live to be happy and paint to express our happiness," and it's a goal very similar to our own as Doodlers -- to inspire happiness in our users when they see something new and unexpected on the Google homepage.






Happy birthday, Mary Blair!

posted by Mike Dutton

[9A]

Aug 15, 2021

India Independence Day 2021





At the stroke of midnight on this day in 1947, India’s decades-long movement for independence culminated as the nation became a sovereign republic. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Kolkata, India-based guest artist Sayan Mukherjee, celebrates India’s Independence Day and its cultural traditions forged in centuries of historical progress.

Home to over an estimated 1.3 billion people, India is inhabited by one-sixth of the total global population and is characterized by the thousands of distinct languages and ethnic groups within its borders. Indians across the subcontinent’s 29 states celebrate their freedom and multicultural spirit with customs such as traditional dance performances, which vary depending on regional culture.

The Doodle artwork illustrates these diverse forms of dance. From the classical tradition of Bharatnatyam depicted on the far left to the oldest Indian dance style with origins stretching back 3000 years in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Depicted third from the right, the masked reenactments from Indian epics known as Chhau dance have origins in the eastern state of Jharkhand, the Purulia Chau, and the Seraikella Chau regions. The far right dancer depicts dance from Kathakali.

Happy Independence Day, India!

[9A]

August 15, 2013

KR Liberation Day




The National Liberation Day of Korea is a holiday celebrated annually on 15 August in both South and North Korea. It commemorates Victory over Japan Day, when the United States and the Allies liberated Korea from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule.

[9A]

August 15, 2019

India Independence Day 2019





Today’s Doodle, by India-born, Copenhagen-based guest artist Shaivalini Kumar, celebrates Independence Day in India. On this day in 1947 one of the world’s oldest and most ethnically diverse civilizations became a sovereign nation, free from British rule. The Doodle depicts traditional motifs from Indian textiles evoking the complex yet harmonious “patchwork” of Indian culture, ranging from education, to the arts, to courage and compassion.

India is the world’s second most populous country, and many of its 1.3 billion citizens will join in the Independence Day festivities. While the subcontinent marks the occasion in various ways—from patriotic kite-flying to Amritsar’s “beating retreat” ceremony—no site is more historically significant than Lahori Gate at the Red Fort in Delhi, where then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru first addressed the newly independent nation.

India’s flag will be seen flying proudly today from Delhi to Bombay and everywhere in between. As the flag is raised each year, a 21-gun salute rings out, accompanied by the national anthem “Jana Gana Mana.” Parades, awards, and cultural events complete the momentous occasion.

Happy Independence Day, India!

[9A]

August 15, 2011

India Independence Day 2011

[9A]

August 15, 2017

India's Independence Day 2017




On August 15th, 1947, the front page of The Times of India jubilantly proclaimed “Nation Wakes to New Life!” Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the Dominion of India, raised the national flag above the Red Fort’s Lahori Gate as a declaration of the country’s newly won independence.

The 90-year independence movement was a campaign marked by both peaceful endurance and unwavering patriotism, shaping a strong sense of national identity for the people of India that lives on today.

To honor the anniversary, Mumbai-based artist Sabeena Karnik used a unique paper-cut art style to create a Doodle fit for the bold and colorful celebration of today’s events. The Parliament House depicted in her work commemorates this day, this movement, and this triumph of independence.

Happy Independence Day to the Republic of India!

Check out some of the in-progress work below

[9A]

Aug 16, 2017

Tina Modotti’s 121st Birthday


In a fraction of a second, a camera shutter blinks, rendering the world, unchanging, in soft sepia tones. But the photographer herself was never still. Tina Modotti refused to be a silent observer behind her camera lens. After all, “I cannot solve the problem of life by losing myself in the problem of art,” she wrote.

Tina’s early photos were mostly abstract — but telephone wires, staircases, and flowers were subjects that turned her lens away from the “problems of life” she couldn’t ignore. She found a match for her political and cultural views in Mexico, and fell in with a group of avant-garde artists including the painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and the poet Pablo Neruda. Her photography switched focus to represent the everyday laborers and extraordinary folk art of Mexico City, which included documenting much of the Mexican mural movement.

Tina gave up her camera in 1931, devoting herself fully to political activism. Her body of work is relatively small, but represents how she lived her life: bold, and with conviction.

Happy 121st birthday, Tina.

[9A]

November 20, 2021

Edmond Dédé's 194th Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Brooklyn, NY-based guest artist Lyne Lucien, celebrates Creole classical musician and composer Edmond Dédé. The melody to his 1851 composition “Mon Pauvre Cœur” [My Poor Heart] remains one of the oldest surviving pieces of sheet music by a Black Creole composer in New Orleans.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. on this day in 1827, Dédé picked up the clarinet from his father, a bandmaster in a local military band. He switched to the violin, which soon became Dédé’s instrument of choice as he developed into a musical prodigy. Apprenticing under prominent New Orleans musicians, Dédé left home for Mexico to escape the increasing racial prejudice in the American South.

He returned home in 1851 and published “Mon Pauvre Cœur.” He worked briefly to save money before leaving again to continue his classical studies in France. In the late 1850s, he landed a position at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, where his creativity thrived. He also worked at the Théâtre de l'Alcazar and the Folies Bordelaises. His ballets, operettas, overtures, and over 250 songs achieved massive success in France yet gained little traction in the U.S. In 1893, en route to his only musical appearance back in New Orleans, Dédé lost his favorite Cremona violin in a shipwreck but managed to find a replacement just in time for his performance!

Despite living in a time of severe racial discrimination, Dédé’s talent led him to become a world-class composer. Most of Dédé’s sheet music is preserved in the National Library of France and several American universities. His story continues to inspire contemporary classical musicians to take pride in their heritage and honor the contributions of musicians from historically overlooked communities.

[9A]

November 20, 2012

Otto von Guericke's 410th Birthday



Otto von Guericke was a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental methods and repeatable demonstrations on the physics of the vacuum, atmospheric pressure, electrostatic repulsion, his advocacy for the reality of "action at a distance" and of "absolute space" were noteworthy contributions for the advancement of the Scientific Revolution.

Von Guericke was a very pious man in the Dionysian tradition and attributed the vacuum of space to the creations and designs of an infinite divinity. Von Guericke described this duality "as something that ‘contains all things’ and is ‘more precious than gold, without beginning and end, more joyous than the perception of bountiful light’ and ‘comparable to the heavens’."

[9A]

November 20, 2019

Zinaida Gippius’ 150th Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Moscow-based guest artist Maria Shishova, celebrates the renowned Russian poet and author Zinaida Gippius. Born in the town of Belyov on this day in 1869, Gippius wrote verse, plays, novels, short stories, and essays as well as founding and editing an influential journal called The New Path. One of Russia’s best known female writers at the turn of the century, she is considered one of the founders of Russia’s Symbolist movement.

Raised in a family with three younger sisters, Gippius began writing poetry at the age of seven and published her work as a teenager. She met the writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky when she was 19 and married soon after. She insisted on absolute gender equality in their marriage. Gippius also published literary criticism under a male pen name.

Along with the writer Valery Briusov, the couple—known collectively as the “Brotherhood of Three”—ushered in new modes of thinking and writing during a period known as Russia’s “Silver Age.” Their journal, as well as their salon in St. Petersburg, became a center of progressive art and culture, coinciding with a time of great social change in Russia.

Gippius’s verse was intensely personal and focused on individual feelings, and her stylistic and formal innovations would prove extremely influential. Around the time of the Russian Revolution, Gippius and Merezhkovsky’s outspoken views compelled them to move from their homeland. They spent time in Poland, Italy, and France, where they helped assemble a group of like-minded Russian émigrés in Paris.

With her absolute commitment to creativity, Gippius’s commitment to freedom of expression continues to inspire generations of artists.

[9A]

November 20, 2014

Corita Kent's 96th Birthday



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

[9A]

November 20, 2019

Teachers' Day 2019 [Vietnam]




In Vietnam, the teacher's day falls on the 20th of November, this day allows students to show respect and gratitude's to their teachers. ... Not only the students who are in schools, all people send wishes to their old teachers to show their respects to the people who gave them knowledge and many life lessons.

[9A]

December 14, 2021

Celebrating Som Tum




Today’s Doodle celebrates signature Thai dish Som Tum, a sweet and spicy green papaya salad also popular in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. On this day in 2012, Thailand’s Department of Cultural Promotion registered Som Tum as a national intangible cultural heritage food.

Like many of the world’s most loved dishes, the origins of som tum are shrouded in mystery. Most food historians believe the savory salad originated in Laos due to its rich history in the historic Isaan region, which encompasses areas of northeastern Thailand and borders Laos. The classic Thai recipe calls for spicy Thai chilies balanced by palm sugar, garlic, shrimp, fish sauce, peanuts, limes, cherry tomatoes, green beans, and green papaya.

The term “som tum” is a combination of two Isaan words translating to “tart flavor” and “to pound,” reflecting the first step in the salad’s preparation in which a mortar and pestle is used to ground several of the ingredients into a tart salad dressing. The dressing is mixed with the remaining ingredients and topped with roasted peanuts for an added salty crunch. The final product is a salad that is simultaneously salty, sweet, spicy, sour, and bitter—a flavor combination that defines Thai cuisine.

How the meal is prepared varies depending on the region, but most pair this popular Thai staple with sticky rice. For those new to som tum, it's recommended that you pay attention to the number of chilis included in your salad as they are notoriously spicy!

[9A]

December 14, 2021

Get Vaccinated. Wear a Mask. Save Lives. [December 14]

[9A]

December 14, 2016

105th Anniversary of First Expedition to Reach the South Pole



Today marks the 105th anniversary of Roald Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole. Known as "the last of the Vikings," Amundsen was a lifelong adventurer with a gift for organization and planning. "Victory awaits him who has everything in order," wrote Amundsen, and his South Pole journey was a perfect illustration of that principle.

Amundsen's expedition party consisted of 19 people and nearly 100 Greenland sled dogs. The dogs -- along with the use of skis to cross treacherous terrain -- were key to the team's success. And like their canine companions, the explorers knew that playfulness could help them endure the extreme conditions on the icy frontier. While prepping from Framheim, their base camp in the Bay of Whales, the team maintained a sense of fun. They held guess-the-temperature contests, celebrated birthdays, and told stories. When a subset of the crew made the final trek to the South Pole in December of 1911, their camaraderie and careful preparation helped them win the race to "the bottom of the world."

In honor of that achievement, today's Doodle depicts the crew at the finish line, taking a moment to bask in the glory while the Antarctic wind whips outside their tent.

[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]

April 26, 2021

Anne McLaren's 94th Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 94th birthday of British scientist and author Anne McLaren, who is widely considered one of the most significant reproductive biologists of the 20th century. Her fundamental research on embryology has helped countless people realize their dreams of parenthood.

Anne McLaren was born in London on this day in 1927. As a child, she had a small role in the 1936 H.G. Wells’ sci-fi film “The Shape of Things to Come.” In the scene—set in 2054—her great-grandfather lectured her on the advancement of space technology that had put mice on the moon. McLaren credits this formative, albeit fictional, history lesson as one of the early inspirations for her love of science. She went on to study zoology at the University of Oxford, where her passion for science only grew as she learned from talented biologists such as Peter Medawar—a Nobel laureate for his research on the human immune system.

In the 1950s, McLaren began to work with mice to further understand the biology of mammalian development. While the subjects of her research were tiny, the implications of their study proved massive. By successfully growing mouse embryos in vitro [in lab equipment], McLaren and her colleague John Biggers demonstrated the possibility to create healthy embryos outside of the mother’s womb.

These landmark findings—published in 1958—paved the way for the development of in vitro fertilization [IVF] technology that scientists first used successfully with humans twenty years later. However, the development of IVF technology carried major ethical controversy along with it. To this end, McLaren served as the only research scientist on the Warnock Committee [est. 1982], a governmental body dedicated to the development of policies related to the advances in IVF technology and embryology. Her expert council to the committee played an essential role in the enactment of the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act—watershed, yet contentious, legislation which limits in-vitro culture of human embryos to 14-days post embryo creation.

In 1991, McLaren was appointed Foreign Secretary, and later vice-president, of the world’s oldest scientific institution—The Royal Society—at the time becoming the first woman to ever hold office within the institution’s 330-year-old history.

McLaren discovered her passion for learning at a young age and aspired to spark this same enthusiasm for science in children and society at large. In 1994, the British Association for the Advancement of Science—an institution dedicated to the promotion of science to the general public [now the British Science Association]—elected her as its president. Through the organization and its events, McLaren engaged audiences across Britain on the wonders of science, engineering, and technology with the aim of making these topics more accessible to everyone.

Happy birthday, Anne McLaren. Thank you for all your incredible work and for inspiring many new generations to come because of it!

[9A]

April 26, 2021

Thank You: Public health workers and researchers in the scientific community




To all the public health workers and to researchers in the scientific community, thank you.

[9A]

Apr 27, 2021

King's Day 2021




Today’s Doodle celebrates King’s Day, or Koningsdag. Dutch communities in the Netherlands and around the world celebrate their nation’s cultural heritage and the birthday of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, who was born on this day in 1967.

A representation of the Dutch royal family, oranjegekte [“orange madness”] is the theme of the day and the national color can be seen everywhere from the way people dress up to the icing on the tompouce [a cream-filled pastry]. Even the drinks are orange, as many toast to the King with an Orange Bitter.

Depicted in the Doodle artwork is the creation of homemade crowns, an annual King’s Day tradition. Huge inflatable orange crowns and miniature crown variations are worn by celebrants across the country to honor the King’s birthday.

Fijne Koningsdag! [Happy King’s Day!]

[9A]

November 12, 2021

Celebrating Johannes Vermeer



Today’s Doodle celebrates Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, a seminal Baroque artist who is widely regarded among the greatest Dutch painters of all time. On this day in 1995, an eponymous exhibition opened at Washington D.C.’s National Gallery of Art, featuring 21 of his 35 existing works.

Johannes Vermeer was born in Delft, the Netherlands, at the height of the Dutch Golden Age in 1632. Although little is known about Vermeer’s early life, historians estimate from his early mythological paintings that he first aspired to be a historical painter.

By the 1650s, Vermeer began to paint subtly lit interiors with intricate symbology—a style distinguished by traditional Dutch motifs that became his hallmark. He captured the commonplace in radiant and exquisite detail, creating masterworks including “The Girl with the Pearl Earring '' [1665] which is currently on display at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. The artistic techniques Vermeer employed are still up for debate. Some art historians suggest he traced images projected from a camera obscura [a predecessor to the photographic camera], but with no physical evidence to back up such claims, some Vermeer specialists remain unconvinced.

On the left, the Doodle artwork references “The Allegory of Painting” [1666-1668] and in the middle, “Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid” [1670-1671]. In 1979, an X-ray revealed a hidden Cupid in Vermeer’s “Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window” [1657-1659], referenced on the right of the Doodle. Researchers continued to analyze the canvas in 2017, determining that the Cupid was covered by another painter. In 2021, a German initiative completely restored the painting. These efforts are just a few of the many attempts to demystify Vermeer and some of the world’s most treasured pieces of fine art he left behind.

Here’s to a true artistic luminary—Johannes Vermeer!