Google doodles

[9A]

July 8, 2011

Jean de la Fontaine's 390th Birthday





Of all the fables adapted by Jean de la Fontaine, “The Tortoise and the Hare” appealed to me the most for the persistent relevance of its message. I drew stylistic inspiration from traditional storybook etchings, and also looked at some of my heroes of illustration -- Arthur Rackham and John Tenniel. Though the style is old-fashioned, the moral is still true! You go, little guy!

Posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino

[9A]

July 1, 2018

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's 372nd Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the birthday of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, one of the most notable inventors and mathematicians of his time. Born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1646, Leibniz was raised in an academic family. It was not long before his thirst for innovation led him to develop mathematical tools that are the foundation for the ones used to this day.

Leibniz earned a master’s degree in philosophy at young age of 17, and a law degree at 20. In 1673, he invented the first mechanical calculator, called the “Step Reckoner,” which could perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It is also said that Leibniz invented calculus independently of Sir Isaac Newton while studying in Paris in the 1670s - a point which is still heavily contended.

Leibniz was also inspired by works in different genres throughout time, including ancient philosophers of Greece and China. He wrote about the “monad,” a metaphysical idea of essential particles that was opposed to atoms. Leibniz believed all existence was made up of essential particles that were both biological and spiritual, impossible to be disentangled.

While Leibniz’s early calculator did not use the binary system, he invented that, too, in 1679. His concept of breaking information down to 0s and 1s, detailed in his 1703-published Explication de l'Arithmétique Binaire [Explanation of Binary Arithmetic], is the basis of all computer programming. Today’s Doodle nods to this by spelling “Google” in binary.

Happy birthday, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz!

[9A]

July 1, 2004

Canada Day 2004

[9A]

May 23, 2021

Celebrating the Obelisk of Buenos Aires





The Obelisk of Buenos Aires towers over Argentina as a symbol of national pride. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Buenos Aires-based guest artists Carolina Silvero and Juan Elizalde of Estudio Guardabosques, celebrates this historic monument, which was inaugurated on this day in 1936 in honor of four centuries since Buenos Aires’ foundation.

Built in just 31 days from blocks of white Córdoba stone, the monument juts into the skyline where the Argentinian flag was first hoisted above Buenos Aires in 1536. Designed by illustrious Argentine architect Alberto Prebisch, each of the four shafts of the Obelisk signifies critical moments of Buenos Aires history: the city’s foundation in 1536 and again in 1580, the first celebration of the Argentinian flag in 1812, and the induction of Buenos Aires as the nation’s capital in 1880.

But the strategic location of the monument carries much more than just historical significance. The Obelisk also stands at the intersection of two of the capital’s iconic streets: Avenida Corrientes and Avenida 9 de Julio. Underneath the landmark, three of the city’s underground metro lines converge, making it a magnetic meet-up spot for the sprawling Argentine megalopolis.

While today’s Doodle artwork scales down the monument, you can enjoy a view of the over 200-foot tall Obelisk from many parts of the Argentine capital.

Today’s Doodle was illustrated by Buenos Aires-based guest artists Carolina Silvero and Juan Elizalde of Estudio Guardabosques.

Check out some behind-the-scenes photos for
today’s 3D paper sculpture Doodle

Step 1: Develop concept sketches



~Step 2: Test rendering with 3-D software


~Step 3: Build and photograph paper sculpture

[9A]

May 23, 2014

Otto Lilienthal's 166th Birthday




A crowd gathers to watch the “Gilder King” Otto Lilienthal in flight on our homepage in Germany today. A pioneer in aviation, Lilienthal is known for his work on heavier-than-air flight, and was an inspiration for the Wright Brothers among others.

[9A]

May 23, 2022

Maria Konopnicka's 180th Birthday




Maria Konopnicka fought for women’s rights and Polish Independence with her pen. Today’s Doodle celebrates the acclaimed poet, author and activist’s 180th Birthday.

Konopnicka was born on May 23rd, 1842 in Suwalki, Poland. When she was 12, her mother passed away, leaving her strict and patriotic father to raise three little girls. As a self-taught writer that craved innovative ideas, Konopnicka avidly read classic and contemporary literature. She was especially taken by the Polish Positivist writers, and their progressive ideals would later influence her work.

In 1870, she made her debut as a poet and by 1876 her poems were being published in national journals, including her collection “In the Mountains,” which appeared in the well-respected Tygodnik Ilustrowany [Illustrated Weekly]. A positive review by Nobel Prize laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz encouraged Konopnicka to keep writing.

In 1877, Konopnicka moved to Warsaw with her children to be in the thick of Polish literary and intellectual life. She published four controversial, yet acclaimed volumes of poetry focusing on patriotism and providing a voice to the lower class over the next 15 years. Between 1884 and 1887, Konopnicka defied conservative criticism and censors while serving as an editor for the democratic women’s magazine Świt.

Konopnicka never stopped challenging herself and also authored short stories, children’s books and translated French and German poetry into Polish. Her short stories, including "Nasza szkapa" [Our Jade] and "Dym" [Smoke], are considered to be among the best in Polish literature. In 1901, she took a break from her writing to help organize protests against the repressive measures taken by the Prussian government, which forced Polish children to speak in German at school. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of her literary and social work, Konopnicka was offered a house in Zarnowiec as a gift from the Polish nation.

In 1973, the Maria Konopnicka Museum in Suwalki opened to memorialize her accomplishments. Millions of copies of her books have been printed and reprinted throughout Poland.

Happy Birthday, Maria Konopnicka.

[9A]

May 26, 2022

Father's Day 2022 [May 26] [Germany]

[9A]

May 26, 2013

Mother’s Day 2013 International

[9A]

May 26, 2019

65th Anniversary of the Khufu Ship Discovery



On this day in 1954, one of the oldest and largest boats on earth was found buried near Egypt’s biggest pyramid. Today’s Doodle celebrates the discovery of the Khufu Ship, which has survived more than 4,600 years, although its true purpose remains a mystery.

Digging under a stone wall on the south side of the Great Pyramid of Giza, archaeologist Kamal el-Mallakh unearthed a row of massive limestone blocks covering a rectangular pit. Inside the airtight enclosure were neat piles of cedar planks, along with the ropes and matting needed to rebuild the vessel.

The painstaking process of reassembling over 1,200 pieces was overseen by Haj Ahmed Youssef, a restorer from the Egyptian Department of Antiquities, who studied models found in ancient tombs as well as visiting modern shipyards along the Nile. Over a decade later, the ingeniously designed vessel, measuring 143 feet long and 19.6 feet wide [44.6m, 6m], was fully restored without using a single nail.

Experts agree that the ship was built for Khufu [known to the Greeks as Cheops], the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, who is entombed inside the pyramid. Some say the ship was used to ferry the pharaoh’s body to his final resting place. Others think it was placed in the location to help transport his soul to heaven, similar to “Atet,” the barge that carried Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun across the sky.

Still others believe the ship is a sort of “black box” containing clues to the construction of the pyramids. These scholars argue that the asymmetrical ship was designed to be used as a floating crane capable of lifting large stone blocks. Wear and tear on the wood suggests that the boat had more than a symbolic purpose. While the mystery is still up for debate, the ancient ship can now be viewed at the Giza Solar Boat Museum, located just a few meters away from where it was found 65 years ago.

[9A]

Jun 4, 2019

Mudik 2019






Starting today, the big cities of the Indonesian archipelago empty out as people return home for the annual Idul Fitri feast [also known as lebaran], jamming the roads and railways of over 11,000 islands, including Java, Sumatra, Borneo, New Guinea, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan. Today’s Doodle celebrates this festive mass exodus, known as mudik, an Indonesian term which means ”homebound trip” towards one’s home village.

Mudik is about strengthening the bonds of community, spending quality time with family and loved ones, taking part in traditional rituals, and visiting ancestral gravesites to pay respects. It’s also a time to share treats like sweet Nastar cakes and cheese-filled Kastengel cakes.

The practice of returning home dates as far back as the 14th century, although the term "mudik" became popular during the 1970s. Traffic jams are common and special arrangements are made to ensure that transportation goes as smoothly as possible. Officials estimate that over 20 million Indonesians will make the joyful journey to all parts of the country.

[9A]

June 17, 2022

Celebrating Amanda Aldridge



Today’s Doodle celebrates British composer, teacher and opera singer Amanda Aldridge. She released over thirty songs and dozens of instrumental tracks under the pseudonym Montague Ring.On this day in 1911, Amanda Aldridge gave a piano recital at London's pre-war principal concert venue, Queens Small Hall, the original home of the BBC Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras.

Amanda was born the daughter of Ira Aldridge, a Black American Shakespearean actor and Swedish opera singer in 1866, London. Showing her own musical prowess at a young age, Aldridge pursued a career as a vocalist at London’s Royal Conservatory of Music, where she studied under eminent Swedish soprano Jenny Lind. Aldridge’s singing career was soon cut short by a throat injury, but her talents only continued to grow as a vocal teacher, piano player and composer.

Exploring her mixed ethnic heritage through the lens of music, Aldridge combined various rhythmic influences and genres together with poetry from Black American authors to create romantic Parlour music, a popular genre performed in the livingrooms of middle-class homes. Aldridge’s 1913 piano composition “Three African Dances,” inspired by West African drumming, became her most famous piece. In addition to her compositions, she taught civil rights activist Paul Robeson and one of America’s first great opera singers, Marian Anderson.

Aldridge composed love songs, sambas, and orchestral pieces into her old age, garnering international attention for her fusion of musical styles. At 88, Aldridge appeared for the first time on television on the British show “Music for You,” introducing a new generation to her classic compositions.

[9A]

June 17, 2001

Father's Day 2001

[9A]

June 17, 2013

Henry Lawson's 146th Birthday




Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest short story writer".

A vocal nationalist and republican, Lawson regularly contributed to The Bulletin, and many of his works helped popularise the Australian vernacular in fiction. He wrote prolifically into the 1890s, after which his output declined, in part due to struggles with alcoholism and mental illness. At times destitute, he spent periods in Darlinghurst Gaol and psychiatric institutions. After he died in 1922 following a cerebral haemorrhage, Lawson became the first Australian writer to be granted a state funeral.

[9A]

June 17, 2015

130th Anniversary of France delivering the Statue of Liberty to the United States




Born in France, made in the USA. Relive the creation of the Statue of Liberty on the Google Cultural Institute.

Nearly 130 years ago, France gifted the U.S. with one of the most prolific symbols of freedom the world over. Since then, it has welcomed millions of people searching for a new life on unfamiliar shores.

Today, the Statue of Liberty is more than just a symbol of solidarity. It’s a reminder that all countries thrive on the exchange of ideas and culture. The National Park Service's dedication to maintaining and restoring the statue ensures that message will live on.

Though the statue was actually shipped in separate pieces and then assembled upon delivery, we've drawn a more playful take on the occasion by portraying Lady Liberty crossing the Atlantic fully constructed on a steamer much too small for her.

[9A]

June 17, 2019

Jeong Ji-yong’s 117th Birthday




Today marks the 117th birthday of Jeong Ji-yong, a writer, translator, and teacher whose work experienced a resurgence in the late 1980s and who is now widely considered a pioneer of modern Korean poetry. The Doodle was created by Seoul-based guest artist, Mikyung Lee.

Born in the village of Hagye-ri in Okcheon county, Chungcheong Province on this day in 1902, Jeong Ji-yong grew up during the Japanese occupation of Korea. He published his first poem in 1919 and then traveled to Japan to study English at Doshisha University, writing his thesis on the British artist and poet William Blake.

As a Korean living in a different country, his poetry from this period expressed a sense of longing for home. Among his best-loved poems is 향수, or “Nostalgia,” published in 1923. Adapted into a song, it has become popular on Korean radio, evoking memories of life in a country village, punctuated with the haunting refrain: “Could it ever be forgotten, even in one's dreams?”

Renowned for his powerful imagery and simple yet evocative verse, Jeong Ji-yong continued publishing poetry and teaching high school English at his alma mater—and later at Ewha Women's University—until his unexplained disappearance around 1950. The Jeong Jiyong Literature Prize was established in 1989 to recognize emerging writers and keep his legacy alive.

[9A]

Jun 16, 2019

2019 Women's World Cup - Day 10



The 2019 Women’s World Cup is underway! Over the next month, players from the national teams of 24 countries will compete, with the final match in the biggest Women’s World Cup yet taking place on July 7th in Lyon, France.

We’re celebrating the eighth edition of the tournament with a series of Doodles by guest artists representing each of the competing countries to capture the local excitement of the competition, as well as what the event means to them personally.

Stay tuned for more from the artists, and best of luck to all the players!

[9A]

Jun 4, 2022

Mahmoud Abdel Aziz's 76th Birthday



Lights, camera…action! Today’s Doodle celebrates what would have been the 76th birthday of Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, an acclaimed Egyptian actor who mastered vastly different roles—spanning romance, drama, action and comedy. Throughout his decades of success, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz landed parts in over 100 motion pictures.

Mahmoud was born on this day in 1946 in Alexandria, Egypt. He stayed in his hometown to attend the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Alexandria University in the 1960s. It was at this university’s theater that he began practicing creative dramatics. Ten years later, his acting career skyrocketed when he starred in a soap opera called Al-Dawama [The Whirlpool]. In 1974, he got his first movie role in an Egyptian classic called Al-Hafeed [The Grandson]. His compelling performances, especially in romantic dramas, landed him 25 movie roles between the 1970s and early 1980s.

After Mahmoud cemented his heartthrob status in the film industry, he began working alongside prominent film directors who specialized in wide-ranging genres—from fantasy to realism. Working with veteran directors introduced Mahmoud to different ways of portraying complex characters, especially characters who tackled important social problems such as women’s rights, the Egyptian population crisis, widowhood and unemployment.

After a lifetime of captivating performances, Mahmoud had a long list of awards to show for his achievements: He has won Best Actor in movies such as: Kit Kat [1991], El Coptain [The Captain, 1997], Souq Al Motaa [Pleasure Market, 2000] and Al-saher [The Magician, 2001]. More recently, he also won a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2012 Dubai International Film Festival.

Today, his beloved films continue to keep viewers at the edge of their seats. Happy birthday, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz! You are remembered as one of the greatest Egyptian actors of all time.

[9A]

June 4, 2018

Tom Longboat’s 131st Birthday




Today we celebrate the 131st birthday of Tom Longboat, a Canadian long-distance runner celebrated as one of the greatest marathoners of all time. Longboat was a member of the Onondaga Nation, born in 1887 on Six Nations Reserve, south of Brantford, Ontario. He first began racing in his early teenage years, inspired by Bill Davis, another First Nations runner who finished second in the Boston Marathon in 1901.

It didn’t take long for Longboat to chase Davis’ legacy. He began racing in 1905 as an amateur and won his first Boston Marathon just two years later, in 1907, making Longoat the first member of the First Nations to win the Boston Marathon. In fact, during his career as an amateur racer, Longboat only lost a total of three races! Two years after winning the Boston Marathon, he went on to become a professional racer. Longboat was one of the first athletes to use a training technique involving rotating training days of hard workouts, easier workouts and recovery days. While these training methods are widely accepted today, he faced skepticism from coaches and media despite consistent victories and multiple world records.

During his professional racing career, Longboat also served in the Canadian Army as a dispatch runner in World War I. He largely ran across France, delivering messages between military posts. This was dangerous work, and he was actually mistakenly declared dead twice during his service! Once he finished his service for the military, he retired to the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, where he lived for the remainder of his life.

Tom Longboat’s legacy lives on as one of Canada’s greatest athletes. Not only is today his birthday, it is officially “Tom Longboat Day” in Ontario!

[9A]

October 26, 2020

Dolores Cacuango's 139th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 139th birthday of Ecuadorian civil rights pioneer Dolores Cacuango, who spent decades fighting fiercely for the rights of the country’s Indigenous people. Cacuango was a dedicated advocate for accessible education and instrumental in establishing Ecuador’s first bilingual schools, which practiced in Spanish and the Indigenous language of Quichua.

Dolores Cacuango was born on this day in 1881 in the Pesillo hacienda in the northern canton of Cayambe, Ecuador. Like many Indigenous people before her, she began to work at a young age, and at 15 years old was forced to relocate to the Ecuadorian capital of Quito to become a servant. With new insight into the troubling racism and class inequality facing her people, Cacuango returned home committed to the struggle for change.

Back in Pesillo, she became a leader in the movement against the exploitative hacienda system, and through her dynamic speeches, she advocated for causes like land rights, economic justice, and education for the Indigenous community. In 1926, she helped lead the people of Cayambe in challenging the sale of their community land, setting a strong example for future movements. Some two decades later in 1944, she also contributed to the establishment of the groundbreaking Ecuadorian Federation of Indians, which united Indigenous people around economic and cultural issues. She spent the rest of her life advocating for indigenous rights for current and future generations.

Today, Cacuango’s legacy is remembered with a street named in her honor in northern Quito.

[9A]

October 26, 2015

Karin Boye’s 115th Birthday




Karin Boye was a sensitive Swedish poet. An idealist at heart, she imagined the best of what humanity could offer, but was observant of the grey realities that hold us back. She lived in disastrous times, pre-World War II. But in the face of darkness, she wrote: Clouds, Hidden Lands, and Yes, of course it hurts.

Today’s animated doodle by Olivia When is adapted from one of Boye’s best known works "Yes, of course it hurts," describing the inevitable pain of change. While melancholy in tone, her optimism shines through. The branches and buds outside persist, in spite of the seasons, while Boye writes. Several earlier drafts explored the metaphor of a tree changing throughout the year, but the lighting in this final version seemed to best match the mood of Boye’s words.

[9A]

Oct 24, 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.

Early sketches by Olivia When

[9A]

October 24, 2010

Menino Maluquinho's Birthday





O Menino Maluquinho [The Nutty Boy] is a comic book and comic strip series created by Brazilian writer and cartoonist Ziraldo. It was based on the eponymous children's book published in 1980 which for many years was regarded as a classic of children's literature in Brazil, getting spun off into movies, plays and TV series. The comic books were published by Abril and Globo from 1989 until 2007. It was Ziraldo's second series of comic books, after "Turma do Pererê".

The main character, "Maluquinho" is a cheerful and optimistic 10-year-old boy who wears a pan on his head like a hat. [his trademark] Most of the stories revolve around the misadventures of Maluquinho and his friends with a light humour.

[9A]

October 24, 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!

[9A]

July 26, 2021

70th Anniversary of the Birch Bark Manuscript




On this day in 1951, a Soviet archaeological expedition led by Artemiy Artsikhovsky excavated the first ancient birch bark manuscript—a medieval letter inscribed with Old Russian text. Today’s Doodle celebrates the 70th anniversary of this major discovery that marked a new chapter in Russian linguistics research and shed new light on daily life of the Rus people in the Middle Ages.

In the 14th century, birch bark prevailed in Rus [now Russia] as the most dependable material for communication among medieval city-dwellers. It was inexpensive, ubiquitous in the region’s vast swaths of forest, and could be easily engraved using a pointed stylus made of metal, bone or wood.

Found in Veliky Novgorod—one of Russia’s oldest cities approximately 120 miles from St. Petersburg—the birch bark manuscript excavated in 1951 contains a brief list of working assignments addressed to a local laborer. This breakthrough finding proved to be just the tip of the iceberg, as over 1,000 manuscripts have been discovered across Russia since—some dating back to the 11th century!

Before the 1951 excavation, historians mostly relied on ancient Russian archives to color in the grey areas of medieval history, but these records did not illustrate the minutiae of everyday life. Birch bark writings filled these gaps with incredible detail, chronicling accounts from children to high-ranking officials. Thanks to these artifacts, scholars now believe ancient Russians had a much higher rate of literacy than previously thought and have discovered a new Old Russian dialect.

Today, experts estimate tens of thousands of birch bark writings remain under Russian soil. What will archaeologists discover next?

[9A]

July 26, 2016

Grandparents' Day 2016 [Spain]





Every year on July 26th, people across Spain take a moment to honor their grandparents, so we thought we’d take a moment too. We don’t presume to know your abuelita or abuelito, but hope whether they’re your family’s best storyteller, the source of Spain’s finest paella, or simply a cherished memory, that today’s Doodle helps bring them to mind.

Happy Grandparents’ Day to all the grandmothers and grandfathers out there!

[9A]

April 16, 2019

Inji Aflatoun’s 95th Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates Inji Aflatoun, the Egyptian painter and author remembered as a trailblazing modern artist and pioneering feminist.

Born in Cairo on this day in 1924, Aflatoun was mentored by the Egyptian artist Kamel El-Telmissany, soaking up his introduction to modern art as well as his interest in social issues.

In 1942 Aflatoun exhibited with the avant-garde Art and Freedom Group. She then went on to co-found the League of Young Women in University and Institutes and wrote influential pamphlets like We Egyptian Women.

Aflatoun exhibitied her work around the world. In 1975, she helped organize the exhibition “Ten Egyptian Women Artists in Half a Century” in honor of the International Women’s Year. In 1986, she was awarded the medal ”Cavalier of the Arts and Literature” by the French Ministry of Culture.

Today, her work hangs in major collections and museums around the world.

Happy 95th Birthday, Inji Aflatoun!

[9A]

April 16, 2008

50th anniversary of the Atomium



The Atomium building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair [Expo '58]. It is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken [northern part of the City of Brussels], where the exhibition took place. Nowadays, it is the city's most popular tourist attraction, and serves as a museum, an art centre and a cultural place.

The Atomium

[9A]

April 16, 2009

Christiaan Huygens' Birthday





Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, [14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695] was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, astronomer and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and a major figure in the scientific revolution. In physics, Huygens made groundbreaking contributions in optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he is chiefly known for his studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan.

As an inventor, he improved the design of telescopes and invented the pendulum clock, a breakthrough in timekeeping and the most accurate timekeeper for almost 300 years. An exceptionally talented mathematician and physicist, Huygens was the first to idealize a physical problem by a set of parameters then analyse it mathematically, and the first to fully mathematize a mechanistic explanation of an unobservable physical phenomenon. For these reasons, he has been called the first theoretical physicist and one of the founders of modern mathematical physics.

[9A]

July 27, 2018

Lyudmila Rudenko’s 114th Birthday





On this day in 1904, one of the world’s most influential chess players was born in Lubny, Ukraine. Twenty-four years later, Lyudmila Rudenko achieved the first major check[mate] in her storied career when she won the 1928 Moscow Women’s Championship. This championship was just one of the many prestigious titles she’d earn in her lifetime. As an International Master in the World Chess Federation [FIDE] and later Woman Grandmaster, Rudenko made a career paving the way for women to come.

Rudenko was first introduced to chess by her father at just ten years old. Initially interested in swimming, she placed first at a local competition in Odessa, Ukraine in the 400-meter breaststroke before moving to Moscow in 1925 and refining her gift for chess.

In 1950, Rudenko became the second woman ever to win the Women’s World Chess Championship—a title she held until 1953. In 2015, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame. In fact, despite her major accomplishments in the game, she considered her life’s most important achievement to be organizing the evacuation of children during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II.

Today’s Doodle—which draws artistic inspiration from 1960s graphic art and posters—reimagines a focused Rudenko’s determination during the world championship game.

On what would’ve been her 114th birthday, we honor Rudenko’s achievements both on and off the board.

Cднем ​​рождения, Lyudmila!

[9A]

July 27, 2012

Opening Ceremony 2012




The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

[9A]

July 27, 2014
Father's Day 2014 [Dominican Republic]

[9A]

Jun 19, 2020

155th Anniversary of Juneteenth Google Doodle




Today’s video Google Doodle, illustrated by Los Angeles-based guest artist Loveis Wise and narrated by actor and activist LeVar Burton, honors the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Short for “June Nineteenth,” Juneteenth marks the true end of chattel slavery across the United States— which didn’t actually occur until 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Specifically, it marks the day when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas [one of the westernmost points in the Confederate South] finally received news of their liberation.

[9A]

Sunday, June 19

Father's Day 2022 in United States



Father's Day is a holiday of honouring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on March 19 as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages.

[9A]

Nov 14, 2017

131st Anniversary of the Hole Puncher




It’s a familiar scene with a familiar tool: the gentle rat-tat-tat on the table as you square up a dangerously thick stack of papers, still warm from the printer. The quiet anticipation and heady uncertainty as you ask yourself the ultimate question: can it cut through all this? The satisfying, dull “click!” of the blade as it punches through the sheets. The series of crisp, identical holes it produces, creating a calming sense of unity among an otherwise unbound pile of loose leaf. And finally, the delightful surprise of the colorful confetti byproduct – an accidental collection of colorful, circular leftovers.

Today we celebrate 131 years of the hole puncher, an understated – but essential – artifact of German engineering. As modern workplaces trek further into the digital frontier, this centuries-old tool remains largely, wonderfully, the same.

Doodle by Gerben Steenks

[9A]

November 14, 2021

Fanny Hensel's 216th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 216th birthday of virtuosic German pianist and composer Fanny Hensel, who is widely considered one of the most important woman composers of the 19th century.

Fanny Hensel was born Fanny Zippora Mendelssohn on this day in 1805 in Hamburg, Germany into an upper-class family. Her mother, herself taught by a student of Johann Sebastian Bach, first taught her piano. At 13, Hensel astonished a private audience in Berlin with a memorized performance of 24 preludes from Bach’s masterpiece “The Well-Tempered Clavier” [1722-1742]. Despite her prodigious talent, her ability to foster a musical career was hindered by restrictive societal conventions.

Hensel remained musically engaged, and around 1820, she began working as an integral part of Mendelssohn family Sunday Concerts, a semi-public exhibition where she shined for decades as a hostess, organizer, conductor, and pianist free to explore the depths of her creativity. Although her public image was overshadowed by her brother Felix’s career, she devoted herself to developing the Mendelssohnian style in over 450 compositions, which reflected her veneration of Bach and Beethoven and an innovative musical approach.

At age 41, she published Opus 1, the first original work published in her name and among the first published compositions by a woman, paving the way for women to pursue a classical tradition historically dominated by men. In 2010, musicologists uncovered the Easter Sonata, a masterful, solo piano piece written by Hensel when she was 22 years old that had been mistakenly attributed to her brother. The piece was performed under her name for the first time in 2017, nearly 190 years after its composition.

Happy birthday, Fanny Hensel!

[9A]

June 19, 2021

Juneteenth 2021


Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Detroit-based guest artist Rachelle Baker, honors Juneteenth, an annual federal holiday celebrating the liberation of Black enslaved people in the United States. On this day in 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas received news of the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order that mandated the end of slavery in Confederate states during the American Civil War.

Despite its passage on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation remained opposed for years by several states still under Confederate control. Texas represented the westernmost edge of the Confederate territories and was thus among the American regions with the least Union presence. It was in the Lone Star State’s port town of Galveston that some 1,800 Union troops finally arrived to establish Union authority on June 19, 1865.

Here, the now-famous “General Orders, Number 3” was dispatched, which proclaimed the end of slavery to over 250,000 Black Texans. Although this decree did not guarantee immediate independence or equality for Texas’s Black community, an unprecedented freedom and civil rights movement followed in its wake–the legacy of which persists today.

Today’s Doodle artwork celebrates joy within the Black community, as well as the perseverance foundational to this journey toward liberation. With each letter, the Doodle transitions from historical Juneteenth parades to modern-day traditions such as education through storytelling, outdoor gatherings with family and friends, and commemorative festivals and parades. These scenes of celebration and community are brightened by bluebonnets—the state flower of Texas—and forget-me-nots that are layered upon backgrounds of decorative ironwork commonly found on buildings throughout the southern states. This ironwork highlights the often forgotten contributions made by enslaved Black Americans and symbolizes their strength and resilience.

While Juneteenth recognizes over a century and a half of progress, it also reminds Americans to continue to build a more equitable and unified nation.

Happy Juneteenth!

[9A]

October 9, 2020

Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s 197th Birthday



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Alberta, Canada-based guest artist Michelle Theodore, celebrates the 197th birthday of American-Canadian newspaper editor and publisher, journalist, teacher, lawyer, abolitionist, and suffragist Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Credited as the first Black female newspaper editor and publisher in North America and the second Black woman to earn a law degree in the United States, Shadd Cary is renowned as a courageous pioneer in the fight for abolition and women’s suffrage.

Mary Ann Shadd was born on this day in 1823 in Wilmington, Delaware. Her parents were dedicated abolitionists and used their home as a station on the Underground Railroad to provide a safe haven to escaped slaves. Following her graduation from a Pennsylvania boarding school, she became a teacher. Frederick Douglass published her first work in his newspaper in 1848, which was a bold call to action for the abolitionist movement.

In the wake of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850—a major threat to Black people in the U.S.— the Shadd family moved north to Canada. It was there in 1853 that Shadd launched her historic newspaper, The Provincial Freemen, a weekly Black publication geared especially toward escaped slaves. Following her marriage, Shadd Cary moved back to the U.S. and, in 1883 earned her trailblazing law degree from Howard University.

For her invaluable contributions to Canadian history, Shadd Cary was honored by the country in 1994 as a Person of National Historic Significance.

Happy Birthday, Mary Ann Shadd Cary!

[9A]

October 9, 2014

Hangul Proclamation Day 2014




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

[9A]

October 9, 2019

Hangeul Day 2019





Today’s animated Doodle, created by Seoul-based guest artists Yunho Lee and Kangin Kim of Studio Kimgarden to reflect a merging of Hangeul and English, celebrates Hangeul Proclamation Day in Korea. Locally known as Hangeulnal, it is the world’s only national holiday that honors an alphabet.

Designed in the 1440s by a royal committee convened by King Sejong the Great, Hangeul would change Korean society in a big way. Koreans once used Chinese characters, and the writing system was so complicated that access to education was confined to society’s elite. Hangeul was designed to be easy to learn. Consonants are drawn to mimic the shape of the mouth when making a particular sound while vowels are based on combinations of three elements: a dot symbolizing the sun in the sky, a line symbolizing a human being, and a horizontal line symbolizing the earth.

As a result of these improvements, literacy rates increased throughout Korea. Despite some resistance—a 16th-century king actually banned Hangeul for a time to preserve the status of the elite class—the language grew in popularity. Today, Hangeul is Korea’s official written language, with a national holiday in its honor.

Many people celebrate Hangeul Day by visiting the museum of King Sejong which is located near Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. A large golden statue of King Sejong stands there in honor of a leader remembered for his contributions to education for all.

Happy Hangeul Day!

[9A]

February 1, 2019

Celebrating Sojourner Truth




Sojourner Truth [ born Isabella Baumfree; c. 1797 – November 26, 1883] was an American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.

She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 after she became convinced that God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside "testifying the hope that was in her." Her best-known speech was delivered extemporaneously, in 1851, at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. The speech became widely known during the Civil War by the title "Ain't I a Woman?", a variation of the original speech re-written by someone else using a stereotypical Southern dialect, whereas Sojourner Truth was from New York and grew up speaking Dutch as her first language.

During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for formerly enslaved people [summarized as the promise of "forty acres and a mule"]. She continued to fight on behalf of women and African Americans until her death. As her biographer Nell Irvin Painter wrote, "At a time when most Americans thought of slaves as male and women as white, Truth embodied a fact that still bears repeating: Among the blacks are women; among the women, there are blacks."

[9A]

February 1, 2014

Celebrating Harriet Tubman




Harriet Tubman [born Araminta Ross, c. March 1822– March 10, 1913] was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.

Born enslaved in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman was beaten and whipped by her various masters as a child. Early in life, she suffered a traumatic head wound when an irate overseer threw a heavy metal weight intending to hit another enslaved person, but hit her instead. The injury caused dizziness, pain, and spells of hypersomnia, which occurred throughout her life. After her injury, Tubman began experiencing strange visions and vivid dreams, which she ascribed to premonitions from God. These experiences, combined with her Methodist upbringing, led her to become devoutly religious.

In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, only to return to Maryland to rescue her family soon after. Slowly, one group at a time, she brought relatives with her out of the state, and eventually guided dozens of other enslaved people to freedom. Traveling by night and in extreme secrecy, Tubman [or "Moses", as she was called] "never lost a passenger". After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, she helped guide fugitives farther north into British North America [Canada], and helped newly freed enslaved people find work. Tubman met John Brown in 1858, and helped him plan and recruit supporters for his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry.

[9A]

June 19, 2022

Google celebrates Juneteenth 2022
with Doodle from father-son duo



Despite President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 legally freeing slaves in states that were part of the Confederacy, the law needed to be directly enforced. Juneteenth commemorates the date that the final slaves in Texas were given the news of their freedom, June 19th, 1865, in the weeks after the end of the Civil War.

The first celebrations of Juneteenth took place as early as 1866 in Texas, but it did not become a federal holiday until 2021. Juneteenth is intended to be a celebration of freedom — at one point the holiday was called Jubilee Day — while also serving as a chance to educate one another on African-American history and culture.

This year, Juneteenth falls on the same day as Father’s Day in the United States — a coincidence that will happen again next year, too. As such, Google has adopted a special schedule for honoring the two holidays on the Google Search homepage. The Father’s Day Doodle was shown a day early and stayed up for the first half of June 19, while the Juneteenth Doodle will be shown the remainder of the day and throughout Monday.

Keeping in the spirit of celebrating both holidays, the Juneteenth 2022 Google Doodle was created by the artistic duo of Jeromyah Jones and his father Jerome W Jones, Jr. In an interview on the Google Doodle blog, the pair have shared that this latest piece would be called “Painting in The Footsteps of Our Freedom,” and they explained the meaning behind some of the finer details of the design.

We were inspired by the unity we have witnessed at cultural events over the years, the Sankofa Adinkra symbol of Ghana, the history of the griots, the significance of Father’s Day, and the commonalities we see during this year that the two holidays coincide. The hand in the background symbolizes the descendants of those who were emancipated on June 19, 1865 and the children of fathers in the generations that follow. The brush is a metaphoric representation of the bridge that connects the roots to their fruits.

[9A]

Feb 8, 2019

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge’s 225th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, a German analytical chemist whose place in history resulted in large part from an accident followed by a chance encounter.

Runge was born outside of Hamburg on this day in 1795. The son of a Lutheran pastor, he expressed interest in chemistry from an early age and began conducting experiments as a teenager.

During one such experiment, Runge accidentally splashed a drop of belladonna extract in his eye, taking note of its pupil-dilating effects. Ten years later, while studying under renowned chemist and inventor Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner at the University of Jena, Runge was asked to reproduce belladonna’s effects as part of a demonstration for one of Döbereiner’s friends: the writer and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Impressed by the 25-year-old chemist, Goethe handed Runge a bag of rare coffee beans and suggested he analyze their chemical makeup. Shortly thereafter, Runge isolated the active ingredient we know today as caffeine!

After earning his doctorate from the University of Berlin, Runge went on to teach at the University of Breslau until 1831 when he left academia to take a position at a chemical company. During this time, he invented the first coal tar dye and a related process for dyeing clothes. His contributions to the world also include: being one of the first scientists to isolate quinine [a drug used to treat malaria], being considered an originator of paper chromatography [an early technique for separating chemical substances], and even devising a method for extracting sugar from beet juice.

Here’s to Runge, without whom the pain of forgoing one’s morning cup of coffee might never have had a scientific explanation!

[9A]

February 8, 2013

Jagjit Singh's 72nd Birthday


Jagjit Singh [born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011] was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian classical art form, by choosing poetry that was relevant to the masses and composing them in a way that laid more emphasis on the meaning of words and melody evoked by them. In terms of Indian classical music, his style of composing and gayaki [singing] is considered as Bol-pradhan, one that lays emphasis on words. He highlighted this in his music for films such as Prem Geet [1981], Arth [1982], and Saath Saath [1982], and TV serials Mirza Ghalib [1988] and Kahkashan [1991]. Singh is considered to be the most successful ghazal singer and composer of all time in terms of critical acclaim and commercial success. With a career spanning five decades and many albums, the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining.

[9A]

Feb 9, 2013

Barranquilla Carnival



The Carnival of Barranquilla [Spanish: Carnaval de Barranquilla] is one of Colombia's most important folkloric celebrations, and one of the biggest carnivals in the world. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century. Four days before Holy Week, Barranquilla decks itself out to receive national and foreign tourists to join together with the city's inhabitants to enjoy four days of intense festivities. During the carnival, Barranquilla's normal activities are put aside as the city gets busy with street dances, musical and masquerade parades. The Carnival Of Barranquilla includes dances such as the Spanish paloteo, African Congo, and indigenous mico y micas. Many styles of Colombian music are also performed, most prominently cumbia, and instruments include drums and wind ensembles. The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed a Cultural Masterpiece of the Nation by Colombia's National Congress in 2002. Also the UNESCO, in Paris on November 7, 2003, declared it one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and it was during Olga Lucia Rodriquez Carnival Queen year.

The Carnival starts on the Saturday before the Ash Wednesday with the Battle of the Flowers [La Batalla de Flores], which is considered one of the main activities. Then, The Great Parade [La Gran Parada] on Sunday and Monday is marked by an Orchestra Festival with Caribbean and Latin bands. Tuesday signals the end of the carnival, announced by the burial of Joselito Carnaval, who is mourned by everyone.

[9A]

February 9, 2022

Celebrating Toni Stone




In honor of U.S. Black History Month, today’s Doodle illustrated by San Francisco, CA-based guest artist Monique Wray celebrates athlete Marcenia “Toni” Stone, who overcame both gender and racial discrimination to become the first woman in history to play professional baseball as a regular in a men’s major baseball league. On this day in 2021, Stone was inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.

Marcenia Lyle Stone was born in 1921 in Bluefield, West Virginia during an era of pronounced racial segregation in American sports. In 1931, Stone moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she developed her remarkable athleticism in the city’s public playgrounds and baseball fields. By just 15, the all-male semi-pro Twin Cities Colored Giants broke gender convention by bringing Stone onto its roster. In 1946, Stone went to bat with the San Francisco Sea Lions, marking the start of her illustrious professional career.

Her exceptional batting average of .280 earned her a spot on the bench with the Negro League All-Star team while she continued to travel across the United States playing second base for the minor league New Orleans Creoles. In 1953, Stone filled the spot of future Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron as the second baseman for the Indianapolis Clowns, one of the League’s most prestigious teams. Undeterred by taunts during her debut season with the Clowns, Stone hit a single off of Satchel Paige, who is widely considered the greatest pitcher in Negro League history.

Stone played alongside legendary players such as Jackie Robinson throughout her career before retiring from professional baseball in 1954 as a legend. In 1990, March 6 was declared “Toni Stone Day” in her adopted hometown of St. Paul, where future generations of baseball players practice under the lights of Toni Stone Field. She has been honored by several exhibitions in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 1993, was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Here’s to you, Toni Stone—thanks for showing the world what determination and unstoppable love for the game can achieve!

Courtesy of Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

[9A]

February 9, 2017

Carmen Miranda's 108th Birthday




Carmen Miranda is a rare example of a triple threat: talented at acting, singing, and dancing. Born in Portugal and raised in Brazil, Miranda took to the performing arts at a young age. Her father's love of opera and her mother's support led her to pursue a career in show business. Inspired by baianas, Afro-Brazilian fruit vendors, Miranda donned a "fruit hat" when she performed. It would become her signature as her star soared, first in Brazil and then, worldwide.

Miranda’s big break happened following her performance at the National Institute of Music. She landed an audition at a recording studio where she was immediately signed to put out a single. Miranda’s first album was released in 1929, and was immensely popular among Brazilians. Her performing style helped samba gain respect and a place in the Brazilian [and later, the world] spotlight.

By the time she moved to the United States in 1939, Miranda was a national star in Brazil and had the power to ensure her band could travel with her. Hollywood's famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre invited her to leave her hand prints in the cement in 1941, the first Latin American to do so.

Today, we celebrate Carmen Miranda on what would be her 108th birthday.

Doodle by Sophie Diao

[9A]

July 3, 2021

Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann's 122nd Birthday



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Baltimore-based guest artist Ashanti Fortson, celebrates the 122nd birthday of Jewish, German-born British neurologist Professor Sir Ludwig “Poppa” Guttmann, founder of the Paralympic movement.

Guttmann was born in Tost, Germany [now Toszek, Poland] on this day in 1899 and went on to receive his M.D. in 1924. He subsequently began research on spinal cord injuries and performed several neurosurgical procedures, rising to prominence as one of Germany’s top neurosurgeons by his early thirties. However, with the rise of the Nazi party and the passing of the Nuremberg Laws in 1933, Guttmann was prevented from practising medicine professionally. Following Kristallnacht in 1938 and the increasing persecution of Jews in Germany, Guttmann was forced to leave Germany with his family and was able to escape to England in 1939.

In England, Guttmann advanced his research in paraplegia. In 1944, he put his innovative approach into practice as the director of the National Spinal Injuries Center at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. In 1948, he organized a 16-person archery contest, one of the first official competitive sporting events for wheelchair users. Later called the “Stoke Mandeville Games” or the “Olympics for the Disabled,” the competition demonstrated the power of elite sport to break down barriers for disability and garnered the attention of global medical and sporting communities.

In 1960, Guttmann facilitated the International Stoke Mandeville Games, following the 1960 Summer Olympics, the first of many Paralympic Games. His passion for patient care never faltered—he also founded the International Medical Society of Paraplegia [the International Spinal Cord Society] and the British Sports Association for the Disabled [Activity Alliance] in 1961. He received numerous accolades for his contributions, the highest among which was being knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 1966.

Today, Paralympic athletes are rightfully recognized for their skills and achievements. The Paralympic Games continue to be a driving force for promoting the rights and independence of people with disabilities, with a lasting impact on equal treatment and opportunity.

Happy birthday, Prof. Sir Ludwig Guttmann!

[9A]

July 3, 2008

Turkish Oil Wrestling 2008





Oil wrestling [Turkish: Yağlı güreş], also called grease wrestling, is a traditional Turkish sport, involving participants who wrestle while covered in oil. Competitions are held in "Proving Grounds." Since oiling the wrestlers' bodies makes it harder to grab each other, this sport requires great strength and mastery.

[9A]

July 3, 2017

140th Anniversary of Wimbledon





Today’s Doodle marks the 140th year of the Wimbledon championships, the world’s oldest tennis tournament. Each year, hundreds of players take a shot at winning this Grand Slam event. Wimbledon has drawn crowds since the dawn of professional tennis, way back when players were using handmade wooden rackets. The tournament is known for its grass courts, perfectly maintained to a neat 8mm — a sturdy height for fast-moving feet.

Like all British institutions, Wimbledon has its endearing quirks. Keep an eye out for the beloved Rufus the Hawk [featured in the Doodle], who dutifully shoos away any pigeons who land on the court during a match. And if you're wondering what the spectators are snacking on, it's strawberries and cream — 28,000kg every year!

To many fans and players, Wimbledon is tennis. Good luck to this year's competitors!


Here’s a look at earlier concepts of this year’s Wimbledon Doodle:

This concept shows just how fickle Wimbledon weather can be!


This idea captures the back-and-forth volley of spectators' attentive eyes:

Doodle by Gerben Steenks