Google doodles

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20 November 2015

Nadine Gordimer’s 92nd Birthday





Today's Doodle features Nobel Prize winning author Nadine Gordimer laboring in her study, where she typically worked from early morning into the late afternoon. A dear friend of Nelson Mandela’s and a powerful voice for change in South African politics, Gordimer moved untold thousands with the pathos of her sparse, penetrating narratives.

In a style befitting Gordimer’s prose, Doodler Lydia Nichols exercised restraint by using only three colors, which she has layered to create texture and subtle variation. Gordimer, who attended just one year of university, died in July of last year. She was once asked how she developed such a sophisticated command of the language in the absence of any formal training. “From reading,” she said. “And living, of course.” Today marks her 92nd birthday.

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4 May 2021

Geta Brătescu’s 95th birthday



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Bucharest-based guest artist Irina Selaru, celebrates multidisciplinary Romanian artist Geta Brătescu on her 95th birthday. Credited as one of the first conceptual artists in Romania, Brătescu rose to international prominence with a series of exhibitions celebrating her prolific career in the 80s.

Georgeta Ann Comanescu was born on this day in 1926, north of the capital city of Bucharest in Ploiești, Romania. She worked as a children’s book illustrator in the 1950s, and later in the decade joined the Union of Fine Artists, a state organization through which she travelled the country to sketch Romanians in their everyday lives. A testament to her talent in design, in the early ‘60s she was named the artistic director of the prestigious literary magazine Secolul 20.

But it was in the studio that Brătescu created much of her best-known work across a variety of mediums, including drawing, photography, film, and collages of commonplace materials. She was known for tackling themes like the relationship between art and life with a characteristic dry humor, though she frequently resisted categorization of her work. In 1978, Brătescu opened up her space and process to the world in one of her most famous works, the meta black-and-white film, “Atelierul” [“The Studio”].

In 2017, at the twilight of her seven-decade-long career, Brătescu was given the honor to represent Romania at the prestigious Venice Biennale, and in the same year she was awarded the Ordinul Naţional “Steaua României” [National Order of the “Star of Romania”], the country’s highest civilian honor.

Here’s to an artist who refused to color within the lines–happy birthday, Geta Brătescu!

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23 May 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.

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1 July 2017

Amy Johnson’s 114th Birthday



Today we celebrate pioneering British aviator Amy Johnson. The first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, Johnson became a symbol of perseverance and a feminist inspiration around the world.

Breaking into the male-dominated field of aviation proved difficult but not impossible for Johnson. Though she was not a naturally gifted pilot, Amy possessed an unshakable resilience that inspired future generations. In fact, before setting her first world flying record in 1930, Amy’s strong determination and drive qualified her to be the first British-trained woman ground engineer — for a brief time, she was the only woman in the world to hold that job title.

That sort of resume does not go unnoticed. To honor the homecoming of her record-breaking solo flight from England to Australia, Amy was welcomed back with the tune “Amy, Wonderful Amy” — a hit song recorded by Jack Hylton and His Orchestra.

Johnson quickly joined the ranks of other top female aviators, such as Amelia Earhart and Florence “Pancho” Barnes, by breaking several more world records — including her husband’s record for the fastest solo flight from London to Cape Town. Throughout her career, she made headlines as the “British Girl Lindbergh”and “The Long Girl Flyer.” She later shifted her solo flying adventures into a stint as First Officer in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War.

To celebrate the spirit of this fearless flyer, today’s Doodle reminds us that there is no challenge too high or too far. Happy 114th birthday, "wonderful Amy"!

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17 December 2021

Celebrating Carrie Best





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

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

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

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

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

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

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1 April 2013

Wangari Maathai's 73rd Birthday





In 1971, Wangari Maathai received a Ph.D., effectively becoming the first woman in either East or Central Africa to earn a doctorate. She was elected to Kenya's National Assembly in 2002 and has written several books and scholarly articles. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her "holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights, and women's rights in particular."

Died: September 25, 2011

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31 January 2013

Jackie Robinson's 94th Birthday


Jack Roosevelt Robinson [January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972] was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball [MLB] in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.




Robinson with Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954

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31 January 2012

Atahualpa Yupanqui's 104th Birthday






Atahualpa Yupanqui [born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered the most important Argentine folk musician.

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13 Sept 2016

Yma Sumac’s 94th birthday



Born Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo in the mountains of Peru, Yma Sumac, or the “Peruvian songbird,” came into the world on this day in 1922. As a young girl, Yma would sing to rocks on her mountainside home, pretending they were her audience. As a teenager, Yma’s audience became very real when she was invited to sing on an Argentine radio station. After that moment, her astonishing five-octave vocal range captivated audiences in South America and beyond.

Yma arrived in the United States in 1946 and was signed by Capitol Records shortly after. During her 1950s prime, she sang at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Royal Albert Hall - to name a few.

Here’s to Yma, whose captivating voice will always be remembered.

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12 Aug 2018

Mario Moreno 'Cantinflas' 107th Birthday





With a twitch of his slender mustache and a burst of witty doublespeak, Cantinflas captured the hearts of film audiences all over Mexico, where he appeared in some four dozen films beginning in1937. The rest of the world discovered his talents as David Niven’s bumbling valet in the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days. He eventually became beloved by filmgoers and people of all generations across Latin America not just for his work as a comedic actor/singer/writer/producer, but for his philanthropy as well.

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18 Jul 2018

Kurt Masur’s 91st Birthday







Born in the Prussian town of Brieg [now in Poland], Masur studied music and trained as a pianist, organist, cellist, and percussionist in East Germany. A damaged tendon in his right hand at the age of 16 ended his playing career, but propelled Masur to concentrate on conducting.

Beyond numerous musical distinctions and titles, Mazur received global cultural and humanitarian honors including Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor from the French government, New York City Cultural Ambassador, Commander Cross of Merit of the Polish Republic, Honorary Citizen of Brieg, the Leo Baeck Medal for promoting tolerance and social justice, and a Goldene Henne award for public policy work.

The maestro is remembered for his belief in the power of music to “bring humanity closer together,” especially when he led the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Brahm’s German Requiem in a nationally televised memorial for the 9/11 attacks.

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16 Oct 2018

Lachhu Maharaj’s 74th Birthday


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Lachhu Maharaj was best known for his inherent sense of rhythm which was best exemplified in his solo performances. Even though he played alongside nearly all the greatest tabla players of his time, his solo performance are the most remembered. Girija Devi, whom he often collaborated with, claimed that “he would play for hours without repeating himself, new gats, tukras and parans, leaving his audiences awestruck.”

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30 Apr 2016

Claude Shannon’s 100th birthday







It’s impossible to overstate the legacy of Claude Shannon. The paper he wrote for his master’s thesis is the foundation of electronic digital computing. As a cryptographer for the U.S. Government during WWII, he developed the first unbreakable cipher. For fun, he tinkered with electronic switches, and one of his inventions--an electromechanic mouse he called Theseus--could teach itself to navigate a maze. If you’re thinking, “that sounds a lot like artificial intelligence,” you’re right. He regularly brushed shoulders with Einstein and Alan Turing, and his work in electronic communications and signal processing--the stuff that earned him the moniker “the father of information theory”--led to revolutionary changes in the storage and transmission of data.

Notwithstanding this staggering list of achievements in mathematics and engineering, Shannon managed to avoid one of the trappings of genius: taking oneself too seriously. A world-class prankster and juggler, he was often spotted in the halls of Bell Labs on a unicycle, and invented such devices as the rocket-powered frisbee and flame-throwing trumpet.

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10 Nov 2012

Hachiko's 89th Birthday






The dog was born on a farm near the city of Ōdate in Akita Prefecture.

In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took Hachikō, a golden brown Akita as a pet. During his owner's life, Hachikō greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The two kept their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not come back to the train station. The professor had died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Each day for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachikō waited for Ueno's return. He showed up at the exact time the train was due at the station.

Other travellers begin to notice Hachikō still showing up. Many of the people had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno meet each afternoon. At first, people who worked at the station were not very friendly to the dog. But after a story was written about him in Asahi Shinbun, people started to bring Hachikō treats and food for him to eat while he waited.

A well-known Japanese artist made a sculpture of the dog, and in Japan a new awareness of the Akita breed grew. At last, Hachikō's legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty to the Emperor of Japan himself.

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January 25, 2011

Tom Jobim's Birthday







Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim, better known by his stage name , Tom Jobim, was a composer , conductor , pianist , singer , Brazilian arranger and guitarist. He is considered the greatest exponent of Brazilian popular music of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and one of the creators of the bossa nova, with his music and melody, alongside the lyrics and poetry of Vinicius de Moraesand the voice and guitar ofJoão Gilberto.

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11 February 2021

Fredy Hirsch's 105th birthday


Today’s Doodle celebrates the 105th birthday of German-Jewish educator and athlete Fredy Hirsch. Known for his charismatic spirit and commitment in supporting children, Hirsch helped save Jewish youth during World War II and enriched their lives with the arts.

Alfred “Fredy” Hirsch was born on this day in 1916 in Aachen, Germany, where he started his career as a teacher at several Jewish youth organizations and sports associations. He was openly gay at a time when queer people were being prosecuted by the growing Nazi party. In an effort to escape, Hirsch sought refuge in Czechoslovakia, until the Nazi regime invaded the country and deported him to the Terezin Ghetto and later Auschwitz in 1943.


Against all odds, Hirsch continued teaching at Auschwitz and set up a children’s daycare. He did everything in his power to give hope to the youth in his block—organizing concerts, encouraging children to paint scenes from fairy tales, and even salvaging tin cans to help children create sculptures. Many of the children that Hirsch taught credit him for sparking their creative pursuits, like Zuzana Růžičková who survived Auschwitz and later became one of the world’s greatest harpsichordists.

On February 11, 2016, in commemoration of Hirsch’s 100th birthday, the high school he attended in Aachen renamed its gymnasium and cafeteria in his honor. Today, these buildings stand as testaments to his unbreakable spirit and carry forward his legacy of improving the lives of young people.

Happy birthday, Fredy Hirsch. Here’s to an indomitable hero who reminds the world to push forth with courage and optimism, even during the most trying of times.

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10 Feb 2021

Boris Pasternak's 131st birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates renowned Russian writer, poet, musician, and translator Boris Pasternak, who understood the potential of the written word and used the medium to make an impact still felt today.

Born in Moscow on this day in 1890, Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was raised in a household bursting with artistic influence. The son of a painter and a concert pianist, he dabbled in drawing and dedicated years to music composition, but ultimately, Pasternak departed from his family’s legacy in the pursuit of literary greatness.

Pasternak first earned acclaim with his 1922 book “Sestra moya zhizn” [“My Sister Life”], a cycle of poems exploring love and life. As his oeuvre grew, so did his reputation, and he became so popular that oftentimes when he paused during poetry readings, audiences would shout out the words to complete his sentences.

Towards the end of his poetic career, Pasternak plotted to smuggle an 800-page manuscript entitled Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR. A semi-autobiographical story about the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Doctor Zhivago was first published in Italy in 1957 and was quickly banned by the Soviet Union for its message of personal liberty. Despite the censorship, the epic novel became an international best-seller and led to Pasternak winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958. These days, it is essential reading in many Russian high schools.

Happy birthday to a literary giant, Boris Pasternak!

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6 Feb 2023

Waitangi Day 2023





Today’s Doodle commemorates Waitangi Day, Aotearoa New Zealand’s national day, and was illustrated by local guest artist Hori-te Ariki Mataki. This marks the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi [Treaty of Waitangi] in 1840. The treaty is widely considered the country’s founding document.

In 1840, British Crown representatives and hundreds of Māori chiefs gathered on the ground of Waitangi. Today, the Treaty grounds remain a central part of celebrations. An annual gathering features speeches from Māori dignitaries and cultural performances like kapa-haka—a powerful group dance that expresses strength and unity. New Zealanders across the motu [country] attend events to mark the day.

Today’s Doodle artwork features a Māori-inspired design — a tiki form with outstretched arms representing the ancestors of Māori and non-Māori and their aspirations in the Treaty of Waitangi, for the protection of land, community and partnership. The colour is representative of pounamu, or jade, which is considered a taonga [treasure] in Māori culture.

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November 1, 2014

Mariquita Sanchez de Thompson's 228th Birthday





Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson y de Mendeville, also known simply as Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson, was a patriot from Buenos Aires and one of its leading salonnières, whose tertulias gathered many of the leading personalities of her time. She is widely remembered in the Argentine historical tradition because the Argentine National Anthem was sung for the first time in her home, on May 14, 1813.

One of the first politically outspoken Argentine women, Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson has been considered the most active female figure in the revolutionary process.

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November 1, 2012

L.S. Lowry's 125th Birthday






Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire, where he lived and worked for more than 40 years, Salford and its vicinity.

Lowry is famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of North West England in the mid-20th century. He developed a distinctive style of painting and is best known for his urban landscapes peopled with human figures, often referred to as "matchstick men". He painted mysterious unpopulated landscapes, brooding portraits and the unpublished "marionette" works, which were only found after his death.

His use of stylised figures, which cast no shadows, and lack of weather effects in many of his landscapes led critics to label him a naïve "Sunday painter".

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November 1, 2004

Melbourne Cup 2004



The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous annual Thoroughbred horse race. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races. The event starts at 3:00 pm on the first Tuesday of November and is known locally as "the race that stops the nation".

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March 21, 2018

Guillermo Haro’s 105th Birthday







If you’re stargazing tonight, look for three stars, closely aligned. These are known as the 'Three Sisters', and they are part of the constellation Orion, representing Orion's belt. They belong to an astral region that pivoted Mexican astronomer Guillermo Haro to fame.

Born in Mexico in 1913, Haro grew up during the Mexican revolution and graduated in philosophy before embarking upon a career in astronomy. Amongst his biggest contributions to the science was the discovery of a type of planetary nebulae named Herbig-Haro objects. He also discovered flare stars - red and blue bright stars - in the region of the Orion constellation. These contributions led to Haro becoming the first Mexican elected to the Royal Astronomical Society, in 1959.

Haro's legacy endures to this day through the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics, which he established to support science students in their professional careers. The institute also runs an observatory named after him in the Mexican state of Sonora.

When you look up at the sky tonight, wish a very happy 105th birthday to Guillermo Haro, a star on his own right.

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March 21, 2014

Ayrton Senna's 54th Birthday







Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1988, 1990, and 1991. Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and won 41 Grands Prix and 65 pole positions, with the latter being the record until 2006. He died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, driving for the Williams team.

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Oct 20, 2011

Park Wan-suh's 80th Birthday





Park Wan-suh was a South Korean writer.

In 1980s, Park turned increasingly toward problems afflicting women in patriarchal society while continuing to engage with the lives of middle-class Koreans. Such works as The Beginning of Days Lived [Sarainneun nareui sijak, 1980], The Woman Standing [Seo inneun yeoja, 1985] and The Dreaming Incubator [Kkum kkuneun inkyubaeiteo, 1993] belong to this group. Through the eyes of a woman who has been forced to abort a daughter in order to produce a son, The Dreaming Incubator, in particular, critiques the male-centered organization of Korean society which reduces women to incubators for the male progeny. Park has also sketched the life of a woman merchant at the turn of the century in the historical novel Remembrance [Mimang 미망 未忘, 1985–90].

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October 20, 2008

35th Anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Opera House




The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the banks of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th century architecture.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, but completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition.

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Oct 22, 2008

50th Anniversary of Deltawerken





The Delta Works [Dutch: Deltawerken] is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dykes, levees, and storm surge barriers located in the provinces of South Holland and Zeeland.

The aim of the dams, sluices, and storm surge barriers was to shorten the Dutch coastline, thus reducing the number of dikes that had to be raised. Along with the Zuiderzee Works, the Delta Works have been declared one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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October 27, 2021

Otto Wichterle's 108th Birthday





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

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

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

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

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

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Jan 16, 2014

Dian Fossey's 82nd Birthday



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Dian Fossey was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from 1966 until her 1985 murder.

She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey. Gorillas in the Mist, a book published two years before her death, is Fossey's account of her scientific study of the gorillas at Karisoke Research Center and prior career. It was adapted into a 1988 film of the same name.

After her death, Fossey's Digit Fund in the US was renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. The Karisoke Research Center is operated by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, and continues the daily gorilla monitoring and protection that she started.

breaking down the google letters
The big 'g' is based on the first time Fossey was flown over the Virunga mountains. At the time, there were only something like 200 mountain gorillas, all living in one mountain range, so this image juxtaposes the idea of a wide-open space with what is actually a very limited area for an entire species.

The double 'o's show the family structure of the gorillas, which was something Fossey really focused on: The family dynamic, how the group interacted with each other ... I really wanted to build that sense of family, so here you see juvenile gorillas, mature females, one with infant, and a silverback male."

The lowercase 'g' is based on the first time she actually saw a mountain gorilla face-to-face – she could barely see it peering through the foliage. Although the moment wasn't an encounter with Digit, the gorilla that Fossey's most famously known for being attached to – I chose to make the gorilla resemble him, a nod to one of her dearest friends.

The 'l' is the moment where a gorilla reached out and touched her hair. It may not have been the first or only moment of contact – she writes in the book about how one actually snatched her journal away at one point – but it's an iconic moment captured on film and demonstrates her effectiveness in "habituating" with mountain gorillas. That is, being accepted into their group and to be able to roam among them.

I wanted to leave the 'e' a little more spacious and open-ended, because first of all, there's already a lot going on in the illustration, but also because there's a lot of ambiguity left in the tale of the mountain gorilla. Their future at best continues to be uncertain. So you can look at it from a place of hope or worry. If 'e' were to stand for something, it could stand for 'endangered,' or it could stand for 'enduring.' It's up to us to place the right 'E' in the right place.

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Jan 9, 2014
Haim Nachman Bialik's 141st Birthday [[born 1873)




Hayim Nahman Bialik , also Chaim or Haim, was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vanguard of Jewish thinkers who gave voice to the breath of new life in Jewish life. Being a noted essayist and story-teller, Bialik also translated major works from European languages. Although he died before Israel became a state, Bialik ultimately came to be recognized as Israel's national poet.

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November 23, 2010

134th Birthday of Manuel de Falla







Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century. He has a claim to being Spain's greatest composer of the 20th century, although the number of pieces he composed was relatively modest.

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October 6, 2019

Xuân Quỳnh's 77th Birthday







“Love’s wave does not find itself until it reaches the sea,” wrote Vietnamese poet Xuân Quỳnh in her beloved poem "Sóng" [Waves]. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Ho Chi Minh City-based guest artists Quang & Lien, celebrates the award-winning writer who’s now considered one of her country’s most important 20th-century poets.

Born in the village of La Khe [now Ha Dong province] on this day in 1942, Nguyễn Thị Xuân Quỳnh was raised by her grandmother and showed a talent for dance. Recruited by the Central Art Troupe in her early teens, she was trained as a dancer and traveled the world to perform. During the 1960s she began pursuing her talent for writing, studying with the Writers’ Association. She worked with the weekly arts newspaper Văn nghệ, the official newspaper of the Hanoi Women’s Union Phụ Nữ Việt Nam, and the publishing house Tác Phẩm Mới.

In poems like “Thuyền và Biển” [Boat and Sea] and “Thơ Tình Cuối Mùa Thu” [Love Song for End of Autumn], Xuân Quỳnh's language evokes a depth of feeling and romantic yearning. She also wrote children’s poetry, collected in the book Bầu trời trong quả trứng [The sky in an egg]. Some of her works have been set to music, and her 1967 poem “Waves” was so influential that it was taught in Vietnamese schools. She married distinguished poet and playwright Lưu Quang Vũ. In 2017 the Vietnamese government awarded Xuân Quỳnh the Hồ Chí Minh Prize, the country’s highest artistic honor.

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Oct 2, 2019

Sir William Ramsay’s 167th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and work of Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsey, whose research led to the discovery of an unknown group of elements known as the noble gases. Born in Glasgow on this day in 1852, Sir Ramsay’s work led to groundbreaking advances in thermodynamics and nuclear physics.

After traveling to Germany, where he earned his doctorate at the University of Tübingen, Ramsay returned home with a reputation for innovative experimental techniques. As chair of chemistry at University College, London, he published numerous papers and books on liquids and vapors.

Ramsay was intrigued when another British physicist, Lord Rayleigh, observed that nitrogen in the earth’s atmosph ere had a higher atomic weight than nitrogen in the laboratory. In 1894, he and Lord Rayleigh announced the discovery of a chemically inert gas, which they named argon.

While searching for argon, Ramsay found helium, which had been previously thought to
exist only in the sun. Ramsay’s 1896 book The Gases of the Atmosphere predicted the existence of at least 3 more noble gases. Reducing air to low temperatures at high pressure, his team proceeded to identify neon, krypton, and xenon, reshaping the periodic table of elements forever.

Because of their chemical inertness, noble gases proved useful in many ways. For instance, helium replaced flammable hydrogen for lighter-than-air travel, and argon was used in lightbulbs.

Described by many as the “greatest chemical discoverer of his time,” Ramsay became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1888, was knighted in 1902, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904.

Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and work of Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsey, whose research led to the discovery of an unknown group of elements known as the noble gases. Born in Glasgow on this day in 1852, Sir Ramsay’s work led to groundbreaking advances in thermodynamics and nuclear physics.

After traveling to Germany, where he earned his doctorate at the University of Tübingen, Ramsay returned home with a reputation for innovative experimental techniques. As chair of chemistry at University College, London, he published numerous papers and books on liquids and vapors.

Ramsay was intrigued when another British physicist, Lord Rayleigh, observed that nitrogen in the earth’s atmosph ere had a higher atomic weight than nitrogen in the laboratory. In 1894, he and Lord Rayleigh announced the discovery of a chemically inert gas, which they named argon.

While searching for argon, Ramsay found helium, which had been previously thought to
exist only in the sun. Ramsay’s 1896 book The Gases of the Atmosphere predicted the existence of at least 3 more noble gases. Reducing air to low temperatures at high pressure, his team proceeded to identify neon, krypton, and xenon, reshaping the periodic table of elements forever.

Because of their chemical inertness, noble gases proved useful in many ways. For instance, helium replaced flammable hydrogen for lighter-than-air travel, and argon was used in lightbulbs.

Described by many as the “greatest chemical discoverer of his time,” Ramsay became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1888, was knighted in 1902, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904.

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Oct 2, 2019

Bill Robinson’s 81st Birthday





“There’s only one rule, and that is ‘Try, try, try,’” said Dr. William Robinson, widely hailed as one of New Zealand’s most versatile and accomplished scientists. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Wellington-based guest artist Jez Tuya, celebrates the inventor of the “quake breaker,” a lead-rubber bearing that is still used to protect large buildings from seismic waves, preventing earthquake damage.

Born on this day in 1938 into a working-class family, Robinson went on to study Mechanical Engineering at Auckland University. In 1974, Robinson designed a device made from rubber and steel with lead at its core, intending to fit his invention to the foundations of large structures in order to isolate them from ground movements.

Robinson’s invention is now used on many buildings and bridges around the world, including Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the device saved many lives at Christchurch Women’s Hospital, as the building’s foundation swayed gently instead of collapsing in the quake.

In 1995, Robinson founded Robinson Seismic, a company specialising in isolation technology. He also pursued research in other fields, including high-temperature superconductivity. A fellow of New Zealand’s Royal Society, in 1998 Robinson received the Rutherford Medal, his country’s most prestigious science and technology award. In 2014, the Robinson Research Institute was established in his honor at Victoria University in his hometown of Wellington.

“I’ve invented more devices which have failed than devices which have been a success,” said Robinson in a 2007 interview. “You’ve gotta be willing to actually try and fail and learn from your failure.”

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March 21, 2018

Nowruz 2018




A buzzing bee and a big-eyed bug greet each other in a forest of fresh green leaves and blooming flowers. Spring has officially arrived.

In a tradition dating back 3000 years, the exact moment that the sun crosses the equator marks the start of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. After weeks of spring cleaning, families come together to feast and wish each other good luck for the dawning new year.

While music and sports are a key part of the weeklong festivities in Azerbaijan, our friends in Uzbekistan enjoy a traditional meal of ‘sumalyak’, signifying life, abundance and warmth. In Kyrgyzstan, everyone turns out for public concerts as the air hums with the joyful rhythm of the traditional ‘komuz'. And in Iran, people look for the closest source of fresh flowing water to set afloat a sabzeh [fresh grass or sprouts], thus bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new.

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May 21, 2019

Willem Einthoven’s 159th Birthday


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Today’s Doodle celebrates the birth of Willem Einthoven, the Nobel Prize-winning Dutch physiologist who pioneered electrocardiography—a quick, painless, and effective method of studying the rhythms of the heart and diagnosing cardiovascular disease.

Born on the island of Java [now Indonesia] on this day in 1860, Einthoven grew up aspiring to follow in the footsteps of his father who had been both a doctor and military medical officer. By 1886 he had become a professor of physiology at the University of Leiden, focusing on optics, respiration, and the heart.

In 1889, Einthoven attended the First International Congress of Physiologists, where he watched a demonstration of a device known as the “Lippmann capillary electrometer” recording the electrical activity of the human heart. After analyzing the results, Einthoven recognized the need for a more accurate device, and began work on his string galvanometer, based on the technology used to amplify signals along underwater cables.

Balancing a fine string of quartz coated in silver between the two poles of a magnet, Einthoven’s invention precisely measured variations in electrical current. In 1901 he announced the first version of the string galvanometer, and soon published the world’s first electrocardiogram or ECG, a printed record of a human heartbeat. Einthoven studied the ECG patterns, identifying five “deflections” of normal heart function, learning how to interpret deviations that signal circulatory problems and heart disease.

Einthoven’s groundbreaking research won him the 1924 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Today, ECG machines are still used in hospitals all over the world, and while the technology has evolved greatly, they still work according to the same basic principles and techniques developed by Einthoven, who is now remembered as the father of modern electrocardiography.

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Mar 12, 2018

Sir William Henry Perkin’s 180th Birthday




Born in England on March 12th, 1838, chemist Sir William Henry Perkin accidentally discovered “mauveine,” the first synthetic dye.

As an 18-year-old laboratory assistant, Perkin was cleaning out dark muck from a beaker after a failed experiment, when he noticed that the substance left a vivid purple stain when diluted with alcohol. Following his discovery, he focused on the patenting, manufacturing, and commercialization of this purple dye, which he named “mauveine.”

Perkin's timing was remarkable as the textile industry was at a high. Purple clothing was very much in style, but prohibitively expensive for most, not to mention quick to fade. Perkin’s strong and inexpensively produced mauveine finally made this once-exclusive color readily accessible, igniting a violet fashion frenzy - as seen in today’s Doodle by UK-based illustrator Sonny Ross. Even Queen Victoria herself wore a mauveine-dyed gown to the Royal Exhibition of 1862!

Wealthy and successful from his stint in manufacturing, Perkin eventually returned to laboratory research. He was even knighted in 1906, on the 50th anniversary of his serendipitous discovery.

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Apr 3, 2013

Henry van de Velde's 150th Birthday





Henry Clemens van de Velde was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium. He worked in Paris with Samuel Bing, the founder of the first gallery of Art Nouveau in Paris. Van de Velde spent the most important part of his career in Germany and became a major figure in the German Jugendstil. He had a decisive influence on German architecture and design at the beginning of the 20th century.

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Jun 21, 2002

La Fête de la Musique 2002




The Fête de la musique, also known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June. On Music Day the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music outside in their neighborhoods or in public spaces and parks. Free concerts are also organized, where musicians play for fun and not for payment.

Over 130 countries participate in Fête de la musique and over 1,000 cities participate across the world. In the United States alone, there are 82 cities participating.

The goal of Fête de la Musique, or Make Music Day, is to provide thousands of free concerts throughout the day. Public areas are brimming with live music and participatory music making opportunities.

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9 Jul 2017

660th Anniversary of Charles Bridge


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

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

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

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9 July 2018

Carlota Jaramillo’s 114th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 114th birthday of Ecuadorian singer and guitarist María Isabel Carlota Jaramillo, whose powerful renditions of traditional tango and pasillo standards keep the spirit of Ecuador’s people alive.

Born in 1904 in Calacalí, a rural parish north of Quito, Jaramillo was taught to play guitar by her uncle. Although her mother encouraged her to focus on her studies, Carolta entered an amateur singing contest with her sister Inés. There, the girls' talent attracted the attention of Rafael Ramos Albuja, who invited them to join his musical theater company.

Jaramillo embarked on a solo career in 1935, specializing in songs full of beauty and heartbreak. She broadcasted hypnotic performances on Radio Quito three times a week, and released numerous popular recordings starting with “Honda Pena” in 1938. While her musical accomplishments may not have translated into an opulent lifestyle, she continues to be heralded in Ecuador as “La Reina de la Canción Nacional,” or Queen of the nation’s music to this day.

Happy 114th birthday, Carlota Jaramillo!

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28 February 2020

Marcel Pagnol's 125th birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the 125th birthday of French filmmaker, playwright, and novelist Marcel Pagnol, often revered as one of the greatest figures in the history of French cinema. With his evocative, realist style, Pagnol painted a heartfelt and comical portrait of everyday French life, influencing generations of filmmakers in the process.

Marcel Paul Pagnol was born on this day in 1895 in the town of Aubagne, just outside of Marseilles in Southern France. He followed in the footsteps of his father, a local school superintendent, and pursued a career in education. In between lessons, Pagnol worked on his own plays, novels, and poetry, and when his comedic drama “Topaze” [1928] became a major hit on the Paris stage, he retired from teaching for good.

Establishing himself as an eminent playwright during cinema’s transformation from silent films to the sound era, Pagnol recognized a new world of opportunity in adapting his stories to the silver screen. By 1931, he had produced his first film, “Marius,” the leading installment of his famous “Marseilles” trilogy, which centered around life in the port town of his birth.

Credited as a pioneer of the neo-realist movement, Pagnol went on to direct and produce a collection of award-winning films, helping to shape French cinema’s golden decade of the 1930s and ‘40s.

In recognition of his contributions, in 1946, Pagnol became the first filmmaker ever elected as a member of the distinguished Acádemie française [“French Academy”], France’s official authority on the French language.

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28 February 2014

André Franquin's 57th Anniversary of Gaston Lagaffe



Gaston is a Belgian gag-a-day comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Spirou. The series focuses on the everyday life of Gaston Lagaffe [whose surname means "the blunder"], a lazy and accident-prone office junior who works at Spirou's office in Brussels. Gaston is very popular in large parts of Europe [especially in Belgium and France] and has been translated into over a dozen languages, but except for a few pages by Fantagraphics in the early 1990s [as Gomer Goof], there was no English translation until Cinebook began publishing English language editions of Gaston books [again named 'Gomer Goof' in July, 2017.

Since the 1980s Gaston has appeared on a wide variety of merchandise.
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Mar 21, 2011

Persian New Year 2011





Nowruz—which means “new day”—is a holiday marking the arrival of spring and the first day of the year in Iran, whose solar calendar begins with the vernal equinox. Nowruz has been celebrated in Iran and the Persian diaspora for more than 3,000 years.

As the last of the winter frost starts to melt and the blossoms begin to bloom, Iranians start preparing their homes for the new year. It starts with a process called khooneh takouni, which literally translates to “shaking the house.”

As the last speck of dust is wiped away, it’s time to set up the main dining room table at home for the Haft-Sin. Haft-Sin is an arrangement of items that symbolizes different hopes for the new year. Traditionally, there are always seven items, all of which start with the Farsi letter Sin, or س, on the table:

Sabzeh: Wheat, barley or lentil sprouts. The sprouts symbolize rebirth and renewal. Many people begin the preparations in the beginning of March as it takes several weeks to grow. The seeds are placed in a bowl and watered daily. Once the Sabzeh begins to sprout, it is placed on the table for the new year altar.

“It is the centerpiece because, in a sense, they really represent the idea of new life and new birth,” Karim said.

Samanoo: a sweet pudding that symbolizes wealth and fertility.

Sib: apples for beauty and nutrition.

Seer: garlic for medicine.

Sumac: a spice made from red berries that symbolizes the color of the sunrise.

Serkeh: vinegar for age, wisdom and patience.

Senjed: dried fruits for love.

It’s not uncommon for many families to add other sentimental and meaningful items to their Haft-Sin tables.

A mirror to symbolize reflection. Candles for light. Coins for prosperity. Hyacinths for beauty and fragrance. [It’s just an added bonus that the Farsi word for coins and hyacinths both start with “sin.” Coins is sekkeh in Farsi and hyacinths are sonbol.]

Families often have their children paint eggs and place them on the table as a symbol of fertility. Sometimes, for the truly motivated, several live goldfish are put on display as part of the Haft-Sin table to represent new life.

And we can’t forget the “book of wisdom.” For some people, the book of wisdom is the Koran. For others, it’s the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, a long poem consisting of 62 stories and 990 chapters, that is the “national epic” of Greater Iran.

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March 21, 2023

Nowruz 2023




As winter fades, and the northern hemisphere begins to thaw, it's time to celebrate Nowruz. Today's Doodle highlights this ancient holiday that marks the beginning of spring. More than 300 million people gather around the world on this day each year to celebrate the season of rebirth. Today’s Doodle artwork represents this theme with Spring flowers — tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and bee orchids.

Did you know the United Nations recognizes Nowruz as an international holiday? That’s because families celebrate this joyful festival across the Middle East, the South Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, and Northern, Western, Central, and South Asia.

In many cultures, Nowruz also marks the beginning of a new year — a time to reflect on the past, set intentions for the future, and strengthen relationships with loved ones. Some common traditions include: Decorating eggs to honor new life, tidying up your home to prepare for a fresh start, and feasting on spring vegetables and herbs.

Happy Nowruz to all who celebrate! May your new year be filled with love, peace, and renewed hope.

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20 Dec 2010

Mehmet Akif Ersoy's Birthday





Mehmet Akif Ersoy was an Ottoman-born Turkish poet, writer, academic, politician, and the author of the Turkish National Anthem. Widely regarded as one of the premiere literary minds of his time, Ersoy is noted for his command of the Turkish language, as well as his patriotism and role in the Turkish War of Independence.

A framed version of the national anthem by Ersoy typically occupies the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of every public as well as most private schools around Turkey, along with a Turkish flag, a photograph of the country's founding father Atatürk, and a copy of Atatürk's speech to the nation's youth.

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6 Jan 2011

Khalil Gibran's Birthday





Gibran Khalil Gibran, usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist, also considered a philosopher although he himself rejected the title. He is best known as the author of The Prophet, which was first published in the United States in 1923 and has since become one of the best-selling books of all time, having been translated into more than 100 languages.

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7 Jan 2012

Charles Addams' 100th Birthday







From time to time we invite guests to post about items of interest and are pleased to have H. Kevin Miserocchi, executive director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation, join us today to talk about cartoonist Charles Samuel Addams. Addams is best known as the creator of the Addams Family, and is the subject of a doodle today in honor of his 100th birthday. -Ed.

I spent the summer of 1979 fundraising with Tee Matthews Miller for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons. We spent most of our time in the home she shared with her cartoonist paramour—and too many dogs and cats to name—during his weekends away from Manhattan. I’d met her partner several times before I realized that behind all the stacks of paper and collectibles and layers of dust and pet fur in Tee’s office den, the walls were decorated with familiar art. Not just any art—the original artwork from the pages of The New Yorker magazines that my brother and I had cut up or crayoned across when we were boys. Tee’s boyfriend was the Charles Addams—the one with two d’s. I was home, and our friendship was forever cemented.

They were married in Tee’s pet cemetery in Water Mill, NY in 1980—a surprise for the 60 guests coming for cocktails during the Memorial Day weekend. The wedding party all wore black. It was the union of a wonderful woman of gentle spirit and great generosity and a beguiling man with a subtly wicked sense of humor. Bashful and soft-spoken as he was, he had a devil-child glint in his eyes and a Lugosi-like mouth when he laughed, showing none of his teeth.

Eleven years after his 1988 death, his widow and I formed the not-for-profit Tee and Charles Foundation to protect his legacy as an extraordinary cartoonist with a painterly technique, and to educate people about Charlie’s gift by exhibiting his work worldwide. Following Tee’s passing in 2002, the Foundation dedicated the couple’s Sagaponack homestead, “The Swamp,” as a museum. They had moved there in the mid-1980s, and in true Addams style, they took their cemetery with them—a sweet place where their ashes are interred alongside those of their beloved dogs and cats.

Of the thousands of works Charlie published in his 55 years of cartooning, only 150 were devoted to the group of characters who became known as The Addams Family. But the perfectly off-center humor behind these characters won worldwide adoration even before they became the television and film family we know today. Even for those who never had the thrill of knowing the classy gentleman behind this unique art, Charlie’s family continues to capture the hearts of new generations of cartoon aficionados. We hope today’s doodle inspires you to seek out more of his work.

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11 Jan 2012

Nicolas Steno's 374th Birthday





Known as the father of stratigraphy and geology, Nicholas Steno worked to understand history by what he could find in the ground. Rather than simply write books about his findings, Steno opted to do his own hands-on research. As an innovative thinker, he disagreed with his contemporaries in thinking that shark-tooth-shaped objects found imbedded in rocks "fell from the sky." Instead, Steno argued that these formations were fossils. His dedication to analysis, critical thinking, and creative thinking make him a great subject for a Google doodle!

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21 Jan 2012

Grandparents' Day 2012

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25 Jan 2012

Vladmir Vysotsky's 74th Birthday






Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor whose career had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which featured social and political commentary in often humorous street jargon. He was also a prominent stage and screen actor. Though his work was largely ignored by the official Soviet cultural establishment, he achieved remarkable fame during his lifetime, and to this day exerts significant influence on many of Russia's popular musicians and actors years after his death.