Google doodles

[9A]

Nov 1, 2022

Celebrating Indigenous North American Stickball


In celebration of US Native American Heritage Month, today’s Doodle celebrates Indigenous North American stickball, a ceremonial sport invented by Native American tribes. The artwork was illustrated by Saint Paul-based artist, Marlena Myles who is a member of the Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee tribe.

Stickball is known as one of North America’s oldest team sports. Several Native American tribes such as the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole and Yuchi were known to play. Elder tribal leaders often organized games of stickball to settle disputes without violence.

A Cherokee tale describes the first-ever Stickball game played between land animals and birds. The land animals, including a bear, deer and turtle, were overly confident and predicted they’d win through sheer strength. Meanwhile, the team of birds relied on flight, speed and cunning to outsmart and outmaneuver their opponents. In the end, the birds were victorious.

Stickball is played using sticks [varying in length], with a net on one end. Two teams try to pass and move the ball towards their opponent’s goalpost, and points are scored by touching or hitting said post. The most important rule: don’t touch the ball with your hands. To this day, various tribes continue to play their own versions of Stickball. The sport still follows its ceremonial traditions, and is a staple in Native American culture. A little known fact is that modern day field lacrosse actually originated from the game of Stickball, which is played widely today.

Today’s Doodle artwork focuses on telling the story of Stickball, blending traditions around the game and the modern way it is played. The style is inspired by traditional ledger art [narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth] and intentionally includes women and men of various ages to portray the inclusivity of the sport. The art also depicts gameplay of three different versions of stickball, including the ceremonial pregame practice of sage smudging [an ancient Native American practice of burning dried plants] as seen in the “G” letter formation.

[9A]

Aug 22, 2022

Celebrating Cláudia Celeste


Today’s Doodle celebrates the life of Cláudia Celeste, the first trangender actress to appear in Brazilian telenovelas. She won and organized many beauty pageants, and was also a singer, dancer, director, producer and author. Despite the obstacles and challenges she faced, Celeste became an inspiring figure who opened the door for future generations of trangender and LGBTQ+ talent in Brazil. On this day in 1988, was the first time Cláudia appeared in a role as an openly trans woman in the opening episode of "Olho por Olho".

Celeste was born in Brazil in 1952. She started exploring her identity and talents while in the army. After serving, she earned her beauty diploma and became a hairdresser in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro when she was 20. According to her, daily life working at the salon inspired her decision to transition. That same year, she accompanied a friend to a theater audition and was chosen to perform as well. She made her debut as a dancer on the stage of Beco de Garrafas.

In 1973, a theater in Rio de Janeiro called Teatro Rival became the first to obtain a government license to perform “O mundo é das Bonecas”. Celeste was invited as a lead alongside other well-known transgender actors. After the show’s success, other productions recognized her talents and provided opportunities to dance throughout many nightclubs in Brazil.

In 1976, Celeste decided to compete in the Miss Brazil Pop pageant and won the contest. One year later, she was invited to act in a soap opera called "Magic Mirror" after its director saw one of her performances at the Teatro Rival. No one in the cast or crew knew she was transgender, and headlines drew negative attention to the news after her first scene. The show was canceled soon after, and she moved to Europe to pursue other opportunities.

Upon returning to Brazil, Celeste auditioned to star in a soap opera called "Olho por Olho" and won the role over 200 others. Her commitment to the character was unmatched, constantly giving her valuable opinion on the script and narrative. Although she faced discrimination being ousted from the cast when her trans identity was "found out" my management, she pushed forward into new opportunities for the rest of her career, cementing her legacy as a pioneer who fought for the rights of transgender and LGBTQ+ performers everywhere.

[9A]

October 11, 2022

João do Vale's 88th Birthday



Vale was an Afro-Brazilian singer and composer who introduced northeastern music styles to communities across Brazil. Today’s Doodle celebrates what would have been João do Vale’s 88th birthday. He's remembered as a key figure in Brazil's music scene.

Vale was born in Pedreiras, Maranhão, in 1934. At a young age, he faced prejudice when he was expelled from school in order to make room for a higher-class student which made a significant impact on how he viewed the world and would later serve as a major influence in his work. He then had to turn to selling oranges at fairs to help support his family.

At 13, Vale was writing songs for a Brazilian musical group. They put on plays called Bumba-Meu-Boi, which portrayed the Maranhão culture through drama, dance, and lyrics. While it helped kickstart his lyrical passion, his involvement with the group didn’t provide enough money to elevate his family’s financial situation.

Vale left home to escape the injustice he faced in Pedreiras. He traveled to Rio de Janeiro and took up manual labor jobs like coal mining, bricklaying and construction work. In between jobs, he visited other major cities to share his melodies and poetry. Influenced by personal experiences and northeastern music genres like baião, Vale wrote songs about poverty and folk culture.

In the early 1950s, Vale get an opportunity to showcase his creation of upbeat dance rhythms at the Radio Nacional station— a radio station that influenced music tastes throughout Brazil. Since he did not know how to write, João had to commit all of his work to memory in order to present his pieces. His impressive baiãos caught the attention of the hosts and producers working there and his musical career took off! He began to work with artists who were excited to help him grow his compositions and songwriting skills.

By 1964, Vale was performing in showrooms that highlighted northeastern rhythms to working class people in southern Brazil. He wrote several musical hits​​, created two solo albums and composed songs that popularized many great names within the industry. He continued to create and share music rooted in his culture until his death in 1996.

A theater is dedicated to him in the Historic Center of São Luís and he’s honored in his hometown of Pedreiras with a memorial.

Happy 88th birthday, João do Vale!

[9A]

16 July 2023

Zarina Hashmi's 86th Birthday


Today’s Doodle celebrates Indian American artist and printmaker Zarina Hashmi, who is widely recognized as one of the most significant artists associated with the minimalist movement. Illustrated by New York-based guest artist Tara Anand, the artwork captures Hashmi’s use of minimalist abstract and geometric shapes to explore concepts of home, displacement, borders, and memory.

Hashmi was born on this day in 1937 in the small Indian town of Aligarh. She and her four siblings lived an idyllic life until the partition of India in 1947. This tragic event displaced millions of people, and Zarina's family was forced to flee to Karachi in the newly formed Pakistan.

At 21, Hashmi married a young foreign service diplomat and began traveling the world. She spent time in Bangkok, Paris, and Japan, where she became immersed in printmaking and art movements like modernism and abstraction.

Hashmi moved to New York City in 1977 and became a strong advocate for women and artists of color. She soon joined the Heresies Collective, a feminist publication that explored the intersection of art, politics, and social justice.

She went on to teach at the New York Feminist Art Institute, which provided equal education opportunities for female artists. In 1980, she co-curated an exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery called “Dialectics of Isolation: An Exhibition of Third World Women Artists of the United States.” This groundbreaking exhibition showcased work from diverse artists and provided a space for female artists of color.

A part of the Minimalism Art movement, Hashmi became internationally known for her striking woodcuts and intaglio prints that combine semi-abstract images of houses and cities where she had lived. Her work often contained inscriptions in her native Urdu, and geometric elements inspired by the Islamic art.

People all over the world continue to contemplate Hashmi’s art in permanent collections at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among other distinguished galleries.

Happy Birthday, Zarina!

[9A]

16 July 2019

Celebrating Hội An



By the light of the full moon, residents of the town burn incense and light small lanterns, floating them on the river until hundreds of colorful lanterns illuminate the water. During the full moon season with which the Hội An’s lantern festival aligns, today’s Doodle celebrates a historic town that’s remained largely unchanged for several centuries.

Situated on the north bank of Vietnam’s scenic Thu Bon River, right where it empties into the South China Sea, Hội An was one of the busiest trading ports in Southeast Asia from the 15th to the 19th century.

While the name Hội An means “peaceful meeting place,” the seaport has been abuzz with activity since the 2nd century. The surrounding area, known as Quảng Nam province, produced cinnamon and ginseng, as well as textiles and ceramics, enticing traders from all over Asia and Europe. By the 1600s, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Filipino, Indonesian, Thai, French, British, and American ships would come and go, while Chinese and Japanese traders rented waterfront houses in the seaside town.

Business tapered off when silt accumulation in the river made it difficult for larger ships to navigate. Fortunately, the city was spared from modernization for over 200 years, leaving the original street plan and buildings intact.

In 1999, Hội An was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Seventeenth-century Japanese traders built the lacquered wood Chùa Cầu, or “Bridge Pagoda,” with entrances guarded by statues of monkeys and dogs. Hundreds of timber-frame buildings and Chinese temples line narrow streets that are now popular with sightseers, historians, and filmmakers, seeking to experience and recapture a bygone era.

[9A]

19 Jul 2019

50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing




Go behind-the-scenes of today’s Doodle below!




CREDIT: Apollo 11 archival audio clips courtesy of NASA


Fifty years ago, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission changed our world and ideas of what is possible by successfully landing humans on the surface of the moon⁠—and bringing them home safely⁠—for the first time in history. Today’s video Doodle celebrates this moment of human achievement by taking us through the journey to the moon and back, narrated by someone with firsthand knowledge of the epic event: former astronaut and Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins.

A team of some 400,000 people from around the world worked on Project Apollo—mostly factory workers, scientists, and engineers who never left the ground. Within those 400,000 were the mission’s astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Their historic journey began when a Saturn V rocket blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. After achieving orbit around the moon, the lunar module, known as “the Eagle,” separated for a 13-minute journey to the surface. Meanwhile, astronaut Michael Collins stayed behind in the command module, which would eventually bring all three astronauts back home to Earth.

Along the way to the moon’s surface, Armstrong and Aldrin lost radio contact with Earth, the onboard computer showed unfamiliar error codes, and fuel ran short. As millions watched on television with anxious anticipation, they successfully steered the module to a safe landing on the crater dubbed the “Sea of Tranquility” on July 20, 1969.

Not long after, Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the moon, stating the now infamous words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Returning safely to Earth on July 25, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew were followed by 10 more astronauts, with the final mission taking place in 1972. Countless scientific breakthroughs—from CAT scans to freeze-dried food—took place thanks to the mission to the moon.

Space exploration continues to this day, with milestones such as the International Space Station and plans for a mission to Mars. Most recently, NASA’s Artemis program—named for Apollo’s sister in Greek mythology—aims to bring the first woman to the moon.




NASA’s new Artemis lunar exploration program will land the first woman, and the next man, on the Moon by 2024. With innovative commercial and international partnerships, NASA will establish sustainable lunar exploration by 2028. Using the Moon as a stepping stone, NASA is preparing for humanity’s next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars. Click here to learn more.

[9A]

19 July 2011

Xu Beihong's 116th Birthday




Xu Beihong, also known as Ju Péon, was a Chinese painter.

He was primarily known for his Chinese ink paintings of horses and birds and was one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a modern China at the beginning of the 20th century. He was also regarded as one of the first to create monumental oil paintings with epic Chinese themes – a show of his high proficiency in an essential Western art technique. He was one of the four pioneers of Chinese modern art who earned the title of "The Four Great Academy Presidents".

[9A]

17 Jul 2022

Quino's 90th birthday




Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, better known by his pen name Quino, created the iconic comic strip Mafalda. It provided a voice for Latin America in times of political instability and censorship. Today’s Doodle celebrates the Argentinian-Spanish cartoonist's 90th birthday and is illustrated by Buenos Aires-based guest artist Azul Portillo.

Quino was born in Mendoza, Argentina in 1932. The Son of pro-democracy Spanish immigrants, he grew up trying to make sense of his country’s unstable government and institutions. His artistic ambition was encouraged by his uncle Joaquin, a painter and graphic designer. Quino got his nickname to help distinguish him from his uncle who shared the same name.

At age 12, Quino enrolled in art school only to drop out three years later when his father passed away. He moved to Buenos Aires where he dreamed of becoming a cartoonist. After fulfilling his mandatory military service, Quino published his first cartoon in 1954. He spent the next decade honing his craft and released a compilation of cartoons called Mundo Quino.

Thanks to Mundo Quino’s success, he was commissioned to create a comic strip as part of an advertising campaign for a home appliance brand. In developing the campaign, Quino created Mafalda– a curious six-year-old Argentinian girl with a knack for noticing the world’s injustices and befuddling her parents. The campaign was canceled, but Quino held onto the cartoons.

In 1964, Mafalda debuted in Buenos Aires Weekly and rapidly gained popularity in Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The cartoon used child characters to provide humorous, scathing commentary on authoritarianism, censorship and inequality. Mafalda captured Latin America’s changing political landscape until 1974 when Argentina’s militant government began targeting and detaining state opponents. Due to the volatile political situation, Quino ended the comic strip and went into self-imposed exile in Milan.


Until his retirement in 2006, Quino created cartoons while splitting his time between Madrid and Buenos Aires. While he didn’t revive Mafalda, his later work followed a similar tone focusing on themes of privilege and the plight of the working class told through the use of dark humor.


Quino’s cartoons have been translated into 26 different languages and Mafalda is still being printed today. In 2014, Quino received Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and France’s Legion of Honor. His cartoons are sold online and in bookstores around the world. After his passing, many Argentinians honored his life by leaving flowers at the foot of the Mafalda statue in Buenos Aires.

Happy 90th Birthday, Quino—you’ve created a comic character whose legacy can never be stripped.

[9A]

26 July 2021

70th anniversary of the birch bark manuscripts


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]

14 July 2012

Gustav Klimt's 150th Birthday





The doodle team and I are especially excited to celebrate Gustav Klimt this year! An artist whose style ranges from graphic, to photorealistic, to florid, Klimt is as diverse in his works as he is expressive. His work is often emotional, mysterious, and narrative-- attracting viewers with both his fluid forms and intriguing figures. I, personally, have been a fan of his work for as long as I can remember.

The doodlers and I have waited for his big 150th birthday, so I knew that I had to brighten up the homepage in his iconic style. Using [faux] gold leaf and oil paint, I wanted to pay homage to Klimt with his most famous painting, "The Kiss." I hope that our humble doodle does his brilliant legacy some justice! Below are some photos my coworkers snapped while I painted in one of our offices [-turned-studio].

[9A]

17 October 2019

100th Anniversary of Metro de Madrid




On this day in 1919, King Alfonso XIII inaugurated the Metro de Madrid, a new transportation system for Spain’s capital city. The Metro’s distinctive diamond-shaped logo was created by acclaimed Spanish architect Antonio Palacios, who also designed the entrances, corridors, and platforms of some of the early stations. Today’s animated Doodle celebrates the centenary of Madrid’s Metro, now the sixth-longest underground railroad in the world with some 294 kilometers [about 183 miles] of track.

The Metro has come a long way during its first century of operation. On opening day, the route covered a mere 3.48 kilometers [[about 2.16 miles), taking 10 minutes to travel 8 stops from Cuatro Caminos to Sol. That first day, just over 56,000 passengers rode what was then called the North-South Line.

Now, close to 2.3 million riders take the Metro every day. Serving over 300 stations, the train remains one of the most efficient ways to move around Madrid.

In honor of the Metro’s 100th birthday, the Regional Government of Madrid has installed an educational exhibition throughout the original route, now called the ‘Centenary Line.’ Period photographs will highlight the Metro’s history, and a new vinyl-wrapped train evoking the first train will run along the rails.

Chamartín Station will host a permanent exhibition of vintage trains, and while Palacios’ original entrance to the Metro de la Red de San Luis was dismantled and donated to the architect’s hometown of Porriño, a replica of the striking design will recapture its former glory.

[9A]

7 October 2020

Dr. Stamen Grigorov’s 142nd Birthday



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

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

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

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

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

Честит Рожден ден, Dr. Grigorov!

[9A]

26 October 2018

Austria National Day 2018



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

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

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

Happy National Day, Austria!

[9A]

17 July 2023

Eunice Newton Foote's 204th Birthday



https://www.google.com/doodles/eunice-newton-footes-204th-birthday


Today’s slideshow Doodle celebrates the 204th birthday of American scientist and women’s rights activist Eunice Newton Foote. Foote was the first person to discover the greenhouse effect and its role in the warming of Earth’s climate. Click through today’s Doodle to explore the process of Foote’s scientific discovery!

Foote was born on this day in 1819 in Connecticut. She attended the Troy Female Seminary, a school that encouraged students to attend science lectures and participate in chemistry labs. While science became a lifelong passion for Foote, she also dedicated time to campaigning for women’s rights. In 1848, Foote attended the first Woman’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls. She was the fifth signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments—a document that demanded equality for women in social and legal status.

At this time, women were widely shunned from the scientific community. Undeterred, Foote conducted experiments on her own. After placing mercury thermometers in glass cylinders, she discovered that the cylinder containing carbon dioxide experienced the most significant heating effect in the sun. Foote was ultimately the first scientist to make the connection between rising carbon dioxide levels and the warming of the atmosphere.

After Foote published her findings, she produced her second study on atmospheric static electricity in the journal Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. These were the first two physics studies published by a woman in the US. Around 1856, a male scientist presented her work at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Those discussions led to further experiments which uncovered what is known as the Greenhouse effect—when gasses like carbon dioxide trap heat from the sun, the temperature of Earth’s atmosphere gradually rises.

Today, scientists all over the world are advancing climate science thanks to the foundation that Foote laid.

Happy Birthday, Eunice Newton Foote!

[9A]

October 10, 2020

Celebrating Anton Wilhelm Amo






Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Berlin-based guest artist Diana Ejaita, celebrates Ghanian-German philosopher, writer, and academic Anton Wilhelm Amo— widely credited as one of Europe’s first African-born university students and professors as well as one of the 18th century’s most notable Black philosophers. On this day in 1730, Amo received the equivalent of a doctorate in philosophy from Germany’s University of Wittenberg.

Amo was born around 1703 near the town of Axim on Africa’s Gold Coast [now Ghana]. Though the circumstances of his relocation are unclear, Amo grew up in Amsterdam, where he was given the name Anton Wilhelm by the family he lived with. Amo began his university studies in 1727 and two years later completed his first dissertation: a legal and historical argument against European slavery.

Amo published work across a variety of disciplines from philosophy to psychology and established himself as a renowned Enlightenment thinker. He went on to teach at a number of German universities, and also found time to master seven languages during his lifetime. An influential champion for the cause of abolition, Amo ultimately became embattled by racism and opposition to his beliefs. In 1747, he sailed back to present-day Ghana, where he remained for the rest of his life.

In honor of Amo’s legacy, the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg erected a statue in his likeness in 1965. In August 2020, Berlin announced plans to name a street after him in the city’s Mitte district.

[9A]

18 Nov 2020

Ahmed Zaki’s 71st birthday



Today’s doodle, illustrated by Cairo-based guest artist Muhammad Mustafa, celebrates the 71st birthday of one of Egyptian cinema’s most iconic leading men, the actor Ahmed Zaki. Nicknamed the “Black Tiger” after his titular role in a 1984 boxing film, Zaki was one of the first dark-skinned actors to play leading roles in Egyptian films and helped to change the face of the Arab film industry forever.

Ahmed Zaki was born on this day in 1949 in the city of Zagazig, roughly 50 miles north of the Egyptian capital of Cairo. Zaki was admitted to study dramatic arts in Cairo based on his evident acting talent, despite lacking the high school diploma the institute required, and he graduated in the early ‘70s. In the beginning of his career he appeared in a number of plays, most notably the comedy Hello, Shalaby and Madrasat al-Mushaghibin [School of the Rowdies], a production that served as a launching pad for many prominent Egyptian actors.

Zaki went on to act in more than 60 films and two dozen plays across his career that spanned over three decades. Today’s Doodle depicts references to some of his contributions to Egyptian film, including boxing gloves for Al Nimr Al Aswad [The Black Tiger], a crab symbolizing Kaboria [The Crab], a camera for Edhak El-Sora Tetlaa’ Helwa [Smile, the Picture Will Come Out Fine], and the animals from Arba’a Fi Muhimma Rasmiya [Four on an Official Mission]. He was known for taking on films that touched upon socio-political issues and earned acclaim for his nuanced portrayals of complex historical figures. A student of the famous acting method of the Russian actor and teacher Konstantin Stanislavsky, Zaki deeply committed to his characters, studying every aspect of their lives and psychology to craft his performance.

In honor of his transformative cinematic achievements, Zaki was honored with Egypt’s prestigious Merit of Arts award.

Happy birthday, Ahmed Zaki, and thank you for making history on the big screen and off!

[9A]

27 January 2022

Arkhip Kuindzhi's 180th birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 180th birthday of Russian artist Arkhip Kuindzhi. By integrating emerging discoveries in physics and chemistry with the contemporary styles of Impressionism and Romanticism, Kuinzhi developed a new painting technique that captured the natural world like never before.

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi was born on this day in 1842 in the coastal town of Mariupol, Ukraine, into a family of cobblers and goldsmiths. To support his family, Kuindzhi worked odd jobs growing up while fostering his early interest in drawing on his off time. Historians believe a bread merchant was the first to notice Kuindzhi’s talent as an artist and encouraged him to apprentice under Ivan Aivazovsky, a popular painter of maritime scenes.

Kuindzhi walked over 250 miles from his hometown to Aivazovsky’s studio in Feodosia, Ukraine. Despite Aivazovsky denying him an apprenticeship, Kuindzhi pursued an education at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, where he took classes on the physical effects of light with famed Russian chemist Dmitrii Mendeleev. Due to its limited focus on European painting methods, the academy’s rigid traditions frustrated Kuindzhi. He left the school to paint natural landscapes of the Russian countryside and co-founded an organization for nomadic painters known as the “Society of Itinerant Artists” in 1870.

Kuindzhi became known for capturing massive, empty scenes of contemporary Russia, such as the seascape painting “Red Sunset on the Dnieper, 1905-8,” which remains his most famous work to date. Today, his former living quarters in St. Petersburg host many of his paintings and have been opened to the public as The Arkhip Kuindzhi Apartment Museum.

Here’s to a painter who shined a new light on contemporary art—Arkhip Kuindzhi!

[9A]

26 January 2016

90th Anniversary of the first demonstration of Television





On this day 90 years ago, an eccentric Scottish inventor herded a small group of Royal Institution scientists into his London apartment and showed them the future.

John Logie Baird, who’d been working on a “televisor” apparatus for much of his career, was the first person to publicly demonstrate the system that would spawn the modern-day television. His discovery sent shockwaves through the scientific community, and certified his legacy as one of the 20th century’s great innovators.

Today’s Doodle honors Mr. Baird, his strange machinery, and his lasting contributions to modern society. Without his genius, we would all have a lot more time on our hands, and a lot less to do on Sunday evenings. Knitting, anyone?

[9A]

Mar 31, 2015

126th Anniversary of the public opening of the Eiffel Tower





On this day 126 years ago, construction of the Eiffel Tower came to an end–marking the arrival of one of the most famous and recognized landmarks on the planet. Guest doodler Floriane Marchix depicts this anniversary on our homepage today.

[9A]

Nov 13, 2014

Seok Joo-myung's 106th Birthday






In Korea, our doodle features a butterfly in honor of entomologist Seok Joo-myung's 106th birthday. Seok dedicated his life to the study of butterflies and made important contributions to the species’ taxonomy.

[9A]

12 January 2015

11th Anniversary of Kimani Maruge's First Day of School





It’s never too late to learn something new. On this day 11 years ago, Kenyan Kimani Maruge enrolled in primary school at the ripe age of 84, becoming the world’s oldest person to start elementary school. But Maruge’s love for education didn’t end there. In 2005, he boarded a plane–for the very first time–to address the U.N. on the importance of free primary school. 

[9A]

16 July 2018

Celebrating World Cup 2018 Champions: France!



Congratulations to the 2018 FIFA World Cup champions: France! ����

Over the past month, players from the men's national teams of 32 countries competed for top rank across 12 venues in 11 cities across Russia. With a total of 64 matches [and plenty of GOOOALS!], the games have culminated at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where the French national team has won to become the 2018 World Cup champions.

This year's Doodle series celebrated the rich cultures and talent of all 32 participating countries by featuring guest artists hailing from each nation. We hope you've enjoyed all 32 Doodles throughout the games, each illustrating the artist's interpretation of, "What ⚽ looks like in my country."

Today's Doodle is a unique creation by our very own French Doodler, Helene Leroux, depicting, "What World Cup victory looks like in my country!"

Cheers to all the talented players around the world. See you next time!

[9A]

12 January 2016

Charles Perrault’s 388th Birthday




What's that story, with the glass slipper and the pumpkin that turns into a carriage? How about the one where a princess falls into a deep sleep when she pricks her hand on a spindle? We owe the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty narratives we've known since childhood to Charles Perrault, the 17th-century French author and academician. Perrault was born in Paris 388 years ago today, and spent most of his life in the court of Louis XIV. He began writing his famous stories only in his late sixties, after having retired.

Perrault's stories set the standard for the modern fairy tale. Perrault borrowed basic plots and the familiar opening "once upon a time" [il était une fois] from traditional stories told aloud, while modernizing them with both fashionable embellishments and the very act of putting them into writing. [The publication of the tales coincides with the rise of the modern novel: they came after Don Quixote and La Princesse de Clèves, but before Robinson Crusoe and Tom Jones]. The backbone of these fairy tales persist within contemporary novels and movies, making our reading or cinema-going a fundamentally optimistic venture: when we hear "once upon a time," we've come to expect—and anxiously await—a "happily ever after."

[9A]

18 July 2023

Arthur Friedenreich's 131st Birthday


Today’s Doodle celebrates Brazilian footballer Arthur Friedenreich, the first Black person to play professional football in the country. On this day in 1892, he was born in São Paulo to a German immigrant father and an Afro-Brazilian mother.

Friedenreich was born just four years after slavery was abolished in Brazil, when football was primarily only available to White players. He was only able to get involved in the sport because of his White father, who had a connection with a soccer club for German immigrants. Friedenreich made his football debut for SC Germânia at 17 years old, and impressed crowds right away with his nimble dribbling. Once he established himself as a solid player, he was able to swap football clubs, honing his skills at each. In just four seasons, he became the top scorer in the São Paulo league with 16 goals — and he’d go on to be the top scorer of the Liga Paulista seven more times.

He began playing for the Seleção, the Brazilian National Team, in 1914. In his debut match, Friedenreich lost his two front teeth after a hard slide tackle. He finished the game anyways, earning the nickname “El Tigre” for his fighting spirit, dedication, and agility. In the following years, he played 23 games for his country, becoming the first to score a hat-trick [3 goals in a single game!] at Copa América.

Despite proving many times he had what it took to succeed in football, he had to straighten his hair and powder his skin before games to appear more European. But his usual methods to lighten his skin weren’t enough for Argentina — authorities declared that only White players could attend the 1921 Copa América. The Brazilian president abided by this rule and left Friedenreich off the team, despite his dribbling skills. This instance is widely regarded as a key moment that prompted many people to think about the role racial discrimination plays in sports.

Friedenreich is remembered for scoring a rumored 1,329 goals by the time he retired at 43 years old, but scores weren’t meticulously recorded during the time he played. There are ongoing debates on the exact number, but 1,329 would make him the highest goal-scorer in all of football. Regardless, Friedenreich was an impressive and memorable player who changed football for the better.

Happy birthday, Arthur Friedenreich!

[9A]

17 Jul 2022

Quino's 90th birthday




Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, better known by his pen name Quino, created the iconic comic strip Mafalda. It provided a voice for Latin America in times of political instability and censorship. Today’s Doodle celebrates the Argentinian-Spanish cartoonist's 90th birthday and is illustrated by Buenos Aires-based guest artist Azul Portillo.

Quino was born in Mendoza, Argentina in 1932. The Son of pro-democracy Spanish immigrants, he grew up trying to make sense of his country’s unstable government and institutions. His artistic ambition was encouraged by his uncle Joaquin, a painter and graphic designer. Quino got his nickname to help distinguish him from his uncle who shared the same name.

At age 12, Quino enrolled in art school only to drop out three years later when his father passed away. He moved to Buenos Aires where he dreamed of becoming a cartoonist. After fulfilling his mandatory military service, Quino published his first cartoon in 1954. He spent the next decade honing his craft and released a compilation of cartoons called Mundo Quino.

Thanks to Mundo Quino’s success, he was commissioned to create a comic strip as part of an advertising campaign for a home appliance brand. In developing the campaign, Quino created Mafalda– a curious six-year-old Argentinian girl with a knack for noticing the world’s injustices and befuddling her parents. The campaign was canceled, but Quino held onto the cartoons.

In 1964, Mafalda debuted in Buenos Aires Weekly and rapidly gained popularity in Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The cartoon used child characters to provide humorous, scathing commentary on authoritarianism, censorship and inequality. Mafalda captured Latin America’s changing political landscape until 1974 when Argentina’s militant government began targeting and detaining state opponents. Due to the volatile political situation, Quino ended the comic strip and went into self-imposed exile in Milan.

Until his retirement in 2006, Quino created cartoons while splitting his time between Madrid and Buenos Aires. While he didn’t revive Mafalda, his later work followed a similar tone focusing on themes of privilege and the plight of the working class told through the use of dark humor.

Quino’s cartoons have been translated into 26 different languages and Mafalda is still being printed today. In 2014, Quino received Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and France’s Legion of Honor. His cartoons are sold online and in bookstores around the world. After his passing, many Argentinians honored his life by leaving flowers at the foot of the Mafalda statue in Buenos Aires.

Happy 90th Birthday, Quino—you’ve created a comic character whose legacy can never be stripped.

[9A]

4 April 2022

Dr Ogino Ginko's 171st birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 171st Birthday of Dr. Ogino Ginko, the first woman to become licensed to practice Western medicine in Japan. As the first female to attend Kojuin, a private medical school for men, she opened the door for women to attend prestigious medical schools in Japan.

Her decision to go into the medical field was spurred by the prejudice she experienced as a female patient. She never gave up despite the hurdles she faced. After graduating from medical school in 1882, the government initially refused to let her take the medical licensing exam. Dr. Ginko petitioned multiple times over the course of two years before women were finally allowed to take the test. After getting licensed, she opened an OB/GYN clinic in Tokyo that specialized in providing safe, non-judgmental care for women.

Outside of medicine,she also advocated for women in Japan to gain the right to vote. Today’s Doodle artwork celebrates Dr. Ginko’s legacy and her commitment to gender equality in Japan.

[9A]

3 April 2019

Sofia Mogilevskaya’s 116th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and work of Sofia Mogilevskaya, a prolific Russian author of stories for children and young readers.

Born in Moscow on this day in 1903, Mogilevskaya was raised in a musical household. Her father was an accomplished cellist and music teacher who taught her to play piano. Childhood memories of him performing for Leo Tolstoy made a deep impression on her, especially when the young musician changed her focus to journalism and eventually literature.

After ending her studies at the Moscow Conservatory, Mogilevskaya began contributing articles and essays to magazines, translating fairy tales, and writing fiction. Once she settled on becoming a writer, her writing habits remained a daily practice for more than 40 years. In 1941, her first children’s book Mark of the Country Gondelupy was published. Later, her experience working in an orphanage during World War II inspired her 1949 book House in Tsybiknur.

Whether she was writing a fairy tale, a historical work like her books on important figures from Russian music and theater, or educational works like Girls, This Book is for You!, Mogilevskaya’s writing always showed a deep respect for children. Queen Toothbrush was the first of her works to be adapted to the screen as an animated film. Her Tale of the Loud Drum, about a boy during the Russian Revolution, was initially rejected by publishers but later became a bestseller that was also later adapted into a feature film.

“To tell the truth, I am surprised at myself,” the author once wrote, “what a dashing courage I had!”

Happy 116th Birthday, Sofia Mogilevskaya!

[9A]

3 April 2016

ICC – Finals – England v West Indies





Today, the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 comes to a close. We’d like to take a moment to recognize the home of this year’s tournament: India. A gracious and capable host, India built the exceptional stage upon which today’s finest talent dazzled the world. Cheers to the host cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamshala, Kolkata, Nagpur, Mohali, and Mumbai!

Out of 16 exceptional teams, England and the West Indies made it to the final pitch at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, “cricket’s answer to the Colosseum.” Here’s to an exceptional championship match between two worthy contenders!

[9A]

3 April 2011

Anniversary of the Ice Cream Sundae




When the doodle team heard that the 119th anniversary of the first ever documented ice cream sundae was fast approaching, we couldn't resist the indulgence. The ice cream sundae is a dessert that's rife with opportunities for reinterpretation and restyling, but the prototypical setup – with ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, strawberries, nuts, and cherries all piled into an elegant glass – is still a classic.

Even though the first documented sundae was made in 1892, for this doodle I drew inspiration from vintage 1950s soda shoppe decor and magazine advertisements. I also did a fair amount of research at my local ice cream parlor!

posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino

[9A]

3 April 2022

Siti Latifah Herawati Diah's 105th birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 105th Birthday of Siti Latifah Herawati Diah, a prominent Indonesian journalist. In 1955, she co-founded The Indonesian Observer, the first English-language newspaper in the country. As the only English publication in Indonesia for more than a decade, it captured the aspirations and hardships of a newly-independent nation for a global audience.

Herawati studied journalism at Barnard College in New York. After graduating she returned to Indonesia in 1942, shortly before the Indonesian National Revolution took hold, and became a reporter for the United Press International [UPI] newswire.

She married fellow journalist Burhanuddin Mohammad “BM” Diah, who later became the Minister of Information in 1968. Herawati used her diplomatic connections to protect Indonesian cultural monuments. She led the effort to declare the Borobudur Temple Compounds as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Herawati was also a strong advocate for women’s rights. She founded several women’s organizations, including the Women’s Voice Empowerment Movement, which mobilizes Indonesian women to vote.

Today’s artwork celebrates Herawati’s legacy and the path she paved for women in Indonesia.

[9A]

3 April 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.

[9A]

27 June 2023

Celebrating Martin Dibobe



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Berlin-based guest artist Helene Baum-Owoyele, celebrates Cameroonian train driver Martin Dibobe. On this day in 1919, Dibobe and 17 other African people petitioned the German government for independence and civil rights for all people in Germany’s colonial empire.


Dibobe was born in 1876 in Cameroon, which became a German colony in 1884. The son of a Douala chief, he learned to read and write in a missionary school. In his youth, the German government ordered Dibobe and many other Africans in Berlin to join an ethnographic display designed to teach Germans about daily life in Africa and gather support for colonialism. In 1886, Dibobe and one hundred other Africans were shipped to Berlin on a steamboat.

For six months, Dibobe lived under terrible conditions and appeared as an “exhibit” of African life in Berlin’s Treptower Park. Afterward, he stayed in Germany and worked as a locksmith in a local factory before falling in love with a German woman. Although the registry office refused to document their union, they later married with the support of a clergyman.

Dibobe then earned a job at the Berlin subway system and worked his way up to become the first Black train driver in the city. Unsatisfied with his social mobility, he advocated for African rights across the empire. It’s believed that the German government sent Dibobe back to Cameroon to help build a new railway line around 1907. During this time, he shared his views on equal rights with chiefs in his native country.

After the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Germany ceded its colonies to France and Britain. Dibobe rallied fellow advocates to appeal to Germany’s National Assembly. The Dibobe petition included 32 demands supporting equal rights for the country’s African migrants, but it was ignored by the government.

Cameroon fell under French rule and when Dibobe tried to return in 1922, they denied his entry. He then traveled to Liberia where he most likely died. Today, a plaque commemorates Martin Dibobe’s efforts at his old address in Berlin. In the face of blatant racism, Dibobe always championed African rights and paved the way for future activists.

Thanks, Martin Dibobe for serving as a role model for future advocates of Black independence.

[9A]

27 June 2016

19th Anniversary of the first Sepaktakraw Women's Competition



ให้ไปช่องระบายอากาศ! Today marks the 19th anniversary of the first women's sepak takraw competition. The sport is like volleyball except instead of using arms and hands, you use feet, knees, hips, chest and head. Athletes perform acrobatic kicks, flips, and techniques like the horse-kick serve to rocket-power the takraw over the net. A sepak or 'slam' of the takraw can hit blazing speeds of over 70 miles per hour. The Thai women's team regularly out-perform their rivals, and are poised for yet another dominant year.

[9A]

18 July 2018

Gino Bartali’s 104th Birthday




For most cyclists, winning a major race like the Tour de France or the Giro d’Italia would represent the crowning achievement of an athletic career. For champion road cyclist Gino Bartali, winning both of these competitions—thrice and twice, respectively—was just part of his legacy as both an athlete and humanitarian.

Born in Florence on this day in 1914, Bartali was not only a talented athlete, but used his celebrity and skill as a cyclist to help people under threat of deportation, or worse. Having started competitive cycling at age 13, he won more than 180 races, making him a local hero throughout the 1930s and 1940s. During World War II, his status enabled him to ride through the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside undisturbed by wartime officials, making it possible for him to conceal documents in his bike’s handlebars for Jews who needed forged identity cards to save their lives. He continued this work even after being questioned and threatened by Mussolini’s government agents.

It wasn’t until 2003 that stories began to emerge about Bartali’s quiet heroism during the war, which included hiding a Jewish family in his basement. Risking his own freedom and safety to protect others, Bartali turned his sport into a race to save lives.

Buon compleanno Gino Bartali!

[9A]

Jul 18, 2014

Nelson Mandela's 96th Birthday







Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela [18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013] was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress [ANC] party from 1991 to 1997.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. Amid growing domestic and international pressure and fears of a racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became president. Leading a broad coalition government which promulgated a new constitution, Mandela emphasised reconciliation between the country's racial groups and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Economically, Mandela's administration retained its predecessor's liberal framework despite his own socialist beliefs, also introducing measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty and expand healthcare services. Internationally, he acted as mediator in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial and served as secretary-general of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. He declined a second presidential term and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela became an elder statesman and focused on combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the charitable Nelson Mandela Foundation.

• Google Doodler Katy Wu tells us a little bit about the creative process behind making the Nelson Mandela doodle.
• Getting to celebrate someone as monumental and influential as Nelson Mandela must have been exciting, but also kind of intimidating. Can you tell me a little about your experience working on this project?
• A few months ago I was looking to work on a bigger project and the time was right, so I got assigned to work on the Mandela doodle. At first I thought I would have to make a very serious, somber sort of doodle and I wasn’t sure what to do.
  
  
  But after learning more about Mandela as a person I started to understand that he was a man with a lot of character, and not always just a serious figure. That started to give me more ideas about how to approach this doodle.
  Right. I remember you telling the doodle team in earlier pitch sessions about some of his dance moves. What other kind of research did you do?
  I read about Nelson Mandela online and in books to get a better idea of who he was as a person. I also received a lot of help from our local doodle manager in South Africa when it came to fact checking smaller lesser known details about South African culture, history, and people.
  
  
  What inspired the creative direction?
  Something that stood out to me about Nelson Mandela was his eloquent way with words. I thought his words gave a great insight into the kind of man he was, so I wanted to focus the creative direction of the doodle on his quotes against a backdrop of the history of South Africa.
  You definitely put typography to good use in order to give Mandela’s words a new dimension. How challenging was that?
  While working on the Doodle I spent a lot of time looking at examples of typography online and in design and typography books. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out which typefaces can best abstractly convey the sort of feeling or atmosphere I wanted in each illustration.
  
  
  The font, artwork, and story had to work together on this project. Most of the quotes are hand drawn except for the first 2 slides. By studying how other fonts are designed I began to draw my own so that I could better integrate the font with my own artwork.
  
  
  Any hopes for how our users will respond to this doodle?
  I hope it inspires people to learn from Nelson Mandela and his way of life, to be kind, to understand, and to respect other people and our differences.
  
  
  Thanks Katy!

[9A]

20 Jul 2014

Sohair El-Qalamawy's 103rd Birthday


Our homepage in Egypt and in the Middle East celebrates the 103rd birthday of Sohair El Qalamawy, the first female professor at Cairo University as well an influential figure in shaping the culture and advocating feminist rights in Egypt.

[9A]

7 November 2022

Celebrating Irene Bernasconi



For Irene Bernasconi, the world was her oyster—or perhaps she’d say starfish. Today’s Doodle celebrates Argentina’s first echinoderm specialist, who spent more than 50 years studying sea stars and other marine creatures. On this day in 1968, she became the first Argentine woman to lead a marine biology expedition in Antarctica.

Bernasconi was born in La Plata, Argentina on September 29, 1896. She became a teacher in 1918, specializing in natural studies, and began working at the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences in the early 1920’s. She published her first scientific work about molluscs and marine invertebrates in 1925.

At age 72, Bernasconi became the first Argentine woman to lead an Arctic expedition. She and three other female scientists set out to Antarctica to explore the continent’s biodiversity near the South Pole.

Throughout the expedition, Bernasconi and her team collected more than 2,000 echinoderm specimens, as well as plant life and other living samples, in Antarctica’s ecosystem. To achieve this, they used diving equipment to set up nets and hooks in extremely cold waters. The trip’s most notable discovery was a new echinoderm family in the Arctic region.

In 1969, the Embassy of Women in America awarded the team with a commemorative medal. On International Women’s Day in 2018, which also happened to be the 50th anniversary of the polar expedition, the National Directorate for Antarctica, the Argentine Antarctic Institute and the Naval Hydrographic Service also recognized Bernasconi and her team for their achievements. Her name was incorporated into Argentine maps of Antarctica with the establishment of Bernasconi Cove.

[9A]

July 31, 2022

Celebrating Pétanque







Interactive version: https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-petanque


Today’s interactive Doodle game celebrates Pétanque, a beloved French outdoor game played around the world. Just click the Doodle to play a random match or challenge your friends!

Long before Pétanque became France’s go-to afternoon activity, Ancient Greeks played games tossing flat stones and eventually stone balls. After modifying the game by adding a target ball, Ancient Roman soldiers and sailors brought the game to France.

The modern game of Pétanque originated in 1907 in Provence, France when a local cafe owner adjusted the rules to accommodate a player whose rheumatism prevented him from running. With a reduced length of the field and a stationary toss, Pétanque spread quickly across the country.

The rules of the game are fairly simple: throw, toss, or roll your team’s metal boules closer to the target boule than the other team. Over a series of rounds, the first player or team to score thirteen points wins! The goal might sound simple, but players can use a number of tactics to gain an advantage over their opponent. “Shooting” is a popular strategy, often used at competitive levels, where players attempt to knock away an opponent's boule from the target.

Nowadays, Pétanque is more than just a leisure activity with friends—the game is played competitively at regional, national and international levels throughout the world. The best players attend showcase events like the Mondial La Marseillaise in France and the La British Open in England.

Click today’s Doodle and get the boules rolling!

[9A]

7 November 2013

Rafael Pombo's 180th Birthday



José Rafael de Pombo y Rebolledo was a Colombian poet born in Bogotá. Trained as a mathematician and an engineer in a military school, Rafael Pombo served in the army and he traveled to the United States of America as Secretary of the Legation in Washington. After completing his diplomatic assignment, he was hired by D. Appleton & Company in New York to translate into Spanish nursery rhymes from the Anglo-Saxon oral tradition. The product of this work, more than a translation, was a transformative adaptation published in two books under the titles Cuentos pintados para niños and Cuentos morales para niños formales.

[9A]

4 December 2019

Professor Rapee Sagarik’s 97th Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates horticulturalist and botanist Professor Sagarik on the 97th anniversary of his birth in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand—a country that is home to nearly 1,300 native species of orchid.

Widely known as the “father of Thai orchids,” Professor Sagarik was also later president at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University and also served on the Faculty of Agriculture at Maejo University in the northern city of Chiang Mai. He is widely considered Thailand’s foremost expert in the breeding and conservation of these delicate, beautiful plants.

Once considered an exclusive pastime for the wealthy, orchid-growing became more accessible thanks in part to Professor Sagarik’s research and education efforts. He founded the Orchid Society of Thailand in 1957 and later became a regular speaker at the World Orchid Conference. In 1984, he organized the first Asia Pacific Orchid Conference. Thanks to Professor Sagarik’s efforts, Thailand’s first orchid library opened In December 1993.

Thailand is now the world's foremost exporter of orchids, and many of the most popular varieties were bred from wild Thai orchids.

“These flowers are not like the ones you see every day, which blossom and then wither away,” Professor Sagarik once observed. Because the beauty of orchids is passed onto future generations, he called the flowers “love in humankind.”

S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn keid, Professor Sagarik!

[9A]

21 July 2022

Jovelina Pérola Negra's 78th birthday


Jovelina Pérola Negra’s deep, swinging voice and graceful improvisations revolutionized Brazil’s samba dance movement in the 1980s. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Rio De Janeiro-based guest artist La Minna, celebrates the singer-songwriter’s 78th birthday.

Pérola Negra was born as Jovelina Faria Belfort in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and grew up singing and dancing samba in the Belford Roxo neighborhood. Her friend suggested the stage name Jovelina Pérola Negra [[meaning “black pearl” in Portuguese) because it suited her radiant complexion and elegant voice.

Until age 40, Pérola Negra worked as a housemaid and spent her free time attending Império Serrano, a celebrated samba school in Rio de Janeiro. She regularly sang at community samba parties called pagodes in the working-class suburbs of Rio de Janeiro.

After a local producer discovered her at a pagode, Pérola Negra received the opportunity to record her first album, Raca Brasileira, with other newly discovered artists. The singers all performed the Partido Alto subgenre of samba, a style that offers vocal improvisation and singalong opportunities for the audience. Pérola Negra lent her singing and songwriting skills to three compositions on Raca Brasileira. It was wildly successful and the record label, RGE, hired Negra to record her first solo album.

Pérola Negra released her self-titled debut album to further acclaim. The song arrangements supported her emotional vocals with a cavaquinho, a Portuguese stringed instrument that resembles a ukulele—like the ones pictured in today’s Doodle. She released four more individual albums in the prime of her career, experimenting with different genres, like the slower-paced samba-canção, and earning a platinum record. Pérola Negra performed around the world in Angola, France and Japan before passing away from a heart attack at age 54.

The Brazilian Ministry of Culture awarded Pérola Negra the Order of Cultural Merit in 2016. A community center located in the Pavuna neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro was also named in her honor. Today, her music can be found on streaming platforms and in record stores all over the world.

Happy 78th birthday, Jovelina Pérola Negra!

[9A]

21 July 2022

Belgium National Day 2022






Today’s Doodle celebrates Belgium’s National Day! On this day in 1831, Leopold I swore allegiance to the constitution and took the oath as king. Although Belgium became an independent nation the previous year in 1830, this holiday commemorates the country’s first king.

After the Napoleonic Wars, the Netherlands annexed Belgium. Between August and October of 1830, Belgians across multiple revolutionary factions united to oust the Dutch. In November, after Dutch forces withdrew from the country, the National Congress declared Belgium a constitutional monarchy and elected Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a German aristocrat, as its first rightful ruler.

Every year, several events are held to honor Belgium’s Independence. After the king makes a televised speech, festivities usually start with the Te Deum hymn at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. The royal family then attends the National Day ceremony at the Place de Palais, where a grand parade takes place.

Firework shows, free concerts and flyovers by the Belgian Air Force are also enjoyed by the people. And it wouldn’t be a proper celebration without some crispy and delicious frites, fried to perfection and served with a variety of sauces and condiments. Many frites stands—friterie [French] or frietkot [Flemish]—like the one in today’s Doodle, can be found throughout the country on National Day. In fact, there’s even a museum in Bruges, Belgium called the Frietmuseum dedicated entirely to celebrating frites!

Happy National Day, Belgium!

[9A]

21 July 2017

Belgium National Day 2017




On this day, Belgium commemorates the inauguration of King Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German prince, embraced his royal role on June 26th, 1831, and pledged his allegiance to the fledgling country just a few weeks later, on July 21.

Previously known as Southern Netherlands, Belgium had been governed by various foreign countries over the centuries, including Spain and France. It also withstood the Dutch Period [1815 – 1830] under King William I, a vigorous advocate of industrialization, before finally attaining its longed-for freedom from the United Kingdom of Netherlands.

Belgian National Day is a festive public holiday celebrated with military parades, air force aerial demonstrations, and free concerts, finished with fireworks. Some Belgians also show their national pride by dressing in red, yellow and black, the colors of the country’s flag.

Our Doodle, illustrated by KHUAN+KTRON, takes us on a joyful tour of Belgium’s iconic Flemish and Wallonian landmarks and sights, from the Royal Palace in Brussels, where Leopold I was sworn in, to the Sint-Truiden, known for its blossoming fruit trees, to Antwerp Cathedral and the Pairi Daiza zoo, home of the giant panda, with stops along the way for such Belgian treats as frieten [fries], cheese and chocolate.

Happy birthday, Belgium!

[9A]

20 July 2023

2023 Women's World Cup - Opening Day!




Today’s Doodle celebrates the opening day of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Every four years, teams from around the world face off in hopes of qualifying for the international tournament, but only 32 get the chance to compete for the trophy.

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is an international women's association football tournament held in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July until 20 August 2023. The 32 national teams involved in the tournament are required to register a squad of 23 players, including three goalkeepers. Only players in these squads are eligible to take part in the tournament.

This year’s World Cup is the 9th ever, and the first hosted by Oceanic nations Australia and New Zealand. Good luck to all the national teams competing. The world is watching with flags in their hands and hope in their hearts!

Head on over to Google Arts & Culture to learn more about the history of the Women’s World Cup.

[9A]

20 July 2014

Children's Day 2014 [Panama]

[9A]

20 July 2015

Colombia National Day 2015




Today’s Doodle by Robinson Wood includes the country’s national flower, the endangered yet enduring Flor de Mayo orchid. With 4,270 species nationwide, Colombia is home to the greatest diversity of orchids in the world; an incredible 1,752 of them are unique to the country.

[9A]

20 July 2020

Tatyana Lioznova’s 96th birthday


Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Moscow-based guest artist Sveta Mullari, celebrates Russian director, screenwriter, and professor Tatyana Lioznova on her 96th Birthday. Lioznova was widely known for the beloved 1973 spy thriller television series “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” and through her work explored themes like alienation and perseverance, often inspired by her personal life.

Tatyana Lioznova was born in the Russian capital of Moscow on this day in 1924 and went on to graduate from the world’s oldest film school, the All-Union State University of Cinematography, or VGIK.

Lioznova broke new ground as a female director, a rare profession for women in Russia at the time. She made her directorial debut in 1958 with “The Memory of the Heart” and saw nationwide success with the 1967 romance “Three Poplars at Plyushchikha.” Lioznova reached new heights of fame with her hugely popular 12-part series “Seventeen Moments of Spring.” The series—which inspired the Doodle artwork on Lioznova’s right side—takes place during World War II and follows protagonist Maxim Isayev, a fictional Soviet spy often compared to his British counterpart James Bond. Referenced on the left side of the artwork is Lioznova’s 1982 hit film “Carnival,” a musical comedy she both wrote and directed.

Lioznova also returned to her alma mater VGIK and taught workshops on acting and directing to a new generation of Russian filmmakers. In honor of her contributions to Russian cinema, Lioznova was named a People’s Artist of the USSR in 1984.

Thank you, Tatyana Lioznova, for entertaining the world

[9A]

20 July 2017

Gilberto Bosques Saldívar’s 125th Birthday



Today marks the 125th birthday of Gilberto Bosques Saldívar, the diplomat known as the “Mexican Schindler” who is said to have saved 40,000 lives during WWII while serving as Mexico’s Consul General in France.

Born in Chiautla de Tapia, Puebla, Saldívar made a career of looking after the good of the public from young adulthood: serving as a teacher, government newspaper director, and ultimately, a public servant. In 1939, he was sent to France to serve as Mexico’s Consul General.

After fleeing the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, Saldívar received support from the Mexican government to establish a consulate in southern France. He rented a castle and holiday camp in Marseilles at which he hid Jews and Spanish Civil War refugees, maintaining that they were protected under international law in what he considered a Mexican territory. He land his team issued Visas and chartered travel for tens of thousands of wishing to escape to Mexico until he was arrested by Nazi forces. After one year of imprisonment, he continued his career in public service for the remainder of his life.

Today we celebrate Saldívar’s remarkable courage and moral conviction with a Doodle that illustrates the peace his actions made possible for the lives of so many.

Click below to learn more about Gilberto and the families whose lives he touched:

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20 July 2012

Colombia Independence Day 2012 by Armando Villegas





July 20th is an important day in Colombia. This year we've rediscovered the meaning of the Colombian flag and the spirit of freedom that Simon Bolivar sought out with the help of the modern artist, Armando Villegas, "El Maestro". In describing this project he shared that ¨An assignment of this nature comes with lots of responsibility. I like that it has a meaning and a projection, specially when it comes to such a lively media¨.

After first meeting with Villegas he began exploring all the past Colombian doodles and the idea emerged of Bolivar combined with the colors of the Colombian flag and native animals filling in the background. Beyond being the country's national colors, according to Villegas they have a universal value: yellow, blue, and red are the most important colors in nature and the base of any pictorial work.

It's done in the style he's most known for as well, that of subtraction. What you see is the result of his discovering of different shapes within the material. One shape leads to another which leads to yet another. This artistic process is much like how he hopes users will think about the doodle: ¨My work is intended to disturb, motivate, create a curiosity on the people to make them reflect about the images I’ve created and their significance as homeland sense through universal colors¨.

The combination of the colors with the elements of nature also have a profound meaning. Within the red section primary beings refer to an early stage. The blue is a transition period with the animals evolving and changing. The yellow is the final result where birds, specially five hummingbirds, symbolize the liberty Bolivar fought for. The significance continues further referencing human evolution where red depicts the present, blue the past, and yellow the brilliant future ahead.

¨The word Google connects the three colors. It is done in a simple and elemental way, it isn't an indecipherable writing. With this simple writing I wanted to explain the backdrop of this manifestation¨.

Happy Independence Day, Colombia!

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20 July 2014
Colombia Independence Day 2014




Painted by guest artist, Jorge Riveros.
Pintado por el artista invitado, Jorge Riveros.

Jorge Riveros is one of the most important abstract geometric living artists from Colombia. Always following the golden mean or golden ratio as a mathematical and aesthetic principle, he has devoted his life to painting as a spiritual practice, as a way to elevate life and dignify reality, and as a meditative and discreet way of living.