Google doodles

[9A]

25 July 2023

Dr. Mod Helmy's 122nd Birthday




Today’s Doodle honors Dr. Mod Helmy, an Egyptian-German medical doctor who risked his life to rescue Jewish people during the Holocaust. The artwork, illustrated by Berlin-based guest artist Noa Snir, represents his Egyptian and German background and captures his open-hearted nature with his arms outreached around the community.

Dr. Helmy was born in Khartoum, Sudan, on this day in 1901 to an Egyptian father and a German mother. He moved to Germany in 1922 to study medicine. After completing his university studies, he completed his specialized training at the Robert Koch Hospital [now known as Krankenhaus Moabit] in Berlin. Soon after, as a talented physician, Dr. Helmy was appointed head of the urology department, but his good fortune was short-lived.

Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933 upended life in Germany. The hospital soon fired all of its Jewish staff, and a few years later, and eventually Helmy, a North African, was subjected to discrimination and persecution by the Nazis and lost his position as well.

Dr. Helmy was arrested in 1939 and again in 1940 along with other Egyptian nationals. They released him when he became gravely ill, but he was under strict ruling to report to the police twice a day and as proof that he was unfit for internment.

The Nazis further discriminated against Dr. Helmy by barring him from marrying his German fiancée and forcing him to become another doctor’s assistant. Helmy made the most of his limited position to write sick notes that helped innocent people escape hard labor.

Although Dr. Helmy was targeted by the Nazis himself, he put his life in even more danger by hiding his Jewish patient, Anna Boros, who would have been deported to a concentration camp. Helmy managed to keep her safely hidden even when he fell under direct police investigation.

Dr. Helmy also helped protect Boros’ mother, Julianna; her stepfather, Georg Wehr; and her grandmother, Cecilie Rudnik. Thanks to Dr. Helmy’s bravery, every one of them survived the Holocaust.

The Yad Vashem [also known as the World Holocaust Remembrance Center] honored Dr. Helmy with the Righteous Among the Nations award in 2013.

[9A]

25 July 2012

Jaakonpäivä



Jaakonpäivä , or Jaakon's Name Day, is July 25 in the current Finnish calendar . Jaakonpäivä ends the women's week . In the ecclesiastical tradition, the day is the memorial day of the apostle Jaakob the elder , the son of Zebedee In Finland, the same day was also called Ukkonen's day in the old days, which was associated with the overgod Ukko .

[9A]

24 Jul 2012

Amelia Earhart's 115th Birthday


The name Amelia Earhart conjures up feelings of admiration and respect in the minds of millions of people. But personally, Amelia Earhart is more than just a name in the footnotes of history. Her enduring legacy as one of the world’s most celebrated aviatrices embodies the true spirit of American adventure. This legend, born 115 years ago in Atchison, Kansas, is an American heroine and one of my favorite icons.

Representing Amelia Earhart’s family for the past 25 years has grown my appreciation for their beloved relative, who is a beacon of hope and a symbol of courage in our society. Today’s Google Doodle, celebrating her 115th birthday, is the perfect tribute to the woman who is remembered for her groundbreaking achievements in aviation and her fight for gender equality. She is truly an admirable role model. As the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean, she was awarded the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross. Nicknamed “Lady Lindy”, Earhart set numerous aviation records before her disappearance over the Pacific Ocean on her final flight in 1937.

While her aviation achievements are legendary, her commitment to women’s rights is also noteworthy. Throughout her remarkable career she focused on proving that women were equal to men in “jobs requiring intelligence, coordination, speed, coolness, and willpower.”

Representing this was not an easy task during the Victorian Era. Earhart’s family has often told me about her competitive nature and inborn stubbornness. This, coupled with her strong convictions, routinely challenged the prejudicial barriers in her path. A fantastic example of this Victorian tomboy is how in the wintertime rather than daintily sitting on her sled she was instead a “belly-whopper”, flying down the hill head first on her stomach.

Even as an adventurous dreamer, Amelia still knew that making a lasting legacy involved an element of risk. In a letter to her husband, George Putnam, she wrote, "Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others." The message she leaves behind is especially evident to me: start living your life. Start setting aside your fears. Start believing it is acceptable to fail, knowing if you did not fail, you did not try. Without a doubt, her philosophy and lifetime accomplishments transcend time.

Amelia’s legacy is timeless and remains stronger than ever more than 75 years after her disappearance, assuring her a perpetual place in history. Her daring belly-slamming essence lives on and will continue to make lasting impressions by inspiring many, like me, to pursue their dreams.

[9A]

24 July 2010

Alfonse Mucha's 150th Birthday




Alfons Maria Mucha known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, widely known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, as well as designs, which became among the best-known images of the period.

[9A]

24 July 2014

Robot Taekwon V's 38th Birthday




Only one man … er, robot can save our homepage from total domination—and that robot is Robot Taekwon V! Our doodle marks the 38th anniversary of the popular Korean animated film. Released in 1976, the movie went on to become a smash hit and inspired seven sequels, all the while embedding itself deeply into Korean culture.

[9A]

25 July 2013

Rosalind Franklin's 93rd Birthday

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid], RNA [ribonucleic acid], viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, Franklin’s contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely unrecognized during her life, for which she has been variously referred to as the "wronged heroine", the "dark lady of DNA", the "forgotten heroine", a "feminist icon", and the "Sylvia Plath of molecular biology".

[9A]

14 December 2012

Xul Solar's 125th Birthday





Xul Solar was the adopted name of Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solari [December 14, 1887 – April 9, 1963], Argentine painter, sculptor, writer, and inventor of imaginary languages.

[9A]

3 April 2016

Start of the 100th tour of Flanders




Today marks the 100th tour of Flanders, or De Ronde van Vlaanderen, an annual springtime road cycling race held in Belgium since 1913. The race was put on hold during World War I, but has been held every year without interruption since 1919. The 2016 race covers 255 km [158 mi] with 18 categorized climbs and 7 flat cobblestoned sections — a notoriously bumpy ride for cyclists.

This year’s race starts in Bruges, and Doodler Alyssa Winans has included a famous Belfry in the Grand Place, or Grote Markt where the race begins. Then, riders will head south to Torhout, where De Ronde's founder, Karel Van Wijnendaele was born.

[9A]

April 23, 2021

Celebrating the Letter Ñ



Today’s Doodle artwork, illustrated by Barcelona-based guest artist Min, commemorates the consonant Ñ [pronounced “enye”]. The only letter in the Spanish alphabet that originated in Spain, the Ñ is not only a letter but a representation of Hispanic heritage and identity as well.

The Ñ’s story started with 12th-century Spanish scribes. While hand-copying Latin manuscripts, these scholars of the Middle Ages devised a plan to save time and parchment by shortening words with double letters. They combined the two figures into one and scrawled on top a tiny “n”—a symbol now known as a ”virgulilla” or tilde—to signify the change. Thus, “annus,” Latin for “year,” evolved into the Spanish “año.”

In 1803, it was officially entered into the Royal Spanish Academy’s dictionary, and in 1993, Spain passed legislation to protect its inclusion in computer keyboards on the grounds of its insuppressible cultural significance. In 2010, the United Nations declared April 23 a day to annually celebrate the Spanish language, one of the most commonly spoken in the world.

Today, the letter Ñ appears in more than 17,700 Spanish words, carving out a fundamental role within the language and Hispanic culture.

[9A]

March 16, 2022

Rosa Bonheur's 200th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the 200th birthday of French painter Rosa Bonheur, whose successful career inspired a future generation of women in the arts.

Rosa Bonheur was born on this day in 1822 in Bordeaux, France. Her early artistic education was facilitated by her father, a minor landscape painter. Although her aspirations for a career in the arts were unconventional for women of the time, Bonheur closely followed the development of artistic traditions through years of careful study and preparing sketches before immortalizing them on canvas.

Bonheur's reputation as an animal painter and sculptor grew into the 1840s, with many of her works exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon from 1841 to 1853. Scholars believe an 1849 exhibition of “Plowing in Nivernais,” a government commission that is now housed in France’s Musée Nationale du Château de Fontainebleau, established her as a professional artist. In 1853, Bonheur garnered international acclaim with her painting “The Horse Fair,” which depicted the horse market held in Paris. As her most well-known work, this painting remains on exhibit in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

To honor this celebrated painting, the French Empress Eugénie awarded Bonheur the Legion of Honor—one of the nation’s most prestigious awards, in 1865.

[9A]

March 16, 2022

Celebrating Ladi Kwali





Today’s Doodle celebrates the life of Nigerian educator, ceramicist, glassworker, and potter Ladi Kwali, who helped introduce the international community to the beauty of Nigerian art through intricately decorated earthenware designs. On this day in 2017, an exhibition of Ladi Kwali’s work at the Skoto Gallery in New York opened.

Ladi Dosei Kwali was born around 1925 to a family of potters in Kwali, Abuja, Nigeria. Her aunt taught her the coil and pinch methods of pottery during her childhood, which Kwali later refined into her own style as she fabricated everyday containers ornamented with animal iconography. Local aristocrats soon showcased her masterful work as home decorations, and it was in a royal palace that Michael Cardew—the founder of Abuja’s first potter training facility—discovered her talent in 1950.

In 1954, Kwali joined the Abuja Pottery Center, where she made history as the first Nigerian woman to train in advanced pottery techniques. She fused her traditional style with these innovative methods to craft a hybrid collection of pottery stylized with zoomorphic illustration. Kwali continued to break the mold into the 60s with exhibitions across Europe and the Americas, achieving international acclaim.

Later in her career, Kwali shared the secrets of her craft with the local community as a university lecturer. She received a doctorate from Ahmadu Bello University in 1977 and the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award in 1980, which is among the nation’s most distinguished academic awards, in honor of her contributions. Kwali is remembered today with each exchange of Nigeria’s twenty Naira note, the first and only Nigerian currency to feature a woman.

Here’s to you, Ladi Kwali! Thanks for putting your unique spin on a traditional craft and sculpting a place for future generations of women artisans.

[9A]

March 17, 2011

150th Anniversary of the Italian Unification





2011 was a big year for Italy! We joined them to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of their Reunification with this birthday cake doodle. Reunification was also the theme for Italy's Doodle 4 Google competition. To help spread the word about the event, the doodle team and Google's film department [Studio G] put together this little video.

[9A]

November 12, 2018

Alexander Borodin’s 185th Birthday









The son of a Georgian prince, Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a sickly child who went on to create a powerful legacy in two different fields. Today’s Doodle celebrates the boy who grew up to become both a distinguished chemist and one of Russia’s greatest classical composers.

Born in St. Petersburg on this day in 1833, Borodin showed an early aptitude for science, languages, and music. While mastering German, French, and English, he began studying flute at age eight and later learned the violin and violoncello. By the age of 13 he’d already composed a piece for flute and piano — nevertheless, he considered music to be a hobby while his main focus was in the field of science.

At 17, Borodin began his studies at St Petersburg’s Medico-Surgical Academy, delving into botany, zoology, anatomy, and crystallography—but he soon specialized in organic chemistry, earning his doctorate in 1858. He went on to become a professor at his alma mater, conducting research on benzene derivatives and organic synthesis, and the discovery of the aldol reaction. He’s also remembered as a champion of women’s rights, having founded the Women’s Medical School in St. Petersburg, where he taught for many years. Still, the music kept calling him.

In the 1860s he met Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, a pianist and composer who would become his musical mentor. Borodin soon made him part of a group known as “The Five” [aka “The Mighty Handful”] whose goal was to develop a distinctly Russian style of classical music. Borodin’s incorporation of traditional folk music, and his striking use of harmony in works like “The Steppes of Central Asia,” made him a leading figure of the Romantic era.

Championed by such fellow composers as Liszt, Debussy, and Ravel, Borodin’s work has had a lasting influence on classical music. His unforgettable melodies were adapted for Kismet, the Tony-Award-winning musical that went from Broadway to Hollywood with songs like “Stranger in Paradise.”

с Днем рожденья Alexander Borodin!

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November 12, 2021

Lyudmila Gurchenko's 86th Birthday



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Tatyana Ukleiko, celebrates the 86th birthday of multi-hyphenate Russian entertainer Lyudmila Gurchenko. From playing piano in vaudeville numbers to pulling heartstrings in war dramas, Gurchenko captivated millions as a versatile pop music sensation whose extensive acting career is widely considered among the greatest in 20th-century Russia.

Lyudmila Markovna Gurchenko was born in Kharkov, Ukraine, USSR [now Ukraine] on this day in 1935 to musician parents who fostered her talent from a young age. With a button accordion and dreams of acting in film, Gurchenko moved to Moscow to study at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography. Her meteoric rise to fame came not even one year after graduation, with her debut in the Russian flim musical “Carnival Night” in 1956.

In the wake of the movie’s success, Gurchenko began performing popular numbers from the film on a national tour. However, her career was stunted for over a decade by detractors in the government who criticized her for accepting compensation above state wages. Yet Russian filmmakers couldn’t ignore her prodigious talent. In 1973, she returned to the big screen with a leading role in the Soviet drama “Old Walls.”

She rode the momentum of her comeback as a star of Soviet entertainment into her 70s, appearing in over 130 acting roles and recording over 10 albums. To this day, it is tradition for many Russian television networks to ring in the New Year with an airing of “Carnival Night.”

Happy birthday, Lyudmila Gurchenko!

[9A]

May 18, 2019

Omar Khayyam’s 971st Birthday





Although he was renowned as a mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, Omar Khayyam may be best known today for his poetry. Born in Nishapur, Persia [located in modern-day Iran] on this day in 1048, Khayyam is believed to have been the son of a tent-maker, which is the literal meaning of his name, al-Khayyam.

Endowed with a multifaceted mind, he wrote books on music, arithmetic, and algebra before the age of 25. During the Seljuk dynasty, Khayyam was invited to the city of Isfahan to build a new observatory under the sponsorship of sultan Malik-Shah. For 18 years he led a team of scientists that built a star map and measured the length of the solar year so precisely that it loses only one day every 5,000 years—more accurate than the Gregorian calendar, which loses a day every 3,330 years. Using these calculations he helped to develop the Jalali calendar, a forerunner of Iran’s modern calendar.

Many of Khayyám’s insights and ideas were not proven until centuries later. His Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra [1070] remains an essential text to this day, introducing the concept of binomial expansion and offering methods for solving cubic and quadratic equations that merged algebra and geometry by use of conic sections. Khayyam also posited the idea that a cubic equation can have more than one solution.

Though his mathematical breakthroughs are less well known, Khayyam is famous for The Rubáiyát, a collection of hundreds of short poems known as quatrains, which was first translated from Farsi into English in 1859 by Edward Fitzgerald. Versions of some of these verses can be found elsewhere in Persian literature, but many were originated by Khayyam.

Happy 971st birthday, Omar Khayyam!

[9A]

27 July 2023

Celebrating Ramón López Velarde



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Mexico-based guest artist Ale De la Torre, celebrates famous Mexican poet Ramón López Velarde. López Velarde is recognized as the father of Modern Mexican poetry and the national poet of Mexico for his French-influenced, postmodern work and style. On this day in 1917, the magazine that Ramón co-founded, Pegaso, ran its very last issue in Mexico.

López Velarde was born on June 15, 1888 in Jerez, Zacatecas. Following in the footsteps of his father, he studied law at the University of San Luis Potosí and started reading modernist poetry while at school. Despite receiving his law degree in 1911, his career was pulled in a different direction. He was invited to write for La Nación, a monthly publication in Mexico City.

In 1915, he began writing more personal poems, mostly about the nostalgia he felt about his hometown. A year later, López Velarde published his first book titled La Sangre Devota [The Pious Blood], which explores the differences between life in the bustling city and the quiet countryside. It was fairly celebrated by the Mexican literary community and opened the door to more poetic opportunities.

His most famous work, Zozobra, was published in 1919. The book is heavily ironic and captures the duality of several aspects of López Velarde’s life. The writing is praised for its unpredictability, unorthodox language, word games, and humorous rhymes. In 1920, after a turning point in Mexico’s government, he started writing for two journals named México Moderno and El Maestro. His most famous work, La suave patria, was part of the latter and cemented him as the country’s national poet.

Happy birthday, Ramón López Velarde!

[9A]

27 July 2011

Enrique Granados' 144th Birthday




Enrique Granados Campiña was a Spanish composer , pianist and educator linked to the modernist movements. He is known mainly for his piano work, especially for the Goyescas suite, on which he also based the opera of the same name.

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27 July 2016

Ounsi el-Hajj’s 79th birthday


The poet, translator, and journalist Ounsi el-Hajj was born in South Lebanon on this date in 1937. His work is rooted in Arab culture and politics, but it also celebrates global citizenship and the borderless joys of nature. In his poem "Is This You or the Tale?" el-Hajj travels from the fifth century to Beirut's Golden Age, settling somewhere timeless: "And as my age / is counted in years, / likewise I wander outside this necklace / like drops of pearl."

In today's Doodle, el-Hajj wanders among sunflowers and butterflies, at home in a universal landscape — yet uniquely himself, sporting his trademark spectacles and suit. El-Hajj's work reminds us that although every birthplace is a particular spot and a precise moment, it's also a thread in the fabric of history that makes next-door neighbors of us all.

[9A]

27 July 2012

Opening Ceremony 2012




The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

[9A]

19 April 2019

Duygu Asena’s 73rd Birthday




“We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go,” said Duygu Asena, the Turkish feminist writer, editor, publisher, and TV host whose life and work are celebrated in today’s Doodle by Istanbul-based guest artist Benoît Hamet.

Born in Istanbul on this day in 1946, Asena grew up in a middle-class family, and her grandfather was the personal secretary to Ataturk, the founder of The Republic of Turkey. Initially trained to become a teacher, she went on to become a journalist who advocated for women’s rights in her native land through the power of the written word.

During the 1970s, Asena wrote for the newspapers Hürriyet and Cumhuriyet. She also founded Kadınca, Turkey’s first women’s magazine in 1978. Her voice was considered an inspiration to Turkish women at a time when local social norms limited women’s autonomy over their own lives drastically.

Asena shocked Turkey with her 1987 novel, The Woman has No Name, which became an instant bestseller and was adapted into a successful film a year later.

In later years Asena also worked as an actress and as host of the program Ondan Sonra [After That] on the state-run network TRT-2. Since 2006, the writers’ association, PEN International, has awarded the Duygu Asena Award to promote women fighting for freedom of expression.

[9A]

19 April 2022

Dr Elvira Rawson's 155th birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 155th birthday of Dr. Elvira Rawson de Dellepiane, a prominent first-wave feminist in Argentina who was also one of the country’s first female doctors.

Born in Buenos Aires, Rawson grew up in a tight-knit community where rich and poor neighbors looked after one another. As a child, she often saw acts of kindness promoting economic equality, and Rawson was determined to leave her mark on history, too.

After graduating from medical school in 1892, a time when women’s perspectives were missing from medical literature, Dr. Rawson initiated early efforts to study reproduction from a female point of view. Her work helped to reduce the stigma surrounding reproductive health.

In 1910, she joined forces with prominent suffragists all over the world by participating in the First International Women's Congress in Buenos Aires. It laid the groundwork for women’s rights movements not only in Argentina, but throughout Latin America. In 1919, Dr. Rawson co-founded the Women's Rights Association, which mobilized women to demand equal pay and the right to vote. Considered radical at the time, the group’s efforts did not lead to many concrete policy changes. Although, the movement received attention from major political parties and set a foundation for later feminist movements.

Throughout her career, Dr. Rawson also advocated for the health and wellbeing of children. She worked as a medical inspector for the National Department of Hygiene and later the National Council of Education, where she helped establish cafeterias in schools.

Thanks to her work and movements, women and children in Argentina have more opportunities. Today is a celebration of Dr. Elvira Rawson’s steadfast belief that a woman can—and will—achieve anything.

[9A]

27 Apr 2022

Krzysztof Komeda's 91st birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 91st birthday of Krzysztof Komeda, an influential film composer, jazz pianist and medical doctor from Poland. He’s widely remembered as one of the immortals of Polish music and an influential artist in the history of Polish jazz, despite the fact he was never formally trained in composition, harmony or orchestration.

From an early age, Komeda was surrounded by music—he started piano lessons at age 7 and played in his first jam session at 19. While attending the Medical Academy in Poznań, he kept his passion for music a secret from his colleagues since it was frowned upon for medical professionals to play western music. It was then that he chose to use a childhood nickname as his artistic alter-ego, Komeda.

In 1956, the rising jazz star debuted his Komeda Sextet and found their first major success that year at the 1st Jazz Festival in Sopot. The following year, they won a silver medal at the 6th International Youth Festival in Moscow. He eventually set up his own trio, quartet, and quintet during this decade, rotating between the same few trusted musicians to play alongside him.

The 60’s saw Komeda’s influence and success as a composer flourish all throughout Europe and the world. He wrote over 40 scores for major films, was named Jazzman of the Year by “Jazz” magazine and released his critically acclaimed album, titled “Astigmatic”. The album is widely accepted as his best work, and cemented him as one of the founding fathers of European jazz.

Komeda’s signature aesthetic and groundbreaking style of jazz composition is still celebrated to this day, and his memory is honored by the annual Komeda Jazz Festival in Poland.

Happy Birthday Krzysztof Komeda!

[9A]

27 April 2023

King's Day 2023




Today's Doodle celebrates King's Day, a Dutch holiday that honors the Netherlands’s rich cultural heritage.

Cafes remain open throughout the night the evening before, as crowds gather in the streets to take part in Koningsnacht [King’s Night] festivities.

Once day breaks, the scent of Dutch treats like special orange tompouce pastries [like the ones in today’s Doodle artwork!] fill the air.

King’s Day may sound like one big Dutch party. But the holiday is ultimately about honoring joy and community. Friends and families reconnect as they attend street parties, listen to live music, and peruse giant flea markets called vrijmarkt throughout the day.

Although festivities take place across the country, the most popular ones occur in Amsterdam — where orange boats float through the city’s famous waterways, causing historical canals to burst into color.

Happy King’s Day to the Dutch!

[9A]

27 May 2022

Juana Alarco de Dammert's 180th birthday




Today’s Doodle honors Juana Alarco de Dammert, a children’s rights advocate and philanthropist who spearheaded the first social welfare program for mothers and children in Peru. Known as the grandmother of all children—la abuelita de los niños—she also helped establish the country’s first kindergartens and daycare centers.

Born on this day in Lima in 1842, Dammert had a humanitarian spirit as a child, often volunteering with her father at the local hospital. After marrying a German businessman in 1861, Dammert and her husband moved to Europe as France was undergoing a major welfare reform. It inspired her to learn more about how governments can play an impactful role in protecting the lives of children.

During this time, she became interested in the works of Firmin Marbeau, a French philanthropist who founded the modern concept of daycares, and Friedrich Froebel, a German philosopher who advocated for early childhood education. Armed with new ideas, Dammert returned to Peru in 1886—after the Chilean occupation ended—to help rebuild her war-torn country.

Seeing the war had left many children without parents, Dammert helped create an orphanage for kids between the ages of seven and twelve. She also later established caring maternity crib institutions for the children of working mothers, opened the first daycare center in Peru, and established two schools that helped young children learn at their own pace. Dedicated to uplifting impoverished women, Dammert also trained and empowered young women in Lima to become teachers.

Today, there are two schools and a park in Lima named in her honor. A bronze bust of Dammert has also been erected in her memory at Parque Neptuno. Every year, students in Lima gather at her sculpture to thank her and celebrate her life’s work.

Happy birthday Juana Alarco! Children in Peru today are living better lives because of you.

[9A]

27 May 2012

75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge






The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide [1.6 km] strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. It also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and is designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95. Being declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California. It was initially designed by engineer Joseph Strauss in 1917. The bridge was named for the Golden Gate strait, the channel that it spans.

The Frommer's travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, titles it held until 1964 and 1998 respectively. Its main span is 4,200 feet [1,280 m] and total height is 746 feet [227 m].

[9A]

29 May 2014

Norman Frederick Hetherington's 93rd Birthday







Mr. Squiggle and Friends are up to their old tricks on our homepage in Australia for Norman Frederick Hetherington’s 93rd birthday. Hetherington was a cartoonist and puppeteer, best known for creating Mr. Squiggle, Australia's longest-running children's television series.

[9A]

28 Jul 2023

Isabelle Gatti de Gamond's 184th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 184th birthday of Belgian educator Isabelle Gatti de Gamond. She is widely considered one of the first feminists in Belgium, and founded the country’s first secondary school for women.

Gatti de Gamond was born in Paris on this day in 1839. Her family moved to Brussels when she was five years old. After her mother passed away in 1854, de Gamond sought a job to help provide for her family. She worked as a private tutor for a Polish noble family, which inspired her to learn Ancient Greek, Latin, and philosophy.

Upon returning to Brussels, Gatti de Gamond continued her education through government-funded courses and pondered how she could help more women attend school. She founded the journal L'Education de la Femme [Women's Education] to share her thoughts with the public.

In 1864, Gatti de Gamond partnered with the city council to launch Cours d'Éducation pour jeunes filles—the first systematic courses for secondary female education. The initiative’s independence from the Roman Catholic Church was especially groundbreaking, making it Belgium’s first secular secondary education for girls. Although the press criticized her efforts, Gatti de Gamond’s school was a huge success and added advanced and pre-university sections in 1891. As a testament to how successful the school was, some of the students became the first women in Belgium to attend a university, work in parliament, and become a lawyer.

Gatti de Gamond founded many other schools before she retired from her role as an educator in 1899. With hopes of gaining universal adult suffrage, she worked as an activist for the Belgian Labour Party — but eventually left politics when the Labour Party chose to only support men’s right to vote.

Gatti de Gamond’s school was renamed the Isabelle Gatti de Gamond Royal Atheneum and is still open today. She wrote the book on Belgium's female education system, and thanks to her efforts, women have and will continue to add pages to her legacy.

Happy birthday, Isabelle Gatti de Gamond!

[9A]

28 July 2014

Peru Independence Day 2014



We’re serving ceviche for Peruvian Independence Day. The traditional [and totally yummy] seafood dish is made with raw fish cured in either lemon or lime juice.

Early concepts by doodler Kevin Laughlin show that aji de gallina was also on the menu at one time.

[9A]

28 July 2017

Perú National Day 2017


June 28th is the first of two national holidays commemorating Perú's independence. The festivities begin in Lima with a presidential address, 21-cannon salute, and flag-raising ceremony. Regional celebrations include musical performances in plazas and parks, and street fairs offering delights like ceviche and pisco. And the red-and-white Perúvian flag flies above cities and countryside, saluting General José de San Martín's declaration of independence on this date in 1821.

Today's Doodle, by guest artist Elliot Tupac, captures Perú's breathtaking natural beauty — from the tiniest flutter of hummingbird wings to the soaring peaks of Machu Picchu. Happy Fiestas Patrias!

[9A]

28 July 2016

Gloria Fuertes' 99th birthday



Gloria Fuertes remembered the typewriter she rented at a young age as her “first toy.” It didn’t take long for her to realize she could make its keys sing. That same year, she wrote her first verse.

Her love of narrative informed her life’s work: teaching and entertaining children, first through the printed word and later through stage and television. The result was some of Spain’s most beloved tales for children.

Today's Doodle is inspired by Fuertes’ inspired public readings that brought the magic of her words to life for the kids.

[9A]

19 March 2021

Dona Militana's 96th birthday





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Bel Andrade Lima, celebrates the 96th birthday of Brazilian singer and storyteller Dona Militana, whose vast memory of medieval ballads provided a unique record of generational Iberian and Brazilian tales.

Militana Salustino do Nascimento, also known as Dona Militana, was born in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Rio Grande do Norte on this day in 1925. As a child, Militana worked the fields; planting crops and weaving baskets with her father, who sang as they toiled. Many of his songs told stories from a bygone era of medieval kings, queens, warriors, and lovers—stories Militana never forgot.

Militana’s traditional talent remained largely unknown for decades, until she was discovered by folklorist Deífilo Gurgel in the 1990s. It was then that she shared with the world her prodigious chronicle of songs and stories—some of which were over 700 years old.

In 2000, Militana recorded “Cantares,” a collection of 54 songs that were novel-like in scope, with lyrics and melodies that accurately reflected the times from which they originated. Upon the project’s release, audiences throughout Brazil learned of Dona Militana—the guardian of a Brazilian history nearly lost to time.

In recognition of her impact on Brazilian culture, Dona Militana was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 2005.

Feliz Aniversário, Dona Militana!

[9A]

19 March 2023

Mario Molina's 80th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 80th birthday of Dr. Mario Molina, a Mexican chemist who successfully convinced governments to come together to save the planet’s ozone layer. A co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Dr. Molina was one of the researchers who exposed how chemicals deplete Earth’s ozone shield, which is vital to protecting humans, plants, and wildlife from harmful ultraviolet light.

Dr. Molina was born on this day in 1943 in Mexico City. As a child, he was so passionate about science that he turned his bathroom into a makeshift laboratory. Nothing could compare to the joy of watching tiny organisms glide across his toy microscope.

Dr. Molina went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and an advanced degree from the University of Freiburg in Germany. After completing his studies, he moved to the United States to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, and later at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Molina began researching how synthetic chemicals impact Earth’s atmosphere. He was one of the first to discover that chlorofluorocarbons [[a chemical found in air conditioners, aerosol sprays, and more) were breaking down the ozone and causing ultraviolet radiation to reach Earth's surface. He and his co-researchers published their findings in the Nature journal, which later won them the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The groundbreaking research became the foundation of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that successfully banned the production of nearly 100 ozone-depleting chemicals. This international alliance is considered one of the most impactful environmental treaties ever made — a precedent that shows governments can work together effectively to tackle climate change.

Thanks to Dr. Molina’s critical scientific discoveries, the planet’s ozone layer is on track to fully recover in the next few decades! The Mario Molina Center, a leading research institute in Mexico, carries on his work to create a more sustainable world.

Thank you, Dr. Molina, for your years of research that truly changed the world.

[9A]

19 March 2012

80th Birthday The Sydney Harbour Bridge



The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Sydney Harbour from the central business district to the North Shore. The view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is widely regarded as an iconic image of Sydney, and of Australia itself. Nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design, the bridge carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

[9A]

23 Mar 2012

Juan Gris' 125th Birthday



It may be difficult to imagine, but Picasso had artists that he admired. Perhaps most notable among them was Juan Gris, a close friend, though – according to an account in Gertrude Stein's book, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, he was also "... the only person whom Picasso wished away." Well, the doodle team is very happy that Picasso did not get his wish!

For Gris' doodle, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play more with abstract shapes, and reinterpreting familiar objects in the cubist language. This is not something I've had a lot of experience doing, as my formal art training involved learning to draw more representationally. To say the least, it was quite a liberating experience to try something new!






In these first couple drawings, I'm sort of just feeling my way through his work, mostly compositing his paintings. The first version plays with his likeness somewhat, and the second takes his most commonly painted subject, the guitar, and repeats itself throughout the logo.







In the final drawing, I've tightened up the second concept, making each letter read a little more clearly using light vs dark relationships [or values].






Next, I begin painting over the drawing using traditional media. The process is perhaps not as free-flowing and spontaneous as Gris might have worked [hey, I'm a budding cubist after all]! At any rate, I had a wonderful time learning from this extraordinary painter, and hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at making the doodle.





Happy birthday, Juan Gris!

[9A]

27 Mar 2012

Mies van der Rohe's 126th Birthday



Mies van der Rohe's architecture was the backdrop of my childhood. I grew up in downtown Chicago in the 1970s and 80s, and several friends lived in apartment buildings designed by Mies. In addition, Myron Goldsmith [one of Mies' students and associates], his wife and kids, were close friends of my family. For me, Mies wasn't precious or intellectual or challenging or even "modern;" his buildings were just places where people raised kids, worked at interesting jobs, and taught. As I grew older, I wondered why he lacked the public awareness and embrace of an architect like Frank Lloyd Wright.

Now, even though I have a more sophisticated knowledge of Mies' designs, I am a fan because of what his designs engage and inspire. Moving through them takes me past industrial materials and spare forms, and yields color, a relationship with nature, and vibrant interaction in the universal spaces.

Mies built S. R. Crown Hall, featured in today's Google Doodle, as a "home for ideas and adventures." Since its completion in 1956, it has been home to IIT's College of Architecture and has inspired students, lectures, dances, art exhibitions, and more. It is a lab for creation, which is fitting because the structure itself was a lab for Mies' breakthrough in the use of glass and steel-he defied expectations and proved his genius by using steel frames to hang a ceiling, rather than using supportive columns. The result was a revolutionary clear-span structure, 120 by 220 by 18 feet high, the premiere enclosed universal space.

Since assuming my role as Director of the Mies van der Rohe Society, I am in awe of what this space provokes. In 2006, we hosted an exhibition of mid-century Marimekko textiles and products. Visitors thought the building and the fabrics were so fresh and so now, they couldn't believe it had all been designed decades earlier. Four years later, we showed the largest-ever exhibition of Andy Warhol's Silver Clouds, a light-filled room for 1,000 helium-filled reflective balloons to interact with people of all ages. And every summer we host a day for hundreds of families to sprawl on the floor and use Legos to build their own creations.

The skyscrapers, wide-open lobbies, exterior plazas, and spare-but-useful living plans that define today's major cities are possible because of Mies and his "less is more" philosophy. Come visit S. R. Crown Hall, take a tour of the campus he designed for Illinois Institute of Technology, and have your own adventure in Mies' space.

Posted by Justine Jentes, Director of the Mies van der Rohe Society

[9A]

9 July 2011

Medellin Flower Festival 2011







The Flowers Festival [Spanish: Feria de las Flores] is a festival that takes place in Medellín, Colombia. The festival is the most important social event for the city and includes a pageant, automobiles, a Paso Fino horse parade and many musical concerts.
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[9A]

20 Jun 2013

Aleksander Fredro's 220th birthday





Aleksander Fredro was a Polish poet, playwright and author active during Polish Romanticism in the period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works including plays written in the octosyllabic verse [Zemsta] and in prose [Damy i Huzary] as well as fables, belong to the canon of Polish literature. Fredro was harshly criticized by some of his contemporaries for light-hearted humor or even alleged immorality [Seweryn Goszczyński, 1835] which led to years of his literary silence. Many of Fredro's dozens of plays were published and popularized only after his death. His best-known works have been translated into English, French, German, Russian, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian and Slovak.

[9A]

June 20, 2009

Opening of the Acropolis Museum



The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens.

The museum was founded in 2003 while the Organization of the Museum was established in 2008. It opened to the public on 20 June 2009. More than 4,250 objects are exhibited over an area of 14,000 square metres. The Organization for the Construction of the new museum is chaired by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, Dimitrios Pandermalis.

[9A]

7 June 2021

Roberto Cantoral's 85th birthday







Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Totoi Semerena, celebrates Mexican pianist, guitarist, singer, poet, activist, and composer Roberto Cantoral. He soundtracked a booming era of romantic Latin pop with beloved ballads such as “El Reloj” [“The Watch”] and “La Barca” [“The Boat”], both of which have been recorded over 1,000 times by dozens of musicians such as Plácido Domingo and Linda Ronstadt.

Born in Tampico on this day in 1935, Roberto Antonio Cantoral García launched his career at 15 when he and his brother Antonio formed the duet “Hermanos Cantoral” [“Cantoral Brothers”]. But his music found mainstream success once he banded together with Chamin Correa and Leonel Galver to form the trio aptly named “Los Tres Caballeros” [“The Three Gentlemen”].

The trio traveled far and wide throughout the 50s, taking their romantic ballads on worldwide tours in countries ranging from Japan to Argentina. In 1960, Cantoral broke out on his own. His original solo compositions were performed by some of Mexico’s most distinguished singers, and he continued to share his music with the world into the 2000s, performing at music festivals, radio shows, and TV programs in over 120 countries.

Along with his musical legacy, Cantoral advocated for protecting composers’ intellectual property as an honorary president of the Mexican Society of Composers and Authors for over 25 years. In 2009, Cantoral was honored at the 10th Latin Grammy Awards with the Latin Recording Academy Trustees Award to recognize his dedication to music and community.

Happy birthday, Roberto Cantoral, and may your music live on forever in the hearts of listeners worldwide!

[9A]

June 7, 2004

Transit of Venus



A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against [and hence obscuring a small portion of] the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun. The duration of such transits is usually several hours [the transit of 2012 lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes]. A transit is similar to a solar eclipse by the Moon. While the diameter of Venus is more than three times that of the Moon, Venus appears smaller, and travels more slowly across the face of the Sun, because it is much farther away from Earth.

Venus transits are historically of great scientific importance as they were used to gain the first realistic estimates of the size of the Solar System. Observations of the 1639 transit provided an estimate of both the size of Venus and the distance between the Sun and the Earth that was more accurate than any other up to that time. Observational data from subsequent predicted transits in 1761 and 1769 further improved the accuracy of this initial estimated distance through the use of the principle of parallax. The 2012 transit provided scientists with a number of other research opportunities, particularly in the refinement of techniques to be used in the search for exoplanets.

[9A]

28 October 2022

Celebrating Haja El Hamdaouia




Today’s Doodle celebrates Moroccan singer and cultural icon Haja El Hamdaouia. The star of Moroccan chaabi music influenced multiple generations of artists with her innovative style.

Haja was born in 1930 in Casablanca, Morocco. Her father loved musicians and often hosted music troupes at their home. This inspired Haja to take theater classes where she learned how to sing and perform chaabi music, a genre that fuses urban and rural Moroccan folk music.

In the early 1950s, she developed an interest in El Aita al Marsaouiya, a sub-genre of chaabi music characterized by poetic lyrics and blues-like melodies. Haja breathed new life into the genre. With her piercing and powerful voice, Haja sang about everything from national independence to daily life.

She wasn't afraid to push boundaries as seen in 1959 when Haja had the idea to sing in front of a makeshift orchestra. She performed at cabaret venues in Casablanca neighborhoods backed by a saxophone, organ, guitar, drums and violin. During this time, she created some of her most popular songs like “Daba Yij” and “Jiti Majiti", which took on the subjects of femininity and love.

Haja continued to create and perform music for over 60 years. She headlined at festivals in Essaouira and Oujda until the late 2000s. Find her music on streaming platforms and in music stores around the world. Thank you, Haja El Hamdaouia, for singing your heart out time and time again.

[9A]

28 Oct 2013

Edith Head's 116th Birthday




"You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it." -- Edith Head


Edith Head was an American costume designer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Throughout the course of her incredibly prolific career, she won eight Academy Awards -- more than any other woman -- and designed some of the most iconic dresses of the 20th century.

When the opportunity arose for us to celebrate Miss Edith's birthday, I snatched it up. It seemed like a dream doodle for me -- it perfectly combined my interests in clothing design and classic Hollywood cinema and also provided the ultimate test for my amateurish forays into fashion illustration [i.e. drawing my own outfits from time to time]!

For this doodle, I wanted to depict Edith standing tall and strong amongst a gallery of six of her drawings, which were chosen based on how iconic they were and how well they fit in with the colors of the Google logo. Recreating her drawings was great fun and incredibly inspiring.

Edith's costume designs were worn by countless celebrities and seen by millions of movie-watchers, but she herself stayed relatively behind-the-scenes. This strange balance of high-profile artwork with personal anonymity shares some interesting parallels to our work as Google Doodlers, so I am happy to have been able to pay tribute to a kindred spirit.

Posted by Sophie Diao, Doodler

[9A]

October 30, 2013


Agustin Lara's 113th Birthday [latam]







Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino known as Agustín Lara, was a Mexican composer and interpreter of songs and boleros. He is recognized as one of the most popular songwriters of his era. His work was widely appreciated not only in Mexico but also in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Spain. After his death, he has also been recognized in the United States, Italy and Japan.


Notable performers of his work include Pedro Vargas who was a friend, Juan Arvizu, Nestor Mesta Chayres, Pedro Infante, Javier Solis, Julio Iglesias, Manuel Mijares, Vicente Fernandez, Luis Miguel, Perez Prado, Chavela Vargas and Natalia Lafourcade among others.


Outside the Spanish speaking world, his most famous songs are Granada, Solamente Una Vez [You Belong to My Heart] and Piensa en mí, which have both been recorded by numerous international singers, including Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza and José Carreras.

[9A]

19 February 2020

Jaan Kross’ 100th birthday


"Kross introduced new themes to our poetry of galaxies, electrons, Milton, Homer [[and of course sputniks).”

—Estonian writer Jaan Kaplinski on Kross

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Tallinn, Estonia-based guest artist Mirjam Laater, celebrates Estonian poet and writer Jaan Kross on what would have been his 100th birthday. Widely considered one of the nation’s most internationally recognized and translated writers, his work was critical in illuminating the realities of Soviet occupation in Eastern Europe.

Born in the capital city of Tallinn on this day in 1920, Kross studied at the distinguished Tartu University and eventually became an assistant professor of international law. In 1946, like many of his intellectual compatriots, Kross unexpectedly caught the attention of Soviet security forces and was sent to Siberia. Throughout this eight-year exile, Kross wrote numerous poems and translated published pieces, sowing the seeds for his later success.

In the 1970s, Kross began to write historical fiction to mask his political criticism. “Kolme katku vahel” [“Between Three Plagues,” 1970] and “Keisri hull” [“The Czar’s Madman,” 1978] are often considered his masterworks, with the latter selling over 30,000 copies. These novels highlight themes of censorship and state-led repression and served to foster a sense of solidarity among Europe’s Soviet Bloc writers.
In 1990, Kross won the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, France’s foreign book award, for “Keisri hull,” as well as the Amnesty International Golden Flame Prize. In 1992, Kross helped draft Estonia’s new constitution following their independence from the Soviet Union.

Palju õnne sünnipäevaks, Jaan Kross!

[9A]

Feb 19, 2011

Constantin Brancusi's 135th Birthday






My high school art history teacher had always sung the praises of Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, but seeing his work in textbooks couldn't compare to recently viewing the Sleeping Muse in person at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's a piece that commands attention, as it seems to defy gravity with its elegance and poise. Brâncuși's use of bronze imbues his art with a silent, intense energy, as the viewer sees the room - and themselves - reflected and fractured in the surface of the work. And when he turns to marble, it gives his sculptures even more of a quiet dignity, always with powerful undertones of potential movement.

It was an honor to have had the opportunity to celebrate Brâncuși, whose work I've admired for so long. Brâncuși was born in 1876 and spent much of his life in Paris, where he pioneered his distinctive style of simplifying subjects into their most essential geometric forms. This doodle contains a survey of some of his best-known and most characteristic work, from left to right: Prometheus, Leda, The Newborn, Sleeping Muse, Mademoiselle Pogany, Bird in Space, and The Kiss.

Other works for which he is well-known include an ensemble of sculptures in Targu-Jiu, a Romanian city close to his hometown. Of these, the Column of the Infinite, a 98-feet-high cast-iron column, is perhaps one of his most iconic pieces. Fans of Brâncuși can visit the Atelier Brâncuși in Paris, a reconstruction of his workshop that's overflowing with pieces, tools, sketches, and studies.

[9A]

30 July 2023

2023 Women's World Cup [Jul 30]





The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by women's national teams and organised by FIFA. The tournament is jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and is taking place from 20 July to 20 August 2023. It is the first FIFA Women's World Cup to have more than one host nation, and also the first World Cup to be held across multiple confederations, as Australia is in the Asian confederation, while New Zealand is in the Oceanian confederation. In addition, this tournament is the first to feature the expanded format of 32 teams from the previous 24, replicating the same format used for the Men's World Cup from 1998 to 2022.

[9A]

30 July 2014

Salvador Novo's 110th Birthday





A portrait of Mexican writer and poet Salvador Novo appears in our doodle in Mexico today. As the official chronicler for his hometown of Mexico City, Novo played a large rule in influencing perceptions of the city and Mexican society in general.

A portrait of Mexican writer and poet Salvador Novo appears in our doodle in Mexico today. As the official chronicler for his hometown of Mexico City, Novo played a large rule in influencing perceptions of the city and Mexican society in general.

[9A]

30 July 2019

Muthulakshmi Reddi’s 133rd Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Bangalore-based guest artist Archana Sreenivasan, celebrates the Indian educator, lawmaker, surgeon, and reformer Muthulakshmi Reddi. Constantly breaking down barriers throughout her life, Reddi was a trailblazer who devoted herself to public health and the battle against gender inequality, transforming the lives of countless people—especially young girls.

Born on this day in 1883 in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Reddi became the first female student admitted to prestigious Indian institutions, the first woman to work as a surgeon in a government hospital, and the first female legislator in the history of British India.

As a young girl, Reddi resisted her parents’ plan for an early arranged marriage, convincing them she deserved an education. After passing her exams, she attended Maharaja College, formerly an all-boys school. Despite threats of students pulling out from the school, she won a scholarship, graduated with honors, and went on to be the first female student at Madras Medical College.

Reddi later gave up her medical practice to join the Madras Legislative Council, where she worked to raise the legal age of marriage and combatted exploitation of girls.

In 1914, she married a doctor named Sundara Reddi on the understanding that he treat her as an equal. Working for the upliftment of women and battling gender inequality, she supported Gandhi’s efforts for Indian independence.

After losing a sister to cancer, she launched the Adayar Cancer Institute in 1954. One of the most respected oncology centers in the world, it treats some 80,000 patients each year. In recognition of her service to her country, in 1956, Reddi was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

[9A]

30 July 2011

Giorgio Vasari's 500th Birthday



Giorgio Vasari was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect, who is best known for his work The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, considered the ideological foundation of all art-historical writing, and still much cited in modern biographies of the many Italian Renaissance artists he covers, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, although he is now regarded as including many factual errors, especially when covering artists from before he was born.

[9A]

4 February 2013

Josef Kajetán Tyl's 205th Birthday



Josef Kajetán Tyl was a significant Czech dramatist, writer, and actor. He was a notable figure in the Czech National Revival movement and is best known as the author of the current national anthem of the Czech Republic titled Kde domov můj?.