Google doodles

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Oct 1, 2009
China National Day 2009

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Sep 9, 2009
09/09/09 09:09:09

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Sep 3, 2009
Doraemon 2009



Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko Fujio The series has also been adapted into a successful anime series and media franchise. The story revolves around an earless robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a boy named Nobita Nobi .

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Aug 25, 2009
400th Anniversary of Galileo's Telescope



Galileo's contributions to astronomy include manufacturing excellent telescopes for his time period, studying the moon, discovering four of Jupiter's brightest moons, discovering that Venus goes through phases similar to the moon [[which influenced astronomers to transition away from Aristotelian celestial physics), and observing sunspots.

The design Galileo Galilei used c. 1609 is commonly called a Galilean telescope. It used a convergent [plano-convex] objective lens and a divergent [plano-concave] eyepiece lens. A Galilean telescope, because the design has no intermediary focus, results in a non-inverted and, with the help of some devices, an upright image.

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Jul 7, 2009
Anniversary of the publication of Pinocchio



Pinocchio is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan village. He was created as a wooden puppet but he dreams of becoming a real boy. He is notably characterized for his frequent tendency to lie, which causes his nose to grow.

Pinocchio is a cultural icon. He is one of the most re-imagined characters in children's literature. His story has been adapted into many other media, notably the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio. Collodi often used the Italian Tuscan dialect in his book. The name Pinocchio is a combination of the Italian words pino , and occhio ; Pino is also an abbreviation of Giuseppino, the diminutive for Giuseppe ; one of the men who greatly influenced Collodi in his youth was Giuseppe Aiazzi, a prominent Italian manuscript specialist who supervised Collodi at the Libreria Piatti bookshop in Florence. Geppetto, the name of Pinocchio's creator and “father,” is the diminutive for Geppo, the Tuscan pronunciation of ceppo, meaning a log, stump, block, stock or stub.

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Jun 6, 2009
Alexander Pushkin's Birthday



Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin [1837] was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era. He is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet, and the founder of modern Russian literature.

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Jun 6, 2009
25 Years of Tetris – courtesy of Tetris Holding, LLC




Tetris is a tile-matching video game created by Russian software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies, most prominently during a dispute over the appropriation of the rights in the late 1980s. After a significant period of publication by Nintendo, the rights reverted to Pajitnov in 1996, who co-founded The Tetris Company with Henk Rogers to manage licensing.

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May 31, 2009
150th Anniversary of Big Ben



Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster; the name is frequently extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower; it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom.

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May 28, 2009
Dragon Boat Festival 2009 - Multiple Cities on Various Dates

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Apr 24, 2009
Tomitaro Makino's Birthday



Tomitaro Makino was a pioneer Japanese botanist noted for his taxonomic work. He has been called "Father of Japanese Botany". He was one of the first Japanese botanists to work extensively on classifying Japanese plants using the system developed by Linnaeus. His research resulted in documenting 50,000 specimens.

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\April 24, 2003
Celebrating DNA's 50th Anniversary







Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses.

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Apr 21, 2003
Earth Day 2003

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Jan 25, 2003
Australia Day 2003

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Oct 25, 2002
Pablo Picasso's 121st Birthday






Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. Regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore.

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Mar 6, 2002
Piet Mondrian's 130th Birthday




Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan , after 1906 Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the great artists of the 20th century. He is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was reduced to simple geometric elements.

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Sep 9, 2019
Dr. Ruth Pfau's 90th Birthday


German doctor Ruth Pfau, remembering her first impressions of a Pakistani leper colony. Today’s Doodle celebrates Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, born in Leipzig, Germany on this day in 1929. She devoted herself to eradicating leprosy from Pakistan, saving countless lives.

Dr. Pfau was inspired to become a nun at age 29 after meeting a concentration camp survivor. While traveling to India, she was waylaid in Pakistan by visa issues and paid a life-changing visit to the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Clinic in Karachi.

Also known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy is caused by a bacterial infection that can now be prevented and cured, but the disease has historically caused sufferers to be ostracized and stigmatized for disfiguration.

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February 22, 2019
Steve Irwin’s 57th Birthday



http://www.google.com/doodles/steve-...-57th-birthday [interactive]



Today’s slideshow Doodle celebrates and explores the life and legacy of wildlife conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin, who inherited a love of large reptiles early on in life and shared it with the world through his work at the Australia Zoo and his popular TV series The Crocodile Hunter. Irwin and his family dedicated their lives to the preservation and appreciation of earth’s wildlife and wild places.

Born in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia on this day in 1962, Irwin was raised by Lyn and Bob Irwin, who gave him an eleven-foot python for his sixth birthday. He named the snake Fred. During the early 1970s, the Irwins moved to the Sunshine Coast in the Australian State of Queensland and opened Beerwah Reptile Park.

Learning to wrestle crocodiles since the age of nine, Irwin volunteered with Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management Program, helping to capture and relocate endangered saltwater crocodiles—the largest of all living reptiles—to protect them from being harmed. He was involved in all aspects of managing his family’s park, which was renamed Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, and eventually the Australia Zoo.

Soon after he took over management of the park, Irwin met his future wife Terri who was visiting the zoo. They spent their honeymoon capturing crocs, and the footage they shot became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter, which grew into a runaway hit show seen in more than 100 countries by over 500 million people.

Thanks to the show, Irwin’s enthusiasm for saving endangered [[and dangerous) animals quickly became as popular as his one-word catchphrase “Crikey!” It was also a family effort— whileSteve and Terri hosted the show together, their children Bindi and Robert became fixtures on the show as well.

In 2001, the Australian government awarded Irwin the Centenary Medal for a lifetime of service, and in 2004 he was nominated for Australian of the Year. Among his many accomplishments was the discovery of a new species of snapping turtle, which was named Elseya irwiniin his honor. In 2018 he was also posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Feb 11, 2019
Lyubov Orlova’s 117th Birthday




Born near Moscow on this day in 1902, Orlova began musical training at an early age. Her parents hoped she would become a classical pianist, and she impressed the Russian opera singer Feodor Chaliapin with her talent when she was still a little girl. She began her studies at the Moscow Conservatory and worked with the Moscow Musical Theater, singing in operas and dancing before making the transition to the big screen.

She made her onscreen debut in the 1930s, and her breakthrough role was starring in the film Jolly Fellows directed by Grigoriy Aleksandrov, whom she would go on to marry. Together they produced many successful films, including Цирк [Circus] and Волга-Волга [Volga-Volga]. Orlova was awarded various honors for her talents, including the prestigious title People’s Artist of the U.S.S.R.

Orlova was a strong believer that age was simply a state of mind. Always preferring to keep her exact age a mystery, her character in the play Lovely Liar even famously remarked: “I will never turn over the age of thirty-nine, even for a single day!”

In the later years of her career, she returned to the stage, appearing at Moscow’s Mossovet Theater in plays directed by Yury Zavadsky.

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Feb 26, 2019
Antonio Rivas Mercado’s 166th Birthday







An icon of Mexican architecture, Antonio Rivas Mercado left an indelible mark all over Mexico during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After extensive training in Europe, he returned home where he restored historic haciendas and government buildings, and taught at the National School of Fine Arts. He also designed such landmarks as the iconic Monumento a la Independencia aka “El Ángel,” [The Angel] in downtown Mexico City, which is depicted in today's Doodle by Mexican guest artist Elena Boils.

Born in Tepic, the capital of Nayarit, on this day in 1853, Mercado was sent by his parents to study in Europe, sailing by himself at age eleven. After graduating from England’s Jesuit College of Stonyhurst, he traveled to Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and at the Sorbonne.

Returning to Mexico in 1879, Mercado undertook important restorations such as the Hacienda de Tecajete in the State of Hidalgo and the facade of the City Hall in Mexico City. Mercado was known for a distinctly eclectic style, as seen in his designs for the Juárez de Guanajuato Theater, built between 1892 and 1903, which combines a neoclassical exterior with Neo-Moorish interior.

Mercado made a lasting impact as director of the National School of Fine Arts of Mexico City, where he separated the Architecture and Civil Engineering curriculum into two separate disciplines. His legacy lives on through his home in Mexico City’s Colonia Guerrero—also the home of his daughter, writer and patron of the arts Antonieta—which was restored and opened to the public.

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Mar 1, 2019
Mărțișor 2019



Today, Romanians say goodbye to winter and celebrate Mărțișor, a tradition marking the first day of Spring. Women across the nation will receive a red and white trinket called a mărțișor, which is typically given to them by friends and family members as a sign of respect and appreciation. It is also said that the person who wears the gift will have a prosperous year. Although mostly worn by girls and women, men also receive a mărțișor in some parts of Romania.

The celebratory day dates back thousands of years to when the new year started in March. In ancient Roman times, river stones painted red and white were worn around the neck on pieces of string until the trees began to blossom. The charms were then hung from the trees’ branches. These days, a woman might wear her mărțișor all month, pinned on clothing or tied around the wrist to bring good luck and vitality.

Even entire households join in on the celebration by hanging a red and white string at their gate to guard against evil spirits in the new year. The white represents winter snow while the red reflects warm weather ahead.

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Mar 1, 2019
St. David's Day 2019



Today’s Doodle celebrates St. David’s Day, a day that honors the patron saint of Wales, who has been commemorated by Welsh people since Dewi Sant’s canonization in the 12th century. St. David is said to have lived more than 100 years, founding many churches and monasteries before becoming archbishop. The grand medieval St. David’s Bishop’s Palace, located in the coastal city of St. Davids, conveys the enormity of his legacy.


The leek became a national symbol of Wales after St. David recommended that soldiers wear leeks in their caps so they would know who was who on the battlefield. Welsh soldiers still eat raw leeks on St. David’s Day while many citizens pin them on their clothes to mark the occasion and enjoy a traditional meal of cawl cymreig, a tasty stew of leeks and lamb [although St. David was reportedly a vegetarian].

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Mar 5, 2019
Carnival 2019




Marking the beginning of Lent, Carnival is a week-long celebration full of lively parades, vibrant attire, and elaborate music and dance routines. Although observed all over the world, Carnival is especially popular in Brazil. In fact, Rio de Janeiro is home to the largest such celebration in the world, with up to 2 million participants!

It’s also been 69 years since Adolfo Antônio Nascimento aka “Dodô” and Osmar Álvares de Macêdo wired an old Ford four-door with cone-shaped speakers powered by a car battery and rode through the streets of Bahia, Brazil blasting frevo music. The two friends called themselves Dupla Elétrica [[Portuguese for “Electric Duo”] and literally electrified the crowds during Bahia’s Carnival celebration with sounds from their electric cavaquinhos [traditional Portuguese four-stringed guitars that they modified into electric instruments].

The following year, they added another cavaquinho player, becoming Trio Elétrico, a trailblazing band whose name would become synonymous with the massive sound trucks that now rumble through the streets of Brazil [and elsewhere] every Carnival season.

Today’s Doodle pays tribute to these musical pioneers, whose innovations set off a cultural revolution. Over the past 69 years, sound trucks have evolved dramatically in terms of design, musical style, and sheer power. In 1975 the popular Brazilian singer Moraes Moreira became the first to perform atop one of the booming vehicles. Modern sound trucks are now fitted with luxurious components, including swimming pools. But the fundamental concept remains the same: taking the music to the streets.

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Mar 20, 2019
Fall 2019 [Southern Hemisphere]

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Mar 20, 2019
Spring 2019 [Northern Hemisphere]

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Mar 23, 2019
Abidin Dino’s 106th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates artist and author Abidin Dino, known to many as a pioneer of the Turkish avant-garde movement. Born on this day in 1913, Dino created canvases blending elements of expressionism, realism, and surrealism, which now adorn the walls of museums and collectors in Spain and Turkey. Turkish publications featured his calligraphic illustrations and essays, and his unique vision was even present in cinema and across stages.

At 20, Dino co-founded D Grubu, Turkey's first avant-garde movement, alongside five other innovators. While working in Paris, he was introduced to famed figures like Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein before returning to Istanbul in 1939. He participated in the historic “Harbor Exhibition,” a show featuring realistic portraits of dockworkers and fishermen, and was later recruited to design the Turkish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Dino's political cartoons during World War II resulted in a forced exile, during which he created some of his most resonant work. In 1952, he returned to France with his wife, Güzin.

The couple played host to fellow Turkish artists, scholars, and students for many years, connecting worlds and worldviews. Dino exhibited along with other progressive artists at the Salon de Mai in Paris every spring from 1954 to 1962.

In 1979, Dino was elected honorary chairman of the French National Union of the Visual Arts . His drawings of hands and flowers—which inspired today’s Doodle—were collected into a small book dedicated to his wife, titled Güzin’s Abidins, a testament to the heartfelt inspiration behind his vision.

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Mar 29, 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.

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Apr 12, 2019
100th Anniversary of Bauhaus







http://www.google.com/doodles/100th-...ary-of-bauhaus [interactive]


Both a school for the arts and a school of thought, the Bauhaus was founded by architect Walter Gropius exactly 100 years ago in Weimar, Germany, gathering many of Europe’s most brilliant artists and designers with the aim of training a new generation of creatives to reinvent the world. Today’s animated Doodle celebrates the legacy of this institution and the worldwide movement it began, which transformed the arts by applying the principle “form follows function.”

Gropius envisioned the Bauhaus—whose name means “house of building”—as a merger of craftsmanship, the “fine” arts, and modern technology. His iconic Bauhaus Building in Dessau was a forerunner of the influential “International Style,” but the impact of the Bauhaus’s ideas and practices reached far beyond architecture. Students of the Bauhaus received interdisciplinary instruction in carpentry, metal, pottery, stained glass, wall painting, weaving, graphics, and typography, learning to infuse even the simplest functional objects with the highest artistic aspirations.

Steering away from luxury and toward industrial mass production, the Bauhaus attracted a stellar faculty including painters Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, photographer and sculptor László Moholy-Nagy, graphic designer Herbert Bayer, industrial designer Marianne Brandt, and Marcel Breuer, whose Model B3 tubular chair changed furniture design forever.

Though the Bauhaus officially disbanded on August 10, 1933, its students returned to 29 countries, founding the New Bauhaus in Chicago, Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and White City in Tel Aviv. Bauhaus affiliates also took leadership positions at the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Harvard School of Architecture, and the Museum of Modern Art. Through all of these institutions, and the work created in their spirit, the ideas of the Bauhaus live on.

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Apr 14, 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.

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Apr 14, 2019
Pohela Boishakh 2019





As the sun moves from Pisces to Aries, the vernal equinox draws near and Bengali people prepare for the New Year’s celebration known as Pohela Boishakh—Pohela meaning “first,” and Boishakh being the first month in the Bangla or Bong Calendar which is the official calendar of Bangladesh.

Pohela Boishakh is a chance to make a fresh start, marked often by thorough house-cleanings followed by the creation of a colorful alpana on the floor of each home. Rice, flour, colored sand, and flower petals are used to make the geometric design, and in the center, an earthenware pot is placed containing holy water and mango leaves to symbolize prosperity and good fortune. Bengalis will sometimes also visit a nearby river to say prayers and bathe in preparation for the year ahead.

A time of hope and joy, Pohela Boishakh is marked by traditional song and dance, reciting of poems, and festive processions through the streets. In the capital city of Dhaka, thousands of students wearing masks participate in a festival known as Mangal Shobhajatra. Colorful bamboo figures of animals—like the Bengal tiger seen in today’s animated Doodle—are carried above the crowd, along with flying birds, elephants, and more. In fact, students from Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Art began this tradition in 1989, and in 2016 it was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of humanity’s Intangible Culture Heritage!

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Apr 28, 2019
Evangelina Elizondo’s 90th Birthday






Today’s Doodle by Mexico City-based guest artist Valeria Alvarez celebrates Evangelina Elizondo, an actress who starred in movies, television shows, and musical theater during an era known as Mexican Cinema’s Golden Age. Born Gloria Evangelina Elizondo López-Llera in Mexico City on this day in 1929, the multi-talented artist was also an accomplished painter, author, and recording artist.

Elizondo’s big break came after being cast as the voice of Cinderella in the Spanish version of the Disney classic. She later made her stage debut dancing in the 1950 stage production of Mariano Azuelo’s Los de Abajo [The Underdogs] and also appeared in Mame and La Viuda Alegre [The Merry Widow] with Plácido Domingo.

Elizondo’s first on-screen appearance came in the 1951 film, Las locuras de Tin-Tan, with Germán “Tin-Tan” Valdés. She would act in over 75 films, specializing in comedies and musicals. “I do not like drama at all,” she said. “I do not want dramas in my life. What I've always wanted is to amuse the public, to whom I owe my career.” In 1995, she appeared with Anthony Quinn and Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds.

Elizondo also performed in several telenovelas, and her iconic character “Mamá Lena” in Mirada de Mujer was beloved by millions. She continued studying art throughout her life and also earned a degree in theology. The author of two books, she received a Harlequin Prize in 2014 for her contributions to Mexican culture.

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Apr 30, 2019
Last Day of The Heisei Period



Today’s Doodle honors the end of an era in Japan—literally—as the sun sets on the Heisei period, whose name translates to “achieving peace.” The nation’s 247th gengō, or era name, began with the ascension of Emperor Akihito in January 8, 1989, and comes to an end as the emperor steps down to make way for his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.

The tradition of naming eras dates back to 645 A.D. when Japan’s Emperor Kōtoku took the throne, ushering in a series of reforms to bring about a fair system of government. To emphasize what he hoped would be a fresh start for Japan he adapted the Chinese practice of giving his era a name. Emperor Kōtoku chose Taika meaning “great change.”

Historically, era names have often been inspired by classical Confucian texts and debated by high-ranking officials of the imperial court in a time-honored process of deliberation known as nanchin. Specifically, the gengō aims to express a vision for the future and speaks to the hopes and dreams of the Japanese people.

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May 13, 2019
60th Anniversary of Torres del Paine National Park



Described by an early visitor as "one of the most ... spectacular sights that human imagination can conceive," Torres del Paine became a national park on this day in 1959. Initially named Lago Grey, the park was expanded and renamed in 1970. Today’s Doodle celebrates the splendor of this natural treasure situated near the Andes mountains at the southernmost tip of Chile.

First settled by the ancient Aonikenk people, Parque Nacional Torres del Paine takes its name from the Paine Massif mountain range and three granite torres or towers that rise some 2000 meters above the Patagonian steppe.

The rugged beauty of the land—forests, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and an enormous blue glacier—attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to enjoy camping, hiking, cycling, kayaking, and boating. Since the 15th century, the area has also been home to the nomadic Kaweskar people who coexist with wild pumas, condors, and llama-like creatures known as guanacos.

The national park was added to UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserve system in 1978 and even received 5 million votes to be elected the “Eighth Wonder of the World” in 2013.

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May 17, 2019
Anita Conti’s 120th Birthday



“As soon as I put my foot on board, I'm flying,” wrote Anita Conti, who spent much of her life sailing the world as France’s first female oceanographer. Born on this day in 1899, the young adventurer developed a love for the sea while traveling with her parents. Living in Paris after World War I, she became a photographer and an accomplished writer focusing on nature and the sea.

In 1935, the French Fisheries Authorities hired Conti to conduct scientific research assessing fish resources. In 1941, she was the only female to board a trawler bound for Western Africa, spending the next ten years between Senegal and the Ivory Coast, documenting traditional fishing practices, meeting with local elders, and developing detailed fishing maps. Conti’s goal was to nourish French troops and save the local population from hunger, but over time she became increasingly concerned about the danger of overfishing and was one of the first to issue a warning that “seas are under threat.”

In subsequent voyages through the North Atlantic and Canada, she survived rough seas, shot thousands of photos, and wrote about her experiences with poetic flair in books like Géants des mers chaudes [Giants of the Warm Seas]. In 1952 she spent six months in the Arctic Ocean aboard the French trawler Bois-Rosé, capturing the difficulty of life on a fishing boat in her bestselling book, Racleurs d'océans [Scrapers of oceans].

A pioneer of maritime ecology, Conti spent nearly half of her 98 years on the high seas, earning the name La Dame de la Mer or the “Sea Lady.”

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May 30, 2019
2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Begins!





Over 100 players, 10 teams, but only one cup.

Today’s Doodle celebrates the International Cricket Council’s 2019 World Cup, which opens at the Oval in London.​

Taking place every four years, the Cricket World Cup is the world’s leading contest in one-day cricket, and has become one of the most popular sporting events on the planet. Ten teams earn their chance to compete for the cup through a qualifying process that takes five to six years. This year’s round robin will be hosted in England and Wales.

Now England’s official national sport, it is said that cricket began as a children’s game in the Weald of rural England. Cricket spread to North America by the 17th century, eventually arriving in the British colonies of the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa and has since spread around the world.

The world’s first international cricket match, between Canada and the United States, took place in 1844. The first World Cup tournament was held in 1975, won by the West Indies team, who repeated the feat in 1979. This year’s defending champions are Australia, a perennial powerhouse that has won five of the eleven cups.

No matter how heated the competition may get, cricket is highly respected for maintaining high standards of fair play and good sportsmanship. Hence the phrase “It’s just not cricket,” which describes anything considered unfair

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Jun 5, 2019
Jacques Demy’s 88th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates French director Jacques Demy, born in Pont-Château, on this day in 1931.

Demy fell in love with the movies early and longed to tell his own vividly colored visual stories. As part of postwar French cinema’s New Wave, Demy and other members of the movement, known as the Nouvelle Vague, reimagined filmmaking as a personal artistic expression rather than a commercial industry, inspiring a generation of independent auteurs in the process.

As a child, Demy created his own puppet shows and animated home movies before convincing his parents to let him study film in Paris. After two years at France’s Technical School of Photography and Cinematography, he assisted animator Paul Grimault and director Georges Roquier in the 1950s before getting the chance to direct his first feature.

Set in his childhood hometown of Nantes, Lola starred Anouk Aimée as a heartbroken cabaret singer awaiting the return of a lost love. The bittersweet film debuted in 1961. A year later, Demy married Agnès Varda, who would later direct her husband’s life story in the singular biopic Jacquot de Nantes, based in part on his own diaries.

Inspired by American musicals, Demy created a world of his own in wistfully romantic films like Les Demoiselles de Rochefort [[The Young Girls of Rochefort), which featured Hollywood legend Gene Kelly, and Les Parapluies de Cherbourg [[The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), which put Catherine Deneuve in the spotlight and won the grand prize at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival.

A consummate cinephile and audiovisual craftsman, Demy infused his musicals and fantasies with a documentarian’s eye and a poet’s heart.

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Jun 17, 2019
İlhan Koman’s 98th Birthday



“Can science and art meet in one place?” asked Turkish artist İlhan Koman, born in Edirne on this day in 1921. “I'm trying to realize this meeting in sculpture… I'm trying to create new forms.”


Today’s Doodle celebrates the multidisciplinary sculptor whose wide-ranging interests and endless experimentation with various media and techniques, as well as mathematical concepts, led some to call him the “Leonardo Da Vinci of Turkey.”


As a child, Koman enjoyed playing with bolts and screws, and spent hours at a local blacksmith’s shop, watching the craftsman work with metal. When visiting relatives in the seaside city of Istanbul, he made models of ferry boats in the harbor and planned to become a shipbuilder before deciding to go to art school.


Upon graduating from Istanbul’s Art Academy, he moved to Paris, where he studied during the 1940s, opened a workshop, exhibited his own abstract sculpture, and spent hours in the Louvre admiring the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian art and the work of modern masters such as Rodin, Brancusi, and Giacometti.


While representing Turkey in the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, he met the architect Ralph Erskine, who invited him to work in Sweden. It was there that Koman would also teach at Stockholm’s Konstfack School of Applied Art. In the 1960s, he bought a two-masted wooden sailboat called the Hulda, which he adapted into a studio and living space.


During his time in Sweden, Koman began what he called his ‘Iron Age,’ exploring the malleability of metal. He created many public works, the best known of which is the monumental sculpture Akdeniz in Istanbul. The 4.5 ton figure of a woman with outstretched arms was fashioned from 112 strips of metal.

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Apr 23, 2019
St. George's Day 2019



St. George became a heroic figure of legend who was declared Patron Saint of England in 1348. Today’s Doodle by London-based guest artist Alice Pattullo celebrates St. George’s Day, which became an English feast day in 1415.

April 23 is also the day when the Order of the Garter, England’s highest honor of knighthood, is awarded by the English monarch with a medal bearing an image of St. George in battle with the mythical dragon. In fact, the Order of the Garter banners displayed in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle were a source of inspiration for Alice’s final Doodle concept: "I love the simple applique graphics and the bold heraldic colours," she notes.

St. George’s valor has always held a special significance for the people of England. His flag [[a red cross on a field of white) will fly all across the country today and many English people will wear a red rose on their lapel, inspired by the legend that a red bloom grew on the martyr’s grave. Traditional celebrations include parades, dancing, and gatherings at historic sites featuring hog roasts and all manner of medieval-themed merriment.

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May 5, 2019
Stanislaw Moniuszko’s 200th Birthday




Today’s Doodle by Warsaw-based illustrator Gosia Herba honors Stanisław Moniuszko, the Polish musician, composer, conductor, and teacher. Born on May 5, 1819, Moniuszko went on to become director of the Warsaw Opera House where he premiered many of his own works, including one of the most beloved operas in Polish history.

After being taught music by his mother as a child, Moniuszko was sent to study harmony, counterpoint, instrumentation, and conducting with the director of the Singakademie Music Society. There, he decided to become a composer, with a special interest in the human voice.

While working as an organist in Wilno, Moniuszko began writing his songbook, Śpiewnik Domowy [Home Songbook], publishing the first of 12 volumes in 1843. During a trip to Warsaw, he met the poet Włodzimierz Wolski, who’d written a libretto for an opera named Halka, based on a Polish folk story.

Moniuszko composed the music, drawing inspiration from traditional Polish dance music known as polonaises and mazurkas. Halka premiered in Wilno in 1848 and later traveled to Prague, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Expanded to four acts in 1858, the opera was hailed as a Polish cultural treasure, making Moniuszko a national hero.

A statue of Moniuszko stands outside Warsaw’s Opera House to this day, and his legacy lives on in The Stanislaw Moniuszko Music Academy in Gdansk. An international vocal competition in his name also takes place every three years. In it, finalists compete for a chance to sing with Poland’s National Opera on the stage where Moniuszko’s legend began.

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August 24, 2017
Ukraine Independence Day 2017



Today’s Doodle honors Ukraine’s independence day with a colorful celebration of its people. It’s drawn in shades of blue and yellow, Ukraine's national colors, meant to evoke the country's golden wheat fields and blue skies.


Home to nearly 130 different nationalities, Ukraine’s diverse population is represented in each unique letter. Guest artist Sergiy Maidukov says the image is meant to invoke happiness and show different people from across the country working together toward “freedom, peace and respect for each other.” He considers Ukraine’s diversity “a reason to be proud, to meet each other, learn about each other, sing and laugh together, and celebrate.”


Ukrainians may don hutsul shirts, or folk costumes, to attend the parade in Kiev today, or to watch fireworks over the city at night. Other celebrations include art fairs celebrating local craftsmen, historical reenactments, fireworks and live music all over the country.

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August 27, 2019
Gladys Elphick’s 115th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Australian Aboriginal community leader Gladys Elphick, known as “Aunty Glad,” who dedicated herself towards social justice in Australia.

Born on this day in 1904 a proud Kaurna and Ngadjuri woman, she became the founding president of the Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia, bringing about important social reforms. Despite leaving school at age 12, she was a tireless advocate for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women alike, inspiring many to stand up for their rights.

After the death of her first husband, Aunty Glad moved to Adelaide in 1939, supporting her two children. During the 1940s, she joined the Aborigines Advancement League of South Australia, the country’s first group for Aboriginal women. In the mid-1960s, she served on the activities committee supporting important initiatives such as opening a community center for adult education, medical, and legal services. Her efforts led to the establishment of many other institutions, including the College of Aboriginal Education and the Aboriginal Medical Service.

In 1971, Aunty was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and named South Australian of the Year in 1984. Since 2003, the Gladys Elphick Award has been awarded to recognize Aboriginal women working to advance the status of Indigenous people through a wide range of mediums.

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Sep 4, 2019
50th Anniversary of Mexico City Metro




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of the world’s great public transportation systems, the Mexico City Metro. On this day in 1969, the first subway line of the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo began running east and west from Zaragoza to Chapultepec.


Today the Metro’s 12 lines correspond with 12 different colors, as shown in today’s Doodle artwork, with connections to light railways in the south and cable cars in the north, crisscrossing the most populous metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere and transporting some 5 million passengers every day.


When the idea for the Metro was first proposed in the 1950s, Mexico City’s population was much smaller than it is today, but the bus and tramway system was severely strained. To address the issue, the city government approved the Metro construction plan in 1967, with the 1968 Olympics just around the corner.


It was no small challenge for engineer Bernardo Quintana to tunnel underneath a mega city built over a lake, in an area with a history of seismological activity as well as archaeological riches. Metro construction crews have unearthed some remarkable finds, including an 11,000-year-old mammoth skull, which is now on display at the Talismán station; a circular pyramid dedicated to Ehécatl, the Aztec God of wind, around which the Pino Suárez station was built; and in 2010, a 500-year-old Aztec gravesite.


Each of the 195 Metro stops has its own color and symbol, designed to make the system easy to navigate. La Raza station boasts a 600-meter-long [1969-feet-long] science museum, the Túnel de la Ciencia, stimulating the minds of passengers as they walk between lines 3 and 5. Other stations are designed to resemble the Art Nouveau entrances to the Paris Metro. Rubber wheels on many lines keep noise to a minimum, and the fare to ride can be as low as 5 pesos.

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Oct 1, 2019
Julio Jaramillo’s 84th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and music of Ecuadorian singer Julio Jaramillo, also known as El Ruiseñor de América, or “The Nightingale of the Americas.” Born to a working-class family in the bustling port city of Guayaquil on this day in 1935, Jaramillo grew up to become an international star who toured Latin America singing boleros, tangos, rancheras, and pasillos––the sentimental love songs that are often considered Ecuador’s national musical genre.

Jaramillo fell in love with music early, learning to play guitar as a youngster. After dropping out of school, he supported himself as a shoemaker, but longed to become a singer, sometimes serenading passersby in the city streets. Traveling to Colombia in hopes of gaining exposure, he once barged into a live radio broadcast, determined to make his voice heard and managed to impress listeners with his vocals. Back home in Ecuador, he recorded “Nuestro Juramanto” [“Our Oath”], a song about undying love that brought him international acclaim and remains to this day one of the most popular of his thousands of recordings.

Jaramillo lived a colorful life, traveling the world, romancing many women, and appearing in the 1966 film Fiebre de Juventud [[Youth Fever). One of Latin America’s most acclaimed singers, he became a sort of unofficial ambassador for Ecuador in pop culture.

Since 1993, October 1st has been celebrated as Día del Pasillo Ecuatoriano, a national holiday honoring the musical form Jaramillo helped to popularize around the world. The singer’s legacy lives on at the Museo Municipal de la Música Popular Julio Jaramillo, welcoming visitors to his hometown all year long.

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Oct 16, 2008
Queen Elizabeth II Visits Google London

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Nov 21, 2008
René Magritte's 110th Birthday - Courtesy of Succession René Magritte / ARS, NY



René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop art, minimalist art, and conceptual art.

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Nov 30, 2008
St. Andrew's Day 2008




Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November. Saint Andrew's Day is Scotland's official national day.

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Mar 20, 2009
First Day of Spring 2009 - Design by Eric Carle


Eric Carle [born June 25, 1929] is an American designer, illustrator, and writer of children's books. He is most noted for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a picture book that has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies, equivalent to 1.8 copies sold every minute since it was published in 1969.

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Apr 21, 2009

Kartini Day 2009






Kartini Day is an Indonesian holiday commemorating the birth in 1879 of Raden Ajeng Kartini, one of
the country's national heroes and a pioneer in the emancipation of Indonesian women.Throughout
Indonesia women wear their national dress to symbolize their unity, and the nation enjoys parades,
lectures, and various school activities.

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November 11, 2020

Veterans Day 2020



The Doodle was created by guest artist Jenn Hassin, an Air Force veteran from Texas, who said that while composing the Doodle she drew heavily from patriotism and service. With their bright and familiar colors, the stars and stripes capture your attention immediately.

Intertwined with the stars and stripes are colors that appear muted by comparison but are just as important to those who defend the US, for all the hues in the Doodle have been worn by those brave men and women we've relied on to protect our country since the Continental Army was established in 1775.

For Hassin constructed the Doodle from actual military uniforms from each branch of the military, 10 in all, from the Vietnam War to today. Three from the Navy, two each from the Army, Air Force and Marines, and one from the Coast Guard.

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Jul 1, 2002
Canada Day 2002

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Jan 4, 2006
Louis Braille's 107th Birthday






Louis Braille was a French educator and inventor of a system of reading and writing for use by the blind or visually impaired. His system remains virtually unchanged to this day, and is known worldwide simply as braille.