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Thread: Google doodles

  1. #9351
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    17 Dec 2011

    Josef Lada's 124th Birthday



    Josef Lada was a Czech painter, illustrator and writer. He is best known as the illustrator of Jaroslav Hašek's World War I novel The Good Soldier Švejk, having won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1963.

    The asteroid 17625 Joseflada has been named after him.
    Last edited by 9A; 01-02-2022 at 09:30 AM.

  2. #9352
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    17 December 2021

    Celebrating Carrie Best




    Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based guest artist Alexis Eke, celebrates Canadian activist, author, journalist, publisher, and broadcaster Carrie Best and her record of influential accomplishments, including co-founding The Clarion—one of the first Nova Scotian newspapers owned and operated by Black Canadians. For her humanitarian efforts, Best was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1974, and subsequently became an Officer of the Order of Canada on this day in 1979.

    Carrie Mae Prevoe was born on March 4, 1903, in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia during a time of pronounced racial discrimination. Encouraged by her parents to take pride in her heritage, she decided from a young age to refuse racial stereotypes and immerse herself in historical and literary works written by Black Canadians and African-Americans. In 1925, she married Albert T. Best.

    In 1943, Best was arrested for sitting in the “white only” section of New Glasgow’s Roseland Theatre—an act of protest against the forcible removal of several Black teens who attempted to sit there only days before. She then sued the theatre based on racial discrimination but lost the case. Her drive for equal rights was only strengthened by this event.

    Best founded The Clarion in 1946 to publish news by and for the nation’s Black community. In 1952, Best established her own radio show titled “The Quiet Corner,” where she broadcast music and read poetry often relating to human rights for the next 12 years. Best was also a strong advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples.

    Best’s efforts were recognized with honorary law doctorates in 1975 and 1992. The University of King’s College in Halifax, one of the institutions that awarded Best, continues to carry on her legacy by offering outstanding Black and Indigenous Canadian students a scholarship named in her honor.

    Thank you for fighting for the future of marginalized people in Canada and beyond, Carrie Best!

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    2 Jan 2013

    Barış Manço's 70th Birthday







    Mehmet Barış Manço, better known by his stage name Barış Manço, was a Turkish rock musician, singer, songwriter, composer, actor, television producer and show host. Beginning his musical career while attending Galatasaray High School, he was a pioneer of rock music in Turkey and one of the founders of the Anatolian rock genre. Manço composed around 200 songs and is among the best-selling and most awarded Turkish artists to date. Many of his songs were translated into a variety of languages including English, French, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Persian, Hebrew, Urdu, Arabic, and German, among others. Through his TV program, 7'den 77'ye ["From 7 to 77"], Manço traveled the world and visited many countries on the globe. He remains one of the most popular public figures of Turkey.

  4. #9354
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    2 January 2009

    Elfstedentocht 2009



    The Elfstedentocht [ English: Eleven cities tour) is a long-distance tour skating event on natural ice, almost 200 kilometres [120 mi] long, which is held both as a speed skating competition [with 300 contestants] and a leisure tour [with 16,000 skaters]. It is held in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, leading past all eleven historical cities of the province. The tour is held at most once a year, only when the natural ice along the entire course is at least 15 centimetres [6 in] thick; sometimes on consecutive years, other times with gaps that may exceed 20 years. When the ice is suitable, the tour is announced and starts within 48 hours.

  5. #9355
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    2 January 2011

    Večerníček's 46th Anniversary




    Večerníček [meaning "little bedtime story" Czech and Slovak] is a television program for children in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It has been broadcast regularly for over 50 years. Before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, two versions – one in Czech and one in Slovak – were aired in the respective parts of Czechoslovakia. Similar shows in other European countries include Sandmännchen in Germany, Esti mese in Hungary and Wieczorynka in Poland.

    Currently, Večerníček is aired in the Czech Republic at 18:45 every day, when children are expected to go to sleep. The show [opening theme, tale, closing theme] lasts maximally ten minutes. Every tale takes 5–8 minutes. A full Večerníček series typically contains 10 – 20 episodes.


    The format of the program has been unchanged for decades, making it part of the Czech and Slovak culture.

  6. #9356
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    4 April 2020

    Stay at home. Save lives.


  7. #9357
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    29 Mar 2019

    Novera Ahmed's 80th Birthday




    Today’s Doodle celebrates the pioneering artist Novera Ahmed, who is considered the first modern sculptor in Bangladesh and whose distinctive work borrowed from Western, folk, indigenous, and Buddhist themes to reflect the experiences of women.

    Ahmed was born in 1939 during a sea crocodile hunt in the largest mangrove swamp in the Ganges. She was drawn to sculpture from a young age, inspired by watching her mother make dolls and clay houses. When her father attempted to marry her off to a noble family, she resisted, insisting that she wanted to become a sculptor.

    Ahmed studied design at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in London, graduating in 1955 and going on to receive further training in Florence and Vienna. She rose to prominence in 1960 with Inner Gaze, the first-ever solo sculpture exhibition by any sculptor in Bangladesh or Pakistan. A collaboration with painter Hamidur Rahman resulted in the Shaheed Minar, a national monument in Dhaka commemorating the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations of 1952.

    In 1963, Ahmed bid farewell to her home and settled permanently in Paris. Two years traveling through East Asia inspired a departure in form, yielding several assemblages made from the debris of American warplanes. In 1997, Ahmed received an Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh.

    Today, many of her works can be viewed at the Novera Ahmed Museum, founded in 2018 by her husband in the small town of La Roche-Guyon outside of Paris.

    Happy 80th birthday, Novera Ahmed!

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    14 Apr 2019

    Hùng Kings' Commemoration Day 2019



    Almost 5000 years ago, in the Red River Valley of Southeast Asia, the Hùng Kings established Văn Lang, the precursor of modern Vietnam. Today’s Doodle celebrates Hùng Kings' Commemoration Day, in remembrance of the ancient leaders of the Hong Bang era, the traditional founders of Vietnam who ruled for 18 generations.

    The first Hùng King, Kinh Durong Vurong, and the 17 leaders who succeeded him, laid the foundations of Vietnamese culture. The Hong Bang was a time of cultural flourishment, known for producing some of the most acclaimed Asian art of the Bronze Age.

    Once a mostly regional observance, Hùng Kings' Commemoration Day has been a national holiday in Vietnam since 2007, encouraging more citizens to learn about the ancient history of their country. In the early morning, a grand procession of palanquins heaped with offerings of food, flowers, and clouds of fragrant incense makes its way up the mountain to the Hùng King Temple, accompanied by flags, banners, and traditional music. Young boys and girls in ornate holiday attire make the journey as well as delegates from all over Vietnam.

    Singing, dancing, and making Bánh Chưng and Bánh Dầy — traditional rice cakes enjoyed during Lunar New year — are also important parts of Hùng Kings 'Commemoration Day. Many celebrants make time for games, engaging in battles of wits on the chessboard or forming circles to play đá lông, an acrobatic game of skill and agility played by kicking a feathered shuttlecock.

    Happy Hùng Kings' Commemoration Day!

  9. #9359
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    7 September 2020

    Kim Sowol’s 118th birthday




    Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Eusong Lee, honors the 118th birthday of Korean poet Kim Sowol, whose beloved 1922 lyric poem “The Azaleas” [“Chindallae kkot”] is widely considered a masterpiece of the form. Celebrated for his contributions to early modern Korean poetry, Sowol composed many poems in the familiar cadence of traditional Korean folk music, which added to the broad popularity of his work.

    Kim Sowol was born Kim Jeong-sik on this day in 1902 in present-day North Korea’s North Pyongan Province. As a teenager, Jeong-sik attended the esteemed Osan Middle School, where he became a lifelong protégé of the teacher and poet Kim Eok. In 1920, Jeong-sik published his first poems in a literary magazine, after which he assumed the pen-name Sowol, which translates into “White Moon.”

    While still a high school student in 1922, Sowol published his famous work “The Azaleas.” This melancholic poem of love and loss inspired the colorful burst of Azalea flowers that surrounds his portrait in today’s Doodle artwork.

    He went on to compose over 150 literary works and in 1925 published his sole collection of poems, also named “The Azaleas.” Sowol’s lifetime of heartfelt compositions cemented his legacy as one of Korea’s most treasured poets, and to this day many Koreans can recite his poems by heart. The annual Sowol Poetry Prize, established in 1987 in Kim Sowol’s honor, is considered one of the most prestigious awards in Korean poetry.

    Happy birthday, Kim Sowol!

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    7 September 2019

    Celebrating Marcelle Ferron




    “My aim has always been modest. I wanted to transform the arranged marriage [of art and architecture] into a love match.” ​—Marcelle Ferron

    Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and work of the renowned Canadian painter, sculptor, and glassmaker, whose famous installation in Montreal’s Vendôme station was unveiled on this day in 1981. Marcelle Ferron’s striking design combined colorful stained glass with a spiraling stainless steel sculpture, a unique style that inspired the Doodle’s art.

    Born in 1924, Ferron studied at the École des beaux-arts de Québec, but left upon realizing she was unable to find answers to her questions about modern art. Upon meeting Québec abstract painter Paul-Émile Borduas, she joined his Automatiste group and became one of the youngest artists to sign their 1948 manifesto Refus global. Ferron went on to spend 13 years painting in Paris, exhibiting her work at the 1961 São Paulo Biennial in Brazil, where she won a silver medal.

    Her meeting with glassmaker Michel Blum sparked an interest in glass as an art medium. Over time, she devised her own methods, building “walls of light” connected by invisible joints that allowed her to create large planes of color. These innovative techniques can be seen in her mural for Expo 67 and public commissions in the Champ-de-Mars train station, Sainte-Justine Hospital, and the Granby courthouse.

    Throughout her 50-year career, Ferron became one of Canada’s most important contemporary artists and was made a Knight of the National Order of Québec in 1985, then promoted to Grand Officer in 2000. This restless visionary’s achievements blazed a trail for women aspiring to make a mark in what was a traditionally male-dominated space.

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    11 Feb 2013

    Argentina Carnival



    The Buenos Aires Carnival [Spanish: Carnaval de Buenos Aires or Corso de Buenos Aires] is an annual event that takes place during the Carnival festivities, usually at the end of February, on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The two-day event features murga parades, colourful costumes, water bombs and many other amusement activities.

    During the 20th century, the Carnavales at Avenida de Mayo [de Mayo Avenue] were very popular, but they were discontinued first during the military government of the 1970s, and then during the 1990s. Mayor Aníbal Ibarra promoted the comeback of carnival [mainly into the barrios] in the mid-2000s, and the Avenida de Mayo show returned in 2006.

    Starting in 2012, Carnival dates are considered public holidays.

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    11 February 2019

    Mary Mounib’s 114th Birthday





    Today’s Doodle, created by Cairo-based artist Shennawy, celebrates the life and work of Mary Mounib, a female actor who became an iconic figure in Egyptian cinema.

    Born on this day in 1905, Marie Salim Habib Nasrallah moved with her family from Damascus to Egypt, where they settled in Cairo. To help provide for her family, Mounib started working as a dancer at the Rawd al-Faraj amusement park before getting involved in local stage productions as a young girl.

    In the 1930s Mounib joined the Rihani Ensemble, founded by the legendary comedian Naguib el-Rihani, and went on to appear in many plays before making her screen debut in 1934 with Ibn El Shaab [Man of the People]. She would continue to appear on screen throughout her long career in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. Famous for playing the role of a protective mother, Mounib is remembered for her comic roles in Egyptian films like Inshudat El Radio [Song of the Radio], Nashid Al-Amal [The Chant of Hope], and Aser Elaeyon [The Prisoner of Her Eyes].

    Happy Birthday, Mary Mounib!

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    8 Feb 2019

    65th Anniversary of the Quebec Winter Carnival



    What better way to liven up Canada’s coldest season than to host a big celebration amidst the snowfall and subzero temperatures? The tradition of winter festivals dates back to the 17th-century colonies known as New France, but the first organized carnivals in modern times occurred 125 years ago in Québec City, setting the blueprint for more than a century of frosty fun.

    The Québec Winter Carnival, which became an annual tradition starting in 1954, is also the oldest of the festivals held across Canada to relieve the routine of short days and chilly nights. Frank Carrel, proprietor and managing editor of the Quebec Daily Telegraph, devised the Carnival as a way to raise spirits during the winter season. Erecting an ice palace in front of the Parliament building, the Carnaval de Québec also featured a parade, concerts, sporting competitions, and a number of other activities across the city.

    Now attended by more than half a million people each year, the carnival has its own official representative named Bonhomme, a large snowman who always wears a red cap, black buttons, and a ceinture fléchée, or “arrowed sash.” He lords over his own ice palace and leads a night parade along Grande Allée, which is decorated with lights and ice sculptures.

    Over the years the carnival soundtrack has evolved from polkas and waltzes to rock and dance music. Today, the 65th anniversary of the Québec Winter Carnival kicks off and children throughout the city can be seen enjoying the snowy celebrations while paying homage to their favourite snowman —a scene depicted in today’s Doodle by Canadian-born, New-York-based guest artist Randeep Katari. Other festivities include the annual ice canoe race on the St. Lawrence River, axe throwing, and—for the truly intrepid—the Snow Bath, a rare convergence of snowdrifts and swimming trunks.

    Joyeux Carnaval!
    Last edited by 9A; 01-03-2022 at 09:07 AM.

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    8 February 2016

    Dmitri Mendeleev’s 182nd Birthday


    Around 400 BC, the ancient Greeks organized the worldly elements into four groups: air, water, earth, and fire. In the seventeenth century, Robert Boyle explained the material world in terms of elements, mixtures, and compounds. And in 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev made sense of the 56 elements known at the time, showing how they related to each other in a distinct pattern. His periodic table let elements fall into "periods" according to atomic mass and valence [the power that determines how they combine].

    Scholars had attempted to organize the elements into a table before, but Mendeleev's work extended beyond mere chart-making. Mendeleev used the logic of his table to argue for the existence of yet-to-be discovered elements [like gallium and germanium], and even to predict their behaviors. Some of these predictions were wrong, but the basic principles behind his periodic organization continue to stand at the foundation of modern chemistry. The periodic table of the elements [now with 118 elements and counting] adorns science classrooms worldwide.

    In the final illustration, artist Robinson Wood imagines Mendeleev in the act of setting down the logic of his table [which reportedly came to him in a dream]. Today, on Mendeleev's 182nd birthday, we celebrate how this visionary helped us order and understand our world.

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    8 February 2021

    Shadia's 90th birthday





    If you flip through the channels of cable television in an Arabic-speaking country for long enough, you are bound to stumble upon an Egyptian movie released between the 1940s and ‘60s, an era revered as the nation’s golden age of cinema. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Ahmad Thabit, celebrates the 90th birthday of an icon of this era, the beloved Egyptian actress and singer best known by her stage name Shadia.

    Born Fatma Ahmed Kamal Shaker on this day in 1931, Shadia was first recognized as a gifted singer by her family. At 16, Shadia’s father entered her into a talent competition where she caught the attention of two eminent Egyptian directors, who later helped launch her film career.

    Shadia’s skills as an actress and dancer coupled with her evocative voice made her a darling of the Arab entertainment industry for close to forty years. She appeared in over 100 roles, from movies to radio plays, and garnered widespread critical acclaim for her comedic and dramatic performances alike. Many of her films featured iconic musical numbers now regarded as classics of Egyptian cinema, like her 1957 duet with Farid al-Atrash: “Ya Salam Ala Hobi Wi Hobak” [“Our Love is Exceptional”].

    Shadia also released dozens of hit songs, several of which remain popular today. Her patriotic ode “Ya Habibty Ya Masr” [“Oh My Beloved Egypt”] has been played with such frequency during national events and celebrations, some even consider it Egypt’s unofficial national anthem!

    Happy birthday, Shadia. Your performances continue to capture hearts across the Arab world and beyond.

  16. #9366
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    6 Feb 2021

    Celebrating the Vernadsky Research Base




    What do magnetometers, snowmobiles, and penguins all have in common? Each can be found in full-swing at the Ukrainian Akademik Vernadsky Research Base, an Antarctic scientific center widely acclaimed for its climate change research studies. Today’s Doodle celebrates this historic station, which officially transferred from British to Ukrainian control on this day in 1996.

    Located on the tiny island of Galindez in the Antarctic Circle, the Vernadsky station is the direct successor to the British Faraday base, which was first established as a meteorological observatory in 1947. Today, the Vernadsky station is operated by a rotating staff of a dozen winterers. For about ten months at a time, each winterer endures extreme isolation [there isn’t a town within 1,000 nautical miles!] and sub-zero temperatures, all in the name of scientific progress. When they aren’t busy preparing for expeditions into the Antarctic wilderness, the base’s personnel work year-round to maintain the station and conduct research on everything from penguin populations to the atmospheric effects of ultraviolet radiation.

    Cheers to everyone who keeps their cool at the Vernadsky base, thank you for helping to provide a better understanding of our changing planet!

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    6 Feb 2021

    Waitangi Day 2021




    On this day in 1840, Māori chiefs joined together with representatives of the British Crown to sign the Te Tiriti o Waitangi [Treaty of Waitangi], an agreement intended to bring unity to Aotearoa New Zealand. Today’s Doodle recognizes the anniversary of this historic treaty signing, now acknowledged annually as Waitangi Day.

    On the centennial anniversary of the treaty’s signing, the Māori tribes contributed their unique carving styles to build Te Whare Rūnanga [the House of Assembly], the meeting house depicted in today’s Doodle artwork. The distinct carvings and intricate tukutuku panels in the Whare design represent Māori throughout Aotearoa as it brings together the stories and styles of all Iwi [tribes], showcasing a unique gallery of Māori art, as well as an example of Māori social and cultural life.

    Now recognized as one of the nation’s most significant cultural heritage sites, Te Whare Rūnanga stands as a place to bring people together for important hui [meetings] and represents the unification of Māori and all New Zealanders. At dawn today, a ceremony inside Te Whare Rūnanga kicks off New Zealand’s annual Waitangi Festival, a vibrant celebration that includes Māori cultural performances and more.

    Happy Waitangi Day, New Zealand!

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    6 February 2013

    Mary Leakey's 100th Birthday




    Today we celebrate the life and work of anthropologist/archaeologist Mary Leakey. In this Doodle, I wanted to highlight Leakey's work in the most charming way possible. I began by focusing on her discovery of the fossilized Proconsul skull, but ultimately decided to depict a scene of her excavation of the Laetoli footprints. As a fun touch, I included her pet dalmatians, whom are often included in old photographs of Leakey.

    Posted by Betsy Bauer, Doodler

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    6 February 2019

    Waitangi Day 2019



    Waitangi Day is the national day of New Zealand, commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. In honour of Waitangi Day, today’s Doodle celebrates the unique native flora of the island nation.

    Geographically isolated in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has evolved a diverse variety of plant life. Some 80 percent of the islands’ fern, flower, and tree species are native to the country and, most can be found nowhere else in the world.

    The silver fern has long been a symbol of New Zealand’s identity, appearing on the uniforms of national sports teams as well as military troops. To Māori, it has been a symbol of strength and resilience.. Known to grow up to 10 meters in height, the underside of the silver fern’s leaves reflects moonlight, making it helpful when following forest trails at night.

    New Zealand’s unofficial national flower, the bright yellow blossoms of the Kōwhai tree, appear near the end of winter. The tree’s bark is renowned for its medicinal properties, useful for treating everything from dandruff to seal bites.

    The Pōhutukawa’s crimson flowers bloom around the holiday season, leading to the name “New Zealand Christmas Tree.” The plant also figures prominently in Māori legends as a bridge between the living and the spirit world. Aside from decorating homes and churches, the Pōhutukawa’s nectar can be used to make delicious honey and treat sore throats.

    Happy Waitangi Day 2019!​

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    1 Feb 2019

    Celebrating Sojourner Truth




    “We have all been thrown down so low that nobody thought we'd ever get up again; but we have been long enough trodden now; we will come up again.”

    —Sojourner Truth

    Today’s Doodle by Philadelphia-based guest artist Loveis Wise kicks off Black History Month by celebrating Sojourner Truth, a powerful advocate for justice and equality in the United States of America during the 19th century who paved the way for future generations.

    Born an enslaved person in Ulster County, New York around 1797, Isabella Baumfree endured the horrors of the American slave trade—as well as seeing her children sold into servitude. Despite the hardships she faced, she went on to win her freedom, changing her name to Sojourner Truth, and starting a new life as a traveling and prominent preacher, abolitionist, and suffragist.

    During her advocacy journeys throughout the country, Truth met activists William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, who encouraged her to speak out against the evils of slavery. She published a memoir in 1850, which earned her widespread acclaim as an author and speaker. She was even invited to meet with Abraham Lincoln in the White House. In her autobiography, Sojourner Truth recounted the day she escaped with her infant daughter, forced to leave her other children behind. With her daughter, she was taken in by Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen, who helped Sojourner Truth sue for the freedom of her five-year-old son Peter, who had been sold illegally by her former slavemaster. This historic lawsuit made her one of the first black women to successfully sue a white man in the U.S. The courthouse where the case was heard is referenced in today’s Doodle.

    After her book’s publication, Truth began a lecture tour that included a women’s rights conference in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered the famous “Ain’t I Woman” speech. Although the exact wording of the speech is still debated, her message came through loud and clear: women of any race, color, or creed are as strong and capable as any man.

    Truth’s memory and legacy continues to this day. Most recently, the US Treasury announced that she will be featured on the nation’s ten dollar bill along with other suffragists. The design for the new bill will be unveiled in 2020 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

    Here’s to Sojourner Truth, who devoted her life to the cause of speaking truth to power.

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    1 February 2013

    María Elena Walsh's 83rd Birthday



    María Elena Walsh [1 February 1930 – 10 January 2011] was an Argentine poet, novelist, musician, playwright, writer and composer, mainly known for her songs and books for children. Her work includes many of the most popular children's books and songs of all time in her home country.

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    24 October 2018

    Celebrating Zinaida Ermolyeva





    Fondly remembered as “Madam Penicillin,” Zinaida Ermolyeva was a Russian microbiologist and bacterial chemist who saved countless lives by developing and manufacturing antibiotics during World War II as well as inspiring young girls to pursue a career in science.

    Born in the Russian town of Frolovo in 1898, Ermolyeva graduated from medical school in 1921. She soon began her research at the Northern Caucasus Bacteriological Institute, working to ensure public health despite scarcity of funds and lab equipment. Four years later she was promoted to lead the Department of Microbiological Biochemistry in Moscow at the USSR Academy of Sciences—a remarkable feat for a young women in what remains a male-dominated field.

    Inspired by the work of Sir Alexander Fleming, Ermolyeva worked to develop treatments for wounded troops at risk of infection. Testing hundreds of mold cultures at the Rostov Institute of Bacteriology, Ermolyeva searched for a strain that would treat septic wounds and gangrene. One day she and her assistant were in an air-raid shelter they noticed mold growing on a wall. When they brought it back to the lab, this sample proved effective at fighting infection. Using this sample, Ermolyeva was able to synthesize and mass-produce penicillin in the Soviet Union, which had previously depended on shipments of antibiotics from the West. Shipping penicillin to the front lines, Ermolyeva’s successful research and development of antibiotics saved the lives of many thousands of men and women.

    In 1947, the USSR Ministry of Public Health established the Institute of Antibiotics and made Ermolyeva its founding director. During this phase of her career, Ermolyeva conducted important research on streptomycin and developed other important antibiotic agents such as interferon, ekmonovicillin, bicillins, ekmolin and diapsfen.

    A founding editor of the journal Antibiotiki, Ermolyeva wrote numerous papers and books on the field of microbiology and antibiotics. Ermolyeva became a full Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences and in 1970, she was named an Honored Scientific Worker of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.
    Last edited by 9A; 01-03-2022 at 09:39 AM.

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    24 October 2014

    1 Month Anniversary of Mangalyaan Entering Mars' Orbit




    The Mars Orbiter Mission [MOM], also called Mangalyaan ["Mars-craft", from mangala, "Mars" and yāna, "craft, vehicle"], is a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation [ISRO].It is India's first interplanetary mission and it made it the fourth space agency to achieve Mars orbit, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency. It made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.

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    24 October 2016

    Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’s 384th Birthday





    Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, born today in 1632, saw a whole world in a drop of water. Considered the first microbiologist, van Leeuwenhoek designed single-lens microscopes to unlock the mysteries of everything from bits of cheese to complex insect eyes. In a letter to the Royal Society of London, van Leeuwenhoek marveled at what he had seen in a sample of water from a nearby lake: "little animals" that we know now as bacteria and other microbes.

    In his rooms on the Market Square in Delft, Netherlands, van Leeuwenhoek was a DIY-er supreme. Like Galileo, he ground and polished his own lenses. Some of his lenses attained a magnification of more than 200 times, allowing him to examine capillaries, muscle fibers, and other wonders of the microscopic universe.

    Doodler Gerben Steenks noted, "I chose to make it an animated Doodle to show the 'before and after' experience that Antoni van Leeuwenhoek had — looking through a microscope and seeing a surprising new world." Here's to celebrating a true visionary!

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    24 October 2015

    R. K. Laxman's 94th Birthday





    A humorist and illustrator with an uncommon talent, R.K. Laxman was one of India’s most celebrated cartoonists. His daily political cartoon, You Said It, ran on the front page of The Times of India for more than 50 years. Laxman was best known for his Common Man character, who he drew into his cartoons as a witness to the kinds of hypocrisies and societal inequalities Laxman wanted to silently expose.

    Today’s Doodle honors R.K. Laxman for his deft artistic hand and sharp, incisive wit. Doodler Olivia When in collaboration with Local Googlers wanted to salute the legendary cartoonist by creating a Doodle that payed homage to both Laxman [making sure to capture his wild shock of hair and distinctive grin] and his most popular character, who watches in his trademark checked shirt as the beloved illustrator sketches him one more time.

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    23 Oct 2015

    Lygia Clark’s 95th Birthday



    Happy Birthday Lygia Clark!

    Today's doodle celebrates the 95th birthday of artist Lygia Clark, famed Brazilian painter, sculptor and teacher. Lygia Clark co-founded the Neo-Concrete movement, which sought to change art from a passive viewing experience to an engaging interaction. Her art pieces, specifically the bichos, were designed to be modified, re-positioned and folded into new configurations by participants. These "critters" were an early step in Clark's attempts to bridge the gap between artist and viewer.

    Later in her career, Clark turned the evocative power of her art toward healing, and became a proponent and practitioner of art therapy. Her work focused on bodily awareness as well as unconscious sensory perception, the inner life, and emotions.

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    23 October 2018

    Shamsur Rahman’s 89th Birthday






    In the final stanza of his poem, “Shadhinota Tumi” [“Ode to Freedom”], the Bengali poet Shamsur Rahman defined freedom as:

    “A garden room, the koel-bird's song

    The old banyan tree's gleaming leaves

    My notebook of poems written just as I please."


    Born in Dacca, British India, [now Dhaka, Bangladesh] on this day in 1929, Rahman was a poet, journalist, columnist, and advocate for human rights and democracy. While studying English literature at the University of Dhaka he joined a student group known as the Progressive Writers and Artists Association, reading his verse at Madhu’s Canteen and staunchly supporting the movement to retain Bengali as the official language of East Pakistan [now Bangladesh].

    After graduating with honors in 1953, he went on to make his living working for Radio Pakistan and editing the daily newspaper Dainik Bangla, he is remembered as the “unofficial poet laureate of Bangladesh.” Rahman published more than sixty books of poetry, ranging from love sonnets to patriotic verse to whimsical lines about his cat. His well known 1971 poem, “Shadhinota Tumi” [“Ode to Freedom”], was written in the throes of Bangladesh’s battle for independence from Pakistan.

    Rahman’s life and work earned him numerous accolades including the Bangla Academy Award, Ekushey Padak and the Shadhinota Award, the highest honor given by the government of his beloved homeland.

    Happy Birthday Shamsur Rahman!

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    27 Oct 2018

    Stella Adadevoh’s 62nd Birthday



    Today’s Doodle celebrates Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, the physician whose expertise and heroic efforts curbed the spread of Ebola in Nigeria in 2014.

    Born in Lagos, Nigeria on this day in 1956, Dr. Adadevoh descended from a long line of respected scientists and statesmen. Dr. Adadevoh completed her residency at Lagos University Teaching Hospital West African College of Physicians and Surgeons credential before doing a fellowship in London. Following her fellowship in endocrinology at Hammersmith Hospital, she returned to Lagos, Nigeria where she spent 21 years at the First Consultants Medical Center and served as the Lead Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist.

    In July 2014 a Liberian-American attorney arrived in Lagos on a flight from Monrovia heading to a conference on economic development and collapsed in the airport. The patient was taken to First Consultant Medical Center, where one of Dr. Adadevoh’s colleagues first diagnosed him as suffering from malaria. Although no Nigerian doctor had seen a case of Ebola before, Dr. Adadevoh suspected the patient might have been exposed to the highly contagious virus and subsequently ordered blood tests to confirm while also alerting Nigerian health officials.

    While awaiting test results, Dr. Adadevoh was pressured by Liberian government officials to let the patient go so he could attend the conference as planned. Despite threats of lawsuits, Dr. Adadevoh stood firm, stating that she would not release the patient “for the greater public good.”

    The test results came back positive for the Ebola virus and while the patient could not be treated in time, Dr. Adadevoh’s medical insight and the courage of her convictions ensured that other exposed patients could be treated rapidly and that the outbreak was contained. Unfortunately, in treating the initial patients, Dr. Adedevoh contracted the virus and passed away, along with three of her colleagues at the medical center.

    Her legacy lives on through DRASA [Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh] Health Trust, a nonprofit organization devoted to public health that works with communities and health workers to reduce the spread of infectious diseases and ensure that Nigeria is well prepared for future outbreaks.

    Happy Birthday Dr. Adadevoh!
    Last edited by 9A; 01-03-2022 at 04:54 PM.

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    27 October 2019

    Sylvia Plath's 87th Birthday




    How she longed for winter then! –
    Scrupulously austere in its order
    Of white and black
    Ice and rock, each sentiment in border,
    And heart’s frosty discipline
    Exact as a snowflake.”

    —Sylvia Plath, “Spinster”


    Today’s Doodle celebrates the acclaimed American writer Sylvia Plath, whose painfully honest poetry and prose gave voice to the author’s innermost emotions in ways that touched generations of readers. “It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative,” wrote Plath, whose work helped many understand mental illness. “Whichever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.”

    Born in Boston on this day in 1932, Sylvia Plath grew up with her father, a strict German and biology teacher specializing in the study of bees. Showing an early talent for writing, Plath was published in national publications, won awards, worked as an editor, and graduated from Smith College with honors—all despite suffering a mental breakdown. Her works often used heavy imagery and metaphors, set amongst scenes of winter and frost, as shown in today's Doodle.

    After college, Plath earned a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to England. In 1982, she won a Pulitzer Prize posthumously. While her children’s book, The It-Doesn’t-Matter-Suit, shows a lighter side of her creativity, her poems were described by the novelist Joyce Carol Oates as reading “as if they’ve been chiseled, with a fine surgical instrument, out of arctic ice.”

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    27 October 2020

    Dr. Stamen Grigorov’s 142nd Birthday



    Today’s Doodle celebrates the 142nd birthday of Bulgarian physician and microbiologist Dr. Stamen Grigorov, the first scientist to discover the bacterium essential to the fermentation of yogurt. Grigorov also contributed to the development of the world’s first tuberculosis vaccine.

    Stamen Grigorov was born on this day in 1878 in the village of Studen Izvor, located in the Trun region of western Bulgaria. Passionate about science from a young age, he went on to earn a doctorate from the Medical University of Geneva, Switzerland. Following his wedding in 1904, Grigorov returned to the university to work as a research assistant.

    As a reminder of home, Grigorov’s wife gifted him with some Bulgarian culinary staples, including yogurt. Intrigued by yogurt’s reputed health benefits, Grigorov decided to inspect it under a microscope. Following thousands of experiments, in 1905 he finally found what he was looking for: the rod-shaped microorganism that causes yogurt’s fermentation. The bacterium was later renamed Lactobacillus bulgaricus in honor of Grigorov’s home country.

    Later that year, Grigorov took a position as chief physician at a local hospital in his hometown of Trun. In 1906, he released a groundbreaking paper demonstrating the first use of penicillin fungi against tuberculosis. He continued this research and worked as a doctor throughout the rest of his life, saving thousands of lives along the way.

    In honor of Grigorov’s legacy, his home village of Studen Izvor today houses one of the world’s only museums of yogurt.

    Честит Рожден ден, Dr. Grigorov!

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    27 October 2021

    Otto Wichterle's 108th birthday




    Are you one of the estimated 140 million people around the world who wears contact lenses? Whether your answer is yes or no, the story of the Czech chemist who invented the soft contact lens—Otto Wichterle—might give you some fresh insight. Today’s Doodle celebrates Wichterle’s life and legacy on his 108th birthday.

    Otto Wichterle was born on this day in 1913 in Prostĕjov, the Czech Republic [[then, Austria-Hungary). As a lover of science from his youth, Wichterle went on to earn his doctorate in organic chemistry in 1936 from the Prague Institute of Chemical Technology [ICT]. He taught as a professor at his alma mater during the 1950s while developing an absorbent and transparent gel for eye implants.

    Political turmoil pushed Wichterle out of the ICT, leading him to continue refining his hydrogel development at home. In 1961, Wichterle [[a glasses wearer himself) produced the first soft contact lenses with a DIY apparatus made of a child’s erector set, a bicycle light battery, a phonograph motor, and homemade glass tubing and molds. As the inventor of countless patents and a lifelong researcher, Wichterle was elected the first President of the Academy of the Czech Republic following the country’s establishment in 1993.

    While Wichterle is most well-known as the inventor of contact lenses, his innovations also laid the foundation for state-of-the-art medical technologies such as “smart” biomaterials, which are used to restore human connective tissues, and bio-recognizable polymers, which have inspired a new standard for drug administration.

    Happy birthday, Otto Wichterle—thanks for helping the world see eye to eye!

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    30 November 2021

    Celebrating Lotfi Zadeh




    Today’s Doodle celebrates world-renowned Azerbaijani-American computer scientist, electrical engineer, and professor, Lotfi Zadeh. On this day in 1964, Zadeh submitted “Fuzzy Sets,” a groundbreaking paper that introduced the world to his innovative mathematical framework called “fuzzy logic.”

    Lotfi Asker Zadeh was born on February 4, 1921 in Baku, Azerbaijan [then a Soviet Socialist republic], and at 10 years old moved with his family to his father’s homeland of Iran. His exceptional academic achievements brought him to the U.S. to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his graduate studies. He went on to earn his doctorate in electrical engineering in 1949, and later taught systems theory at Columbia University in New York. In 1959 he became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley–which remained his academic home throughout his career and where he made his most famous and fuzzy breakthrough.

    In 1965, he published “Fuzzy Sets,” which has since been cited by scholars nearly 100,000 times. The theory he presented offered an alternative to the rigid “black and white” parameters of traditional logic and instead allowed for more ambiguous or “fuzzy” boundaries that more closely mimic the way humans see the world. This concept has since been applied to a huge range of technological applications—from a Japanese subway system to the anti-skid algorithms that keep cars safe on the road.

    Known as a gracious yet brilliant thinker, Zadeh received countless accolades throughout his career, including an honorary professorship from the government of Azerbaijan in 1993.

    So here’s to you, Lotfi Zadeh! There’s nothing fuzzy about your huge impact on the scientific world.

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    30 November 2021

    Janaína Dutra's 61st birthday





    Today’s Doodle celebrates Brazilian social activist and lawyer Janaína Dutra, a leader of the Brazilian LGBTQIA+ movement who is widely considered the nation’s first transgender person to practice law.

    Janaína Dutra was born on this day in 1960 in the Canindé district of Brazil’s northern Ceará state. By age 14, she began facing homophobic discrimination, but the support of her large family never faltered. She followed her sister to Fortaleza, where Dutra took her first steps toward a life devoted to advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community. In 1986, Dutra earned her law degree from the University of Fortaleza, making history as the first transgender graduate accepted as a member of the Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil [Brazilian National Bar Association].

    Throughout the 1980s, Dutra furthered her career by developing Brazil’s first HIV prevention campaign that focused on the transgender community in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. Dutra also contributed to the foundation of the Grupo de Resistência Asa Branca [White Wing Resistance Group] and served as the first president of the Associação de Travestis do Ceará [ATRAC - Ceará Transvestites’ Association]—a landmark non-profit organization focused on developing social and legal support for the LGBTQIA+ community.

    Known to always carry a copy of an anti-homophobia law passed by her hometown, Dutra spent a lifetime attending conferences, seminars, and round tables to advocate for equality. In 2011, the Janaína Dutra LGBT Reference Center was founded in Fortaleza, which carries on Dutra’s mission by protecting human rights for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to this day.

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    27 October 2008

    Diwali 2008




    Diwali or Divali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika [between mid-October and mid-November].

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    21 September 2019

    Celebrating the Pretzel!





    Flip, twist, and bake!

    Today’s Doodle, freshly baked by Esther’s German Bakery, celebrates the one and only pretzel—one of the world’s most versatile and beloved foods! As Oktoberfest, the Bavarian fall festival, begins today, Brotfrauen [or bread ladies] will be carrying baskets of chewy Brezeln through Bierhallen [massive tents] in Germany, the center of Oktoberfest revelry.

    The history of pretzels is a tale with many twists and turns, and some of the accounts over the centuries are still debated to this day. Made without dairy or eggs, pretzels have long been considered a staple during Lent. One of the more colorful pretzel legends involves a group of monks baking pretzels in a Vienna basement who overheard an invading army tunneling under the city walls in 1510. As a reward for helping to thwart the invasion, the pretzel bakers received their own coat of arms. Another story claims that the expression “tying the knot” refers to the 17th-century Swiss custom of using a pretzel during wedding ceremonies.

    The soft pretzel’s unique texture is achieved by dipping the dough in a lye solution just before baking, resulting in a chemical process known as the “Maillard reaction.” Smooth and brown on the outside, chewy on the inside, soft pretzels are best eaten fresh. Julius Sturgis in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was the first to bake them until they got hard, extending their shelf life and allowing them to be shipped far and wide. In 1947, the Reading Pretzel Machinery Company unveiled a pretzel-making machine that cranked out up to 250 pretzels per minute!

    Over half a century later, pretzels are just as awesome as ever, whether hard or soft, salty or sweet, buttered or plain, a bag of pretzel sticks from the supermarket or an extra-large Brezel at Oktoberfest.

    Noch eine Brezel, bitte! [Another pretzel, please!]

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    21 September 2015

    Respect for the Aged Day 2015





    Since 1966, Respect for the Aged Day has been a time to revere the wisest people we know. Today Japan celebrates its elders, the men and women who paved the way for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to leave their mark on society. Communities across the country will gather to enjoy musical performances and offer their elders gifts like bento boxes, flowers, and handmade crafts.

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    16 September 2018

    Mexico Independence Day 2018



    Today Mexico celebrates the independence movement that began with El Grito – a cry for freedom – in the village of Dolores, Guanajuato. In cities all over Mexico a full day of parties usually begins the night before, with citizens chanting in unison, “¡Viva México!”

    Brass bands fill the streets, columns of willow and palm are set aflame, and fireworks light up the sky. Mexican food is central to the celebration—street vendors sell tamales while party foods like queso fundido are usually consumed at home. After a long night of partying, a hearty bowl of menudo soup is a fortifying and restorative meal.

    Today’s Doodle shows a street vendor handing out Mexican flags, which are omnipresent on this day in public spaces and outside homes. Its colors feature in people’s outfits as well: green for independence, white for the Roman Catholic Church, and red for unity.

    Happy National Day, Mexico!


    Doodle by guest artist Rafael Mayani.

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    10 March 2021

    Dr. Wu Lien-teh's 142nd birthday





    Today’s Doodle celebrates the 142nd birthday of Chinese-Malaysian epidemiologist Dr. Wu Lien-teh, who invented a surgical face covering that is widely considered the precursor to the N95 mask.

    Born into a family of Chinese immigrants in Penang, Malaya [modern-day Malaysia] on this day in 1879, Wu went on to become the first student of Chinese descent to earn his MD from Cambridge University. Following his doctoral studies, he accepted a position as the vice director for China's Imperial Army Medical College in 1908. When an unknown epidemic afflicted north-eastern China in 1910, the Chinese government appointed Wu to investigate the disease, which he identified as the highly contagious pneumonic plague that spread from human to human through respiratory transmission.

    To combat the disease, Wu designed and produced a special surgical mask with cotton and gauze, adding several layers of cloth to filter inhalations. He advised people to wear his newly invented mask and worked with government officials to establish quarantine stations and hospitals, restrict travel, and apply progressive sterilization techniques; his leadership contributed greatly to the end of the pandemic [known as the Manchurian plague] by April 1911—within four months of being tasked with controlling its spread.

    In 1915, Wu founded the Chinese Medical Association, the country’s largest and oldest non-governmental medical organization. In 1935, he was the first Malaysian—and the first person of Chinese descent–nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work to control the pneumonic plague. A devoted advocate and practitioner of medical advancement, Wu’s efforts not only changed public health in China but that of the entire world.

    Happy birthday to the man behind the mask, Dr. Wu Lien-teh!

    Wear a mask. Save lives!

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    11 March 2016

    Ratchanee Sripaiwan's 86th Birthday



    Happy 86th Birthday Ratchanee Sripaiwan!

    If you grew up in Thailand or learned Thai in primary school, chances are you've heard of Manee and her friends. In Sripaiwan's beautifully illustrated book "Manee, Mana, Piti, and Chujai," readers learned the อักษรไทย while exploring Manee's village and following her adventures.

    Sripaiwan's exquisite mastery of the Thai language and passion for education guided students across the globe. Not only did readers learn basic Thai language, grammar, and sentence structure, they lived and loved Sripaiwan's tales. The textbooks were first approved for educational use in 1956 and were used for grades 1-6 from 1978 to 1994. When Sripaiwan passed away in 2014, these books were reprinted to honor her life's work — educating and delighting another generation.

    Today's Doodle by Alyssa Winans reflects the signature style of illustrators and close collaborators Triam Chachumporn, Ohm Rajjavej, and Pathom Puapimon. The image of Mana and Manee captures the effortless charm and elegance of Ratchanee Sripaiwan's books.

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    11 March 2013

    Douglas Adams' 61st Birthday




    Douglas Adams – one of the most celebrated and beloved humorists of the 20th century – had an imagination that defied gravity and soared past Earth's atmosphere. As a young man, he famously got the first inkling of an idea for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy while hitchhiking across Europe, pausing to contemplate the starry night sky.

    In the late seventies, this simple yet powerful premise blossomed into a comedy radio broadcast on BBC Radio 4. From there, it took on a life of its own – the series has included books, a TV show, a film, computer games, comic books, and most recently a stage show: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show, Live! – a performance which captures the magic of the original radio broadcast. In fact, many of the iconic sound effects used in our doodle were kindly provided by the creative folks behind this show.

    The world [to be fair, the universe] of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is complex, chaotic, and often contradictory, with multiple timelines and probability axes colliding in assuredly comic ways. The various exotic planets, alien races, and intergalactic sociopolitical situations are usually filtered through the lens of the series' most useful piece of futuristic technology – the Guide itself, published out of Ursa Minor Beta. The Guide's task of organizing the galaxy's information struck a chord with us, which is why we gave it special attention in our doodle. Through it, you can get a small peek into the unrelentingly hilarious universe created by Douglas Adams.

    But The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in all its many and varied manifestations, is not the limit of Douglas Adams' wit, creativity, and compassion. True fans know and love the episodes he wrote for the British sci-fi show Dr. Who, starring Tom Baker as the fourth doctor. He also created Dirk Gently, protagonist of several genre-defying detective novels. And he co-created, with zoologist Mark Carwardine, the radio documentary and nonfiction book series Last Chance to See, documenting many expeditions to examine near-extinct animals across the globe.

    Douglas Adams has entertained and inspired so many generations of people around the world with his warm humor and courageously curious intellect. Happy birthday, you hoopy frood!

    I was honored to work on this doodle with my collaborators – Corrie Scalisi, Kevin Laughlin, Manuel Clément, and Leon Hong.

    Posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino, Doodler

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    28 June 2021

    Celebrating Mary Two-Axe Earley




    Today’s Doodle, created by Kanien’kehá:ka [Mohawk] guest artist Star Horn, celebrates Mary Two-Axe Earley, a Kanien’kehá:ka [Mohawk] woman from Kahnawà:ke, Mohawk Territory, situated on the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from Montreal. Two-Axe Earley fought for over two decades against sex discrimination in the Indian Act, which stripped First Nations women of their Indian status if they married non-Indian men. On this day in 1985—nearly two decades after Mary began her fight against sex discrimination in the Indian Act—the Parliament of Canada passed Bill C-31, an amendment to restore Indian status to women who had lost it through marriage.

    Mary Two-Axe Earley was born on October 4, 1911 on the Kahnawà:ke Reserve. At 18, she moved to New York, where she married an Irish-American engineer. Under the provisions of Canada’s Indian Act, her marriage to a non-Indigenous man meant the loss of her Indian status.The Indian Act of 1876 defines who is an “Indian” and who can belong to an “Indian band” [now referred to as First Nations]. The federal government targeted First Nations women, stripping them of their Indian status [their recognition as an Indian] if they married a non-Indian man. These laws banned First Nations women and their children who lost their status from living in their communities, denying them access to critical social programs and voting rights in their community, and severing their ties to identity and culture. Thousands of First Nations women affected by this legislation are still waiting to be recognized by Canada.

    In 1967, Two-Axe Earley founded the Equal Rights for Indian Women organization. For decades, she fought for First Nations women’s rights through associations, impassioned speeches, and letter campaigns. Her perseverance, along with other First Nations women, paved the way for the 1985 repeal of Indian Act provisions, which restored Indian status to thousands of First Nations women. One week later, Two-Axe Earley became the first woman to have her Indian status reinstated. The Bill was effective April 17, 1985, but the movement for sex equality continues today.

    In addition to an honorary doctorate and a position among the first members of the Order of Quebec, Two-Axe Earley received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 1996 for her lifetime devotion to human rights.

    Thank you, Mary Two-Axe Earley, for your unyielding dedication to the rights of First Nations women and their children!

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    28 June 2012


    J.J. Rousseau's 300th Birthday



    Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.

  43. #9393
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    28 June 2012

    Luigi Pirandello's 145th Birthday




    Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power to turn psychological analysis into good theatre."

  44. #9394
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    28 Jun 2012

    Sergiu Celibidache's 100th Birthday





    Sergiu Celibidache was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures as principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Sicilian Symphony Orchestra and several other European orchestras. Later in life, he taught at Mainz University in Germany and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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    25 September 2013

    Maria Tănase's 100th Birthday





    Maria Tănase was a Romanian singer and actress. Her music ranged from traditional Romanian music to romance, tango, chanson and operetta.

    Tănase has a similar importance in Romania as Édith Piaf in France or Amália Rodrigues in Portugal. In her nearly three-decade-long career, she became widely regarded as Romania's national diva, being admired for her originality, voice, physical beauty and charisma. In Romania, she is still regarded as a major cultural icon of the 20th century. In 2006 she was included to the list of the 100 Greatest Romanians of all time by a nationwide poll.

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    25 September 2021

    Christopher Reeve's 69th birthday



    Today’s Doodle celebrates American actor, director, author, and humanitarian Christopher Reeve, who is best known for his spinal cord research advocacy work alongside his leading role in four “Superman” feature films.

    Christopher D’Olier Reeve was born on this day in 1952 in New York City. He graduated from The Juilliard School and made his stage debut in the 1976 Broadway comedy “A Matter of Gravity.” After only two years of acting in soap operas and plays, Reeve auditioned to play the Man of Steel himself in the 1978 “Superman” film, landing the role ahead of 200 other aspiring actors.

    His performance as the iconic superhero in the four-part film franchise launched him to international fame, but he refused to be typecast in action roles. To this end, he brought a diverse range of characters to life both in cinema and on stage throughout his career. Outside of acting, he was an enthusiastic equestrian and athlete. In 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down due to a riding accident; these injuries led him to become an outspoken champion for those with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities across Hollywood, the nation, and the world.

    Reeve used his platform to bring increased awareness to topics related to disabilities and dedicated his life to driving positive change for the community. This included sponsoring bills to raise lifetime insurance “caps'' to better support people with disabilities and helping pass the 1999 Work Incentives Improvement Act, which secured ongoing insurance payments to people with disabilities even after they return to work. He focused on efforts to directly improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by distributing millions in individual grants through his foundation and serving on the boards of various disability organizations with this aim. Reeve also advocated for support and government funding of responsible stem cell research to further the knowledge and treatment of numerous health conditions, including spinal cord injuries. Calling on Hollywood to draw attention to other important social causes, Reeve led by example with his 1997 directorial debut “In the Gloaming,” a five-time Emmy nominated drama centered around a man diagnosed with HIV.

    Today, his legacy is carried on by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which he founded in 1998.

    Happy birthday, Christopher Reeve—who remains a hero to many both on and off the screen!

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    22 Sept 2021

    Bunpheng Faiphiuchai’s 89th birthday




    For those looking to understand the heritage of Thailand’s northeastern Isan region—the nation’s largest territory that is home to over 22 million people—no other artistic phenomenon reflects its identity more than the poetic style of folk music known as Mo Lam. Today’s Doodle celebrates the 89th birthday of the Thai singer crowned the “Queen of Mo Lam,” Bunpheng Faiphiuchai.

    Born on this day in 1932 in Ubon Ratchathani Province of Isan, Thailand, Bunpheng Faiphiuchai began performing Mo Lam at a young age. Mo Lam performances were uncomplicated during this era—one male and one female vocalist brought stories from Isan literature to life by holding a musical “debate” accompanied by the rhythmic sounds of the khaen [a bamboo mouth organ depicted in the Doodle artwork].

    After years of training, Faiphiuchai became known for her witty philosophical responses to her male counterparts and soon landed a job as a Mo Lam performer. By 1955, Faiphiuchai recorded more full-length albums than any other woman in the genre. She complemented her illustrious singing career with philanthropic endeavors such as promoting infectious disease prevention, environmental initiatives, and other forms of Thai performance art.

    Faiphiuchai was named a Thai National Artist in 1997 for her outstanding cultural contributions and passed down this unique Mo Lam expertise to numerous students throughout her life. Today, many of her pupils are well-known performers of Mo Lam which remains a foundational aspect of Thailand’s rich cultural heritage.

    Happy Birthday, Bunpheng Faiphiuchai! Thank you for fostering the next generation of Mo Lam performers!

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    26 April 2021

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


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    26 April 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!
    Last edited by 9A; 01-05-2022 at 08:09 AM.

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    16 November 2020

    Eliška Junková's 120th Birthday


    Today’s Doodle celebrates the 120th birthday of Czech racecar driver Eliška Junková, a pioneer in the history of motor racing. Known as the “Queen of the Steering Wheel,” Junková competed during the 1920s against Europe’s top drivers, and in 1927 became the first woman ever to win a Grand Prix race.

    Alžběta “Eliška” Junková was born on this day in 1900 in the Austro-Hungarian town Olomouc, today part of the Czech Republic. She took an interest in racing cars early on in high school, alongside her then-boyfriend and eventual husband Vincenc "Čeněk" Junek.” With her passion ignited, she took driving lessons in Prague and became one of the first women in the newly-formed Czechoslovakia to receive a driver's license. When her husband kicked off his career as a car racer, Junková sat beside him as his racing mechanic and co-pilot. However, it wasn’t long before she took the wheel herself.

    Eliška Junková rose to fame racing her trademark Bugatti across Europe’s most difficult courses. She even developed a close personal friendship with the car’s maker, Ettore Bugatti. Junková was not only technically adept, she also earned a reputation as one of the first drivers to do walk-through’s of courses like Italy’s famous Targa Florio prior to races in order to commit landmarks and turns to memory.

    Junková retired from racing in 1928, but her legacy was immortalized by Czech composer, Jaroslav Ježek's, classic jazz composition "Bugatti Step,” as well as by Junková’s personal autobiography, “My Memory is Bugatti.”

    Happy birthday to a trailblazer who paved the way for women drivers across the world.

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