Google doodles

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Apr 28, 2017
Marie Harel’s 256th Birthday






If not for Marie Harel, born April 28, 1761, brie might have no gooey counterpart. Harel, who’s credited with creating the first camembert in 1791, is said to have encountered a cheese whisperer at the Normandy manor where she worked as a dairymaid. According to legend, a priest [purportedly from the region of Brie] took shelter at Beaumoncel near Vimoutiers during the French Revolution, and he shared his secret for making the now-famous soft-centered cheese. Harel added her own signature, packaging the cheese in its iconic wooden boxes.

Like brie, camembert is made from raw cow’s milk, but without cream. The cheese is yellow in color, with an earthy aroma, creamy taste, and an edible white rind. Today, only camembert made from unpasteurized milk receives the designation Camembert de Normandie. The village of Vimoutiers, home of the Camembert Museum, boasts a statue of a cow — as well as one of Harel, who made such a delicious contribution to French cheese culture.

Our Doodle celebrates Harel’s 256th birthday with a slideshow that illustrates how camembert is made, step by step. It's drawn in a charming, nostalgic style reminiscent of early 20th-century French poster artists, such as Hervé Morvan and Raymond Savignac.

Bon appetit!

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Apr 27, 2017
King's Day 2017





King’s Day [formerly “Queen’s Day”] is the annual Dutch national holiday in honor of King Willem-Alexander, who turns 50 today. This day is celebrated all over the Netherlands, but Amsterdam is the centerpiece of the festivities, with over 750,000 people traveling here to partake in the fun. The day starts bright and early and calls for partiers to put on their best orange outfits [the national color] and take to the streets in the morning.

On this day, street-selling regulations are lifted, so the entire city becomes an enormous open air flea market for shopping second-hand treasures. Kids sell their toys, artists sell their handicrafts, homemakers sell delicious baked goods...and it’s all found at discounted “friends and family” style rates. This element of the cultural tradition poignantly illustrates the entrepreneurial and community-driven spirit of the country.

Today’s Doodle by Dutch Doodle artist Gerben Steenks salutes the King on his 50th birthday year. Happy King’s Day to all!

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Apr 27, 2017
Celebrating Freedom Day and Enoch Sontonga




Today South Africans celebrate Freedom Day! The first post-apartheid elections were held on this date in 1994, and each year this important event is remembered with a public holiday.

Today's Doodle also honors choirmaster, poet, and composer Enoch Sontonga, who wrote the first version of Africa’s democratic national anthem, “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” [“God Bless Africa”], in 1897.

Over the years, the song developed and gained popularity, even making it to a London recording studio in 1923. It later merged with the country’s other anthem, “Die Stem” [“The Call of South Africa”].

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May 20, 2011
100th Birthday of Annie M.G. Schmidt





Anna Maria Geertruida "Annie" Schmidt was a Dutch writer. She is called the mother of the Dutch theatrical song and the queen of Dutch children's literature, praised for her "delicious Dutch idiom," and considered one of the greatest Dutch writers. An ultimate honour was extended to her posthumously, in 2007, when a group of Dutch historians compiled the "Canon of Dutch History" and included Schmidt, alongside national icons such as Vincent van Gogh and Anne Frank.

Although Schmidt wrote poetry, songs, books, plays, musicals, and radio and television drama for adults, she is known best for children's books. Her best-known work for children may be the series Jip and Janneke. Many of her books, such as Pluk van de Petteflet, were illustrated by Fiep Westendorp.

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June 12, 2018
Philippines Independence Day 2018






Happy Independence Day to the Philippines, home to 7,000+ islands, abundant agricultural wealth—and a wild underwater frontier.

Almost ⅓ of the islands’ collective land mass is devoted to agriculture, allowing Filipino farmers to cultivate a rich variety of foods, sparking a recent culinary renaissance. Miles of beautiful beaches make the Philippines an attractive travel destination, especially to tourists, who flock to the white sand and blue water. The country is also a magnet for marine biologists.

On Independence Day, Filipinos are known to celebrate the end of Spanish rule by enjoying traditional delicacies like lumpia, balut, and chicken adobo, and by dancing in the streets—which you might expect in a country that’s widely considered one of the happiest in the world.

Today’s Doodle depicts the rich variety of undersea life surrounding this archipelago in the western Pacific, particularly the pristine Tubbataha Reef, where scientists continue to discovered new species of fish, slugs, and urchins in deep waters that are still being explored.

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Jun 12, 2018
Eugénie Brazier’s 123rd Birthday







Today’s Doodle celebrates Eugénie Brazier, also known as “La Mère Brazier” [the Brazier Mother]. Brazier was a French chef who was famously awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide.

Eugénie Brazier was born in a mostly rural region of eastern France, in the late 19th century. When her mother passed away, Brazier relocated to a nearby farm where she looked after the cows and pigs and began her exploration into the local cuisine. Later, at age 20, Brazier gave birth to her son Gaston, and left for Lyon to pursue an apprenticeship and refine her skills

Eight years after moving to Lyon, Eugénie Brazier opened La Mère Brazier which quickly developed a reputation as an elegant culinary destination for politicians and celebrities. La Mère Brazier expanded many times to accommodate the massive increase in customers. Eventually, she expanded the business west to Col de la Luère, where her restaurant’s lack of running water or electricity didn’t stop it from achieving the highest degree of praise.

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Jun 11, 2018
Millicent Fawcett's 171st Birthday






When the British Parliament passed the Representation of the People Act in 1918, allowing British women to vote for the first time in history, Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett’s lifelong ambition was fulfilled.

Born June 11, 1847, the eighth of 10 children, Millicent was raised by independent-minded parents who emphasized the importance of education and free speech. Her oldest sister Elizabeth became Britain’s first female doctor, and Millicent began collecting signatures in support of female suffrage before she was old enough to sign the petitions herself. "I cannot say I became a suffragist,” she wrote in her memoir ‘The Women’s Victory—And After.’ “I always was one, from the time I was old enough to think at all about the principles of Representative Government."

Best known for her captivating speeches, Fawcett used her platform as President ofthe National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies to become a public advocate for nonviolent campaigning.

In April 2018, a bronze statue was erected of Dame Fawcett in the courtyard of London’s Parliament Square, alongside likenesses of Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Mahatma Gandhi. The glistening sculpture, made her the first female added to the garden’s distinguished denizens — a fitting tribute to the woman who said “Courage calls to courage everywhere, and its voice cannot be denied.”

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Jun 6, 2018
Sweden National Day 2018





The National Day of Sweden, June 6, commemorates two notable anniversaries: first, the coronation of King Gustav Vasa in 1523, which marked Sweden’s independence from Denmark. And second, the adoption of a new constitution in 1809 which established a separation of powers between the government’s executive branch [[the King) and legislative branch, also known as Riksdag of the Estates.

While Sweden is celebrated around the world as the home of the Nobel Prize and ABBA, Swedes are even more fond of their national animal [[the moose) or traditional symbols like the elderflower, whose small white blooms can be found on beautiful green bushes all over the country in June.

The mighty moose embodies the Swedish spirit of labor and service. The robust creature was once considered for military deployment as part of King Charles XI’s cavalry in the 17th century. The Swedes still exhibit pride as strong as a moose—much like the one munching flowers in today’s Doodle.

Stockholm’s Skansen open-air museum is the place to be for Sweden National Day celebrations, thanks to the museum’s founder Artur Hazelius. Proud Swedes gather there on June 6 for flag raising, folk dancing, historical re-enactments, and a visit from the King and Queen.

Folkets Park in Malmö is a great place to picnic and watch flag parades, readings and musical performances. The elderflowers are in bloom this time of year, so enjoy a glass of fläderblomssaft, elderflower syrup, often homemade, mixed with soda or champagne.
Skål!

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Jun 5, 2018
Denmark National Day 2018







June 5th offers several reasons to celebrate for all those living in Denmark. Not only is today Father’s Day for Danish dads, it’s also Denmark’s National Day. Grundlovsdag—literally “basic law day”—is a national holiday celebrating the monarchy’s agreement to share power with the people.

On this date in 1849, King Frederik 7 signed the Danish Constitution which marked the start of a democracy for Denmark. On the same day in 1953 the southernmost Scandinavian nation ratified an updated version of its Constitution.

Most businesses close early on this day, making way for outdoor celebrations and family picnics. This would be a good time to enjoy an open-faced smørrebrød sandwich on rye bread paired with a cold Hyldeblomstsaft.

Today’s Doodle features the fluttering flag of Denmark, with its white Nordic cross shifted to the left in a field of red—the same flag used by kings and seafaring vessels since the 14th century.

Glædelig Grundlovsdag, Denmark!

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Jun 4, 2018
Tom Longboat’s 131st Birthday





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

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

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

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

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Jun 2, 2018
Hermila Galindo’s 132nd Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Hermila Galindo’s 132nd birthday. Galindo was a Mexican activist and a champion of women’s rights in the early 1900’s. During a time of political turmoil, Galindo staunchly advocated for equal rights of men and women, especially around primary school education and marriage.

Hermila Galindo was born in Lerdo, Mexico in 1896, where she began to witness some of the destabilizing unrest that set the stage for her career in political activism. Galindo became impassioned by the importance of women’s rights at a very young age. After the resignation of President Huerta in 1914 Galindo spoke at a celebration in Mexico City. Her speech celebrated the platform of reformist Venustiano Carranza [37th President of Mexico], who overheard her ideas and invited Galindo to join his campaign and later, his administration.

The following year Hermila Galindo focused her efforts more distinctly on women’s rights and founded the periodical La Mujer Moderna [The Modern Woman]. Her editorial often garnered controversy, but her ability to present and substantiate her suggested reforms gained her credibility. In 1917, Galindo campaigned to become a deputy in Mexico City's fifth electoral district. Despite winning the election in a surprising upset, the results were rejected by Mexico's electoral college, which claimed that law prohibited her election.

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January 7, 2017
Sandford Fleming’s 190th Birthday








It was Ireland in 1876 when a mistake printed in a timetable caused Sandford Fleming to miss his train but alter time as we know it.

Historically, regions used solar time to set their own clocks. It worked well enough until trains came along and the need for standardized time arose, which brings us back to Fleming.

Following his missed train, Fleming—a Canadian inventor and engineer of Scottish birth—proposed a worldwide standard time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute on February, 8, 1879. He advocated for dividing the world into 24 time zones beginning at the Greenwich Meridian and spaced at 15 degree intervals. His proposal gave way to the International Prime Meridian Conference which convened in 1884 and was attended by 25 nations. It was here that Fleming’s system of international standard time was adopted.

Fleming was also known for helping build the Intercontinental Railway, serving as chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and designing Canada’s first postage stamp. Today’s Doodle reflects Fleming’s legacy on this, the 190th anniversary of his birth.

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Jan 3, 2017
Savitribai Phule's 186th Birthday








Today marks the 186th birthday of Savitribai Phule, a heroine of social reform in India. A woman of many accomplishments, Savitribai and her husband opened India’s first school for women in Pune in 1848. Four years later, she and her husband were honored by the British government for their contributions to women’s education. Later in life, Phule set up a care program for widows and led campaigns advocating for Indian citizens deemed “untouchable,” due to being born into what was considered a lower caste.

Savitribai’s legacy lives on today. The Government of Maharashtra has instituted an award in her name and in 2015, the University of Pune in western India was renamed: Savitribai Phule Pune University in her honor.

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June 23, 2019
Father's Day 2019 [Poland]

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June 23, 2017
Father's Day 2017 [Poland]

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Jun 23, 2017
Hokiichi Hanawa’s 271st Birthday








When Helen Keller visited the memorial house of Hanawa Hokiichi in 1937, she said of the revered scholar, "I believe that his name would pass down from generation to generation like a stream of water." Indeed, traces of Hokiichi's legacy can be found in many fields today. Like a river originating from humble beginnings in Tokyo in 1746, his influence has stretched through law, politics, economics, history, and medicine.

Even during his lifetime, Hokiichi's impact was far-reaching. He is best known for editing the Gunsho ruijū, a collection of more than 500 volumes of kokugaku studies [philology and philosophy]. Later in life, Hokiichi established the Wagakusho school, where he taught Japanese classics to a rapt audience of adoring students.

Hokiichi’s early life was not easy — at the age of seven, he lost his vision. But his remarkable memory began to impress local scholars, and he was encouraged to pursue a life of study, ultimately becoming one of the most learned men in the country. Hanawa Hokiichi’s legacy is one of dogged learning, committed teaching, and enduring perseverance, and it lives on in Japanese scholarship and culture.

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Jun 22, 2017
Oskar Fischinger’s 117th Birthday






In the world of design, Fischinger is a towering figure, especially in the areas of motion graphics and animation. He is best known for his ability to combine impeccably synchronized abstract visuals with musical accompaniment, each frame carefully drawn or photographed by hand. A master of motion and color, Fischinger spent months — sometimes years — planning and handcrafting his animations.

Although mostly known for his films, Fischinger was also a prolific painter, creating numerous works that capture the dramatic movement and feeling of his films within a single frame. Unsatisfied with traditional media, he also invented a contraption, the Lumigraph, for generating fantastic chromatic displays with hand movements — a sort of optical painting in motion and a precursor to the interactive media and multi-touch games of today.

Even with the advanced technology that now exists, emulating Fischinger's work is an impossible task. His colors and motion are so carefully planned yet naturally playful, his timing so precise yet human. So today's Doodle aims to pay homage to him, while allowing you to compose your own visual music. I hope it inspires you to seek out the magic of Fischinger for yourself.

Special thanks to Angie Fischinger, Oskar's youngest child, who played an integral role in making this project possible. Below, she shares some thoughts about her father's work and life:

My parents were German immigrants. They were forced to leave Germany in 1936 when it became clear that my father could not pursue his work as a filmmaker there [avant-garde was considered degenerate by Hitler and his administration]. But many people who had already seen his films recognized his greatness. He received an offer to work at MGM and stayed in Hollywood after the war.

My father was incredibly dedicated to his art — some even called him stubborn. His passion and honesty were part of his brilliance, but they could also make him a bit difficult to work with.

Sometimes our family struggled financially as a result, so everybody pitched in — the kids got paper routes or did babysitting. We were raised in a healthy, hard-working environment. We were happy, intellectually stimulated, and dedicated to education. Thanks to my family's support and encouragement, I graduated from San Jose State and taught in the public school system for 30 years.
I feel incredibly proud of my family and am delighted to be the daughter of Oskar and Elfriede Fischinger. It means so much to me to see this celebration of my father's art. It’s wonderful to know that his work, which has been steadily praised since the 1920s, will continue to receive worldwide recognition.

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Jun 21, 2017
Winter Solstice 2017 [Southern Hemisphere]









The winter solstice, hiemal solstice or hibernal solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere [Northern and Southern]. For that hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. At the pole, there is continuous darkness or twilight around the winter solstice. Its opposite is the summer solstice. Also the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn depending on the hemispheres winter solstice the sun goes 90 degrees below the horizon at solar midnight to the nadir.

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Jun 21, 2017
Summer Solstice 2017 [Northern Hemisphere]








Today’s Doodle celebrates the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. As the longest day of the year, solstice marks the official start of the summer season. If you live north of the equator, today you’ll enjoy the most amount of sunlight in a single day that you’ll have all year. And the farther north, the more sun! In fact, in the Arctic Circle, the sun will shine for a full 24 hours. Whether you'll be outside with the blooms or inside with a good book, enjoy the day. Ready…set…summer!

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Jun 21, 2017
Machado de Assis’ 178th Birthday






In 1839, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis was born to a simple family in Morro do Livramento, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was the grandson of freed slaves, in a country where slavery wouldn't be fully abolished until 49 years later. Machado faced the many challenges of being of mixed race in the 19th century, including limited access to formal education. But none of that stopped him from studying literature. While working as a typographer, he experimented with poems, romances, novels and plays.

Machado's work shaped the realism movement in Brazil. He became known for his wit and his eye-opening critiques of society. Today's Doodle features some scenes from his novels — Quincas Borba, Dom Casmurro, and The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas are considered masterpieces to this day. Machado was also a founder and the first president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

Happy 178th birthday to a literary genius!

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August 17, 2019
Indonesia Independence Day 2019





Today’s Doodle illustrated by Indonesia-based guest artist Hari Prast, celebrates Indonesia’s Independence Day, also known as Hari Kemerdekaan, colloquially known as Tujuhbelasan [“the Seventeenth”]. On this day in 1945, the Indonesian leader Soekarno read a proclamation at his home in Jakarta, declaring the independence of Indonesia.

August 17th was also the date when the red and white national flag, known to locals as Sang Saka Merah-Putih, was flown for the first time.

Indonesia is the world’s 4th most populous country, with over 300 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Hari Kemerdekaan is a time for members of these diverse groups to come together in joyous celebration, holding ceremonies and festive events throughout the country that have become cherished traditions.

The day starts with flag-hoisting ceremony, followed by a parade and local games competitions like balap karung [a two-person gunny sack race], panjat pinang [where contestants climb up a greased pole or tree to grab a prize at the top], and many more local games.

Community residents also work together to make Gapura gates, as shown in today’s Doodle. These colorful gates are created out of repurposed materials, beautifying the entrances to their village neighborhoods and celebrating Indonesian Independence together.

Embodying a spirit of collaboration [gotong royong] that lies at the very core of Indonesian values, Gapuras serves as a reminder for Indonesians to work together for a better nation on Independence Day—and every day of the

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Aug 15, 2019
India Independence Day 2019










Today’s Doodle, by India-born, Copenhagen-based guest artist Shaivalini Kumar, celebrates Independence Day in India. On this day in 1947 one of the world’s oldest and most ethnically diverse civilizations became a sovereign nation, free from British rule. The Doodle depicts traditional motifs from Indian textiles evoking the complex yet harmonious “patchwork” of Indian culture, ranging from education, to the arts, to courage and compassion.

India is the world’s second most populous country, and many of its 1.3 billion citizens will join in the Independence Day festivities. While the subcontinent marks the occasion in various ways—from patriotic kite-flying to Amritsar’s “beating retreat” ceremony—no site is more historically significant than Lahori Gate at the Red Fort in Delhi, where then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru first addressed the newly independent nation.

India’s flag will be seen flying proudly today from Delhi to Bombay and everywhere in between. As the flag is raised each year, a 21-gun salute rings out, accompanied by the national anthem “Jana Gana Mana.” Parades, awards, and cultural events complete the momentous occasion.

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January 23, 2020
Luis Alberto Spinetta's 70th Birthday







Today’s Doodle celebrates the 70th birthday of Argentine singer, composer, guitarist, and poet Luis Alberto Spinetta. Also known as El Flaco [“Skinny”], he is often regarded as the father of Spanish-language rock and roll and a Latin American music icon. The Doodle artwork features the color green as an homage to Spinetta’s iconic and irregularly-shaped album cover of Artaud, as well as his famous red and white guitar.

Born on this day in Buenos Aires in 1950, Spinetta learned how to play guitar and sing at a young age. He continued to develop his musical skills, and at age 17 Spinetta formed one of the most influential rock bands in Argentine history, named Almendra, with two of his former high school classmates. Almendra’s self-titled debut studio album revolutionized the genre as the first band to combine Spanish-language lyrics with progressive rock.

During the 1970s and 80s, Spinetta formed and led several impactful bands that inspired the international “Rock en Español” movement, including Pescado Rabioso, Invisible, and Spinetta Jade. In addition to these group projects, he released over twenty albums as a solo artist. In 2016, his latest record Los Amigo won one of the highest honors in Argentinian music, the Gold Gardel Album of the Year award.

His music struck a major chord throughout the world and continues to impact listeners to this day. For instance, in April 2019 it inspired University of Buenos Aires informatics engineer Alex Ingberg to create an artificial intelligence program to generate song lyrics in Spinetta’s style. And in 2014, in honor of Spinetta’s birthday, Argentina moved Día Nacional del Músico [National Musician’s Day] from November to January 23rd.

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Jan 22, 2020
Celebrating "Sawaddee"



Today’s Doodle celebrates sawaddee, the Thai way to greet friends and strangers alike. A custom adopted on this day in 1943, this salutation is presented with a wai: a prayer-like pose delivered in concert with a bow that accompanies the expression of sawaddee. The gesture altogether is meant to convey respect and warmth.

Originally coined by linguist Phraya Upakit Silapasan from the root word, “Svasti,” the Sanskrit word for “blessing” or “well-being,” sawaddee soon became an official part of the Thai vocabulary.
Known as the “Land of a Thousand Smiles,” Thailand is world-renowned for its friendly people and gracious hospitality. Today, sawaddee can be heard across the country—from the idyllic beaches of the south, to the temples of the mountainous north, and everywhere in between—epitomizing the welcoming spirit of Thailand.

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Jan 22, 2020
Celebrating Anna May Wong

“I felt sure that I’d see my name in electric lights before long.”
–Anna May Wong

Today’s slideshow Doodle celebrates the first-ever Chinese American movie star in Hollywood, Anna May Wong, on the 97th anniversary of the day The Toll of the Sea went into general release, which was her first leading role. Featured in the Doodle slideshow are scenes from her life, including some of her most famous characters from the more than 50 movies she was featured in throughout her career.

The Los Angeles native was born Wong Liu Tsong on January 3rd, 1905. Originally from Taishan, China, Wong’s family taught their children both English and Cantonese. When not at school or in her father’s Sam Kee laundry, Wong began spending her time hanging around movie studios and asking directors for roles, and by age 11, she had chosen her stage name: “Anna May Wong.”

Wong was often overlooked or only offered small roles due to prevailing racial barriers. However, refusing to be limited to or typecast as Asian stereotypes, she moved to Europe in 1928. There, Wong starred in many plays and movies, such as Piccadilly [1929] and The Flame of Love [1930], and was soon promised leading roles in the U.S.

Upon returning to the U.S., one of the roles Wong was cast for was opposite her friend Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 release of Shanghai Express, which became one of her most famous roles. Shortly after, she was named the “world’s best-dressed woman” by the Mayfair Mannequin Society of New York, cementing her position as an international fashion icon. In the 1950s, she also became the first Asian American to land a leading role in a U.S. television series, playing a mystery-solving detective in the show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong.

In recognition of her many accomplishments, Wong was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

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Jan 20, 2020
Mufidah Abdul Rahman's 106th Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Cairo-based guest artist Deena Mohamed, celebrates Egyptian lawyer Mufidah Abdul Rahman on her 106th birthday. Born in Cairo on this day in 1914, she was among the first women to graduate from Cairo University’s Faculty of Law and became the premier female attorney in Egypt. Her determined efforts in and out of the courtroom helped forge the path to political equality for Egyptian women.

While practicing law, Mufidah built relationships with like-minded women advocates and was inspired to co-found the National Feminist Party, a women’s organization fighting for universal suffrage in Egypt. Her social advocacy led her to be recruited into Bint al-Nil [“Daughter of the Nile”], a feminist union seeking to overcome sociocultural repressions that the women of this era faced.

In 1951, Bint al-Nil founder Doria Shafik led an interruption of the Egyptian Parliament to demand women’s right to vote and hold political office. In response, Shafik was summoned to court and handpicked the esteemed Abdul Rahman to defend her.

Considered to be a case against not only Shafik but also the Egyptian women’s rights movement as a whole, the trial presented a critical opportunity for advocates to have their voices heard. Mufidah’s impassioned defense of Shafik fanned the flames of the cause, and this landmark case helped Egyptian women win their right to vote in 1956.

This Doodle also highlights the more personal moments in Abdul Rahman’s life, from being the young lawyer who received payment in eggs and fruits to the mother who enjoyed a rich family life with her nine children and supportive husband.

Throughout her distinguished career, Abdul Rahman defended over 400 court cases, became a member of Egyptian Parliament, and never stopped fighting justice.

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Jan 14, 2020
Kaifi Azmi's 101st Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates Indian poet, songwriter, and social change advocate Kaifi Azmi on his 101st birthday. With work ranging from passionate love poems and activist verses to Bollywood songs lyrics and screenplays, Azmi has become one of the most renowned poets of the 20th century in India, and his humanitarian efforts continue to impact people’s lives today.

Amzi was born Syed Athar Hussain Rizvi on this day in 1919 in the Azmargh district of Uttar Pradesh, India. At age 11, he composed his first poem, a ghazal-style piece. Inspired by Gandhi's 1942 Quit India freedom movement, he later left for Bombay [now Mumbai] to write for an Urdu newspaper. He then published his first collection of poems, Jhankar [1943], as well as became a member of the influential Progressive Writers’ Association that used writing to try to achieve socioeconomic reforms.

Azmi was prolific and won numerous awards for his contributions, including three Filmfare Awards for Garm Hawa [“Scorching Winds,” 1973], the prestigious Padma Shri Award for Literature and Education [1974], and one of India’s highest literary honors, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship [2002].

In one of his early and most famous poems, “Aurat,” Amzi advocated for women’s equality, one of the causes he championed in his lifetime. He also founded the NGO Mijwan Welfare Society [MWS] to support various educational initiatives to improve the lives of rural women and families, and to this day, MWS continues its work in the spirit of its founder.

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Jan 10, 2020
Vicente Huidobro's 127th Birthday

“Let's leave the old once and for all...In literature, I like everything that is innovation. Everything that is original.”
–Vicente Huidobro, Pasando y Pasando: crónicas y Comentarios [1914]

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by London-based guest artist Luisa Rivera, celebrates avant-garde Chilean poet and writer Vicente Huidobro on his 127th birthday. Widely known as the “father of the Creacionismo [Creationism] literary movement,” Huidobro refused to be confined by literary orthodoxy. Instead, he used the written word to push the limits of creativity.

Vicente García-Huidobro Fernández was born in 1893 in Santiago, Chile. He became a poet like his mother, first published at the early age of 12, and went on to study literature at the University of Chile.
Gradually, he began to feel confined by traditional poetic standards, and in 1914 he rejected them in his manifesto, Non Serviam [“I Will Not Serve”].

Huidobro moved to Paris to collaborate with surrealist poets Guillaume Apollinaire and Pierre Reverdy on the literary magazine they founded, Nord-sud [North-South]. In Paris, he invented Creacionismo, the idea that poets should create their own imaginary worlds instead of writing about nature in traditional styles with traditional language. Poemas árticos [“Arctic Poems,” 1918] and Saisons Choisies [“Chosen Seasons,” 1921] are some examples, but the 1931 long-form poem Altazor is Huidobro’s definitive Creacionismo work.

His well-known lines from his poem Arte Poetica [Poetic Art], “Let the verse be like a key / That opens a thousand doors,” represents his style and inspired today’s Doodle art, which infuses different images that appear in his poetry.

Huidobro wrote over 40 books, including plays, novels, manifestos, and poetry. He constantly encouraged literary experimentation and influenced many Latin American poets who succeeded him.

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December 24, 2020
Li Tien-lu's 110th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates Taiwanese puppeteer, educator, and film actor Li Tien-lu, a beloved artist who helped introduce the world to the traditional hand puppetry of his homeland. Tien-lu was a charismatic symbol of Taiwanese identity who breathed new life into the artform of puppetry for over 70 years.

Li Tien-lu was born on this day in 1910 in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei and learned puppetry from his fath er when he was a child. He became a professional puppetry career as a young teenager, and in his early 20s he established his own troupe: I Wan Jan. Tien-lu brought together elements like Peking opera and Taiwanese Beiguan music to craft a new form of glove puppetry called Wai Jiang Pai, and the troupe achieved great success from the ‘50s to the ‘70s.

In 1973, a French scholar took an interest in Tien-lu’s craft and asked him to teach a few of the scholar’s students. Soon enough, Tien-lu had pupils from around the world who in turn helped bring global popularity to the art of Taiwanese of puppetry. He spent the rest of his life traveling the globe to promote the artform, and also acted in films like “The Puppetmaster” [1993], a biopic about his life.
In honor of his artistic contributions, Tien-lu was honored as a “Living National Treasure'' by the Taiwanese government, and in 1995 he was knighted by the French government.

Happy birthday, Li Tien-lu, and thank you for handing the gift of Taiwanese puppetry to audiences around the world.

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Dec 18, 2020
26th Anniversary of the Grotte Chauvet Discovery








On this day in 1994, three speleologists [[cave specialists) by the name of Jean-Marie Chauvet, Éliette Brunel, and Christian Hillaire were exploring in the Ardèche region of southern France when they happened upon something remarkable: an enormous display of what turned out to be some of the earliest-known and best-preserved figurative drawings ever made by humankind. Today’s Doodle celebrates this groundbreaking discovery–now known as Grotte Chauvet [French for Chauvet Cave]–which forever altered the archaeological understanding of prehistoric man’s artistic expression and creative development.

Through carbon dating, the extraordinary drawings have been traced back to the Aurignacian period over 30,000 years ago. Thanks to a rock fall that sealed the entrance more than 10,000 years later, the Chauvet Cave–and the more than 1,000 drawings documented on its limestone walls–then remained untouched, preserved for millennia in pristine quality.

As illustrated in today’s Doodle, the cave features depictions of 14 different species— from horses and lions to dang erous prehistoric creatures like the long-extinct wooly rhinoceros and mammoth. The deepest gallery features representations of the human body, while other walls display abstract series of red dots. The images demonstrate great artistic vision and technique through their anatomical accuracy, illusion of depth and movement, masterful use of colors, and skillful combination of both painting and engraving. In addition to the paintings, the cave is also home to human footprints and some 4,000 prehistoric animal fossils.

In recogniti on of the site's vast significance to the human story, UNESCO inscribed the Chauvet Cave onto the World Heritage List in 2014.

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December 18, 2009
Jan Evangelista Purkyne's Birthday






Jan Evangelista Purkyně was a Czech anatomist and physiologist. In 1839, he coined the term 'protoplasm' for the fluid substance of a cell. He was one of the best known scientists of his time. Such was his fame that when people from outside Europe wrote letters to him, all that they needed to put as the address was "Purkyně, Europe".The Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, bore his name from 1960 to 1990, as did the standalone military medical academy in Hradec Králové [1994–2004.] Today, a university in Ústí nad Labem bears his name: Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem [Univerzita Jana Evangelisty Purkyně v Ústí nad Labem.]

The crater Purkyně on the Moon is named after him, as is the asteroid 3701 Purkyně.

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Dec 17, 2009
Discovery of the Aztec Sun Stone



The Aztec sun stone [Spanish: Piedra del Sol] is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Mexica sculpture. It measures 358 centimetres [141 in] in diameter and 98 centimetres [39 in] thick, and weighs 24,590 kg [54,210 lb]. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpture was buried in the Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City. It was rediscovered on 17 December 1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral. Following its rediscovery, the sun stone was mounted on an exterior wall of the cathedral, where it remained until 1885. Early scholars initially thought that the stone was carved in the 1470s, though modern research suggests that it was carved some time between 1502 and 1521.

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Dec 8, 2009
E.C. Segar's Birthday



Elzie Crisler Segar, known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre.Segar is among the first to combine humor with long-running adventures. A revival of interest in Segar's creations began with Woody Gelman's Nostalgia Press. Robert Altman's live-action film Popeye [1980] is adapted from E. C. Segar's Thimble Theatre comic strip. The screenplay by Jules Feiffer was based directly on Gelman's Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye the Sailor, a hardcover reprint collection of 1936-37 Segar strips published in 1971 by Nostalgia Press. In 2006, Fantagraphics published the first of a six-volume book set reprinting all Thimble Theatre daily and Sunday strips from 1928 to 1938, beginning with the adventure that introduced Popeye.

In 1971, the National Cartoonists Society created the Elzie Segar Award in his honor. According to the Society's website, the award was "presented to a person who has made a unique and outstanding contribution to the profession of cartooning." The NCS board of directors chose the first winners, while King Features selected recipients in later years. Honorees have included Charles Schulz, Bil Keane, Al Capp, Bill Gallo and Mort Walker. The award was discontinued in 1999.

In 1977, Segar's hometown of Chester, Illinois, named a park in his honor. The park contains a six-foot-tall bronze statue of Popeye. The annual Popeye Picnic, a weekend-long event that celebrates the character with a parade, film festival and other activities, is held the first weekend after Labor Day. In 2006, Chester launched the "Popeye & Friends Character Trail", which links a series of statues of Segar's characters located throughout town. Each stands on a base inscribed with the names of donors who contributed to its cost and is unveiled and dedicated during the Popeye Picnic. The 2006 debut sculpture of hamburger-loving Wimpy stands in Gazebo Park. A statue of Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea and the Jeep, located near the Randolph County Courthouse, followed in 2007. In 2008, a Bluto statue was dedicated at the corner of Swanwick and W. Holmes Streets, in front of Buena Vista Bank. The 2009 statue of Castor Oyl and Bernice the Whiffle Hen stands in front of Chester Memorial Hospital. One additional statue has been unveiled each year.

Spinach Can Collectibles/Popeye Museum is located in the center of the city.[Opera House]

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April 1, 2017
Payut Ngaokrachang’s 88th Birthday







Today’s Doodle celebrates renowned Thai cartoonist and animation pioneer Payut Ngaokrachang with a depiction of one of his best-known animations, and Thai cinema's first cel-animated feature film, “The Adventure of Sudsakorn.”

Released in 1979, “Sudsakorn” was one of Thailand’s earliest full-length animations, and was based on author Sudthornpu’s book Pra Apai Manee. It follows the exploits of the boy hero as he battles with mythical creatures and other dangerous adversaries. The animation was created on a very tight budget, and the innovative Payut was said to have crafted some of his movie-making equipment using discarded military machinery to keep costs low.

On what would be his 88th birthday, we celebrate Payut Ngaokrachang and his significant contribution to animation.

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Mar 31, 2017
Sergei Diaghilev’s 145th Birthday




Born in 1872 to a wealthy Russian family, art critic, visionary, and all-around provocateur Sergei Diaghilev made his mark on the performing arts with his influential Ballets Russes, a trailblazing dance company that united talents from the disciplines of art, fashion, dance, choreography, and music, and vaulted them to dizzying creative heights.

From 1909-1929, the Ballet Russes performed on stages around the globe, mesmerizing, even scandalizing, audiences with its unprecedented costumes, stage sets, compositions, and choreography. In Schéhérazade, which premiered at the Théâtre national de l’Opéra, Paris, in 1910, dancers traded tutus for artist Léon Bakst’s risqué harem pants while Vaslav Nijinsky performed in gold body paint and bejeweled costumes. Firebird, based on Russian fairy tales, marked Diaghilev’s first commissioned score from Igor Stravinsky, kicking off a collaboration that would include the primal work, The Rite of Spring and Pulcinella [with costumes and sets by Pablo Picasso].

Anna Pavlova, Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau—all figured into Diaghilev’s sensational productions.
Today, on Sergei Diaghilev’s 145th birthday, we salute his boundless imagination with a Doodle that depicts the impresario flanked by his vividly costumed Ballets Russes dancers against an onion-domed Russian backdrop. Diaghilev wowed the world, both then and now.

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Mar 22, 2017
Nowruz 2017 [Kazakhstan]




For more than 3,000 years, people of Persian ancestry have been celebrating Nowruz, the return of spring and the start of a new year. A combination of the Persian words “now” for new and “ruz” for day, it is often celebrated at the exact moment of the vernal [spring] equinox, when the days start getting longer, and the celebrations can continue for up to two weeks.

Nowruz is a time of joyous renewal. Visits with friends and family, a clean house and new clothes, and special spring foods are traditional ways to celebrate the holiday. Perhaps the most enduring image of Nowruz is gathering together with friends and family around a bonfire. People also like to decorate with springtime flowers, like the hyacinths and tulips in today’s Doodle.

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Mar 22, 2017
P. Ramlee’s 88th Birthday




Born 88 years ago today, P. Ramlee’s artistic achievements left a permanent mark on the cultural history of Malaysia. P. Ramlee was a prolific actor, director, writer, and musician who contributed to more than 60 films and composed around 250 songs. After his death in 1973, Malaysians kept his legacy alive, honoring him with posthumous awards and naming halls, museums, and other buildings after him.

Today’s Doodle highlights the Malaysian legend’s diverse artistry and shows him as people best remember him — sporting a thin mustache and a checkered suit, his head cocked slightly to the side.

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August 14, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Basketball

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Aug 15, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Badminton

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Aug 16, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Football/Soccer

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Aug 16, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Rowing

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Aug 18, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Table Tennis

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Aug 19, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Swimming

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Aug 20, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Athletics

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Aug 21, 2008
Beijing Olympic Games - High Jump

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Aug 22, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Martial Arts

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Aug 23, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Baseball

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Aug 24, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Closing Ceremony

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Aug 24, 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Closing Ceremony [Middle East]

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Aug 27, 2008

Tomato Festival 2008





La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the East of Spain 30 kilometres [19 mi] from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. Since 1945 it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities in Buñol.