Google doodles

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18 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Fencing

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19 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Weight Lifting

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20 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Football

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22 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Tennis

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23 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Table Tennis

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24 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Synchronised Swimming

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25 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Hurdles

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26 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Taekwondo

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27 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Gymnastics

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28 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Volleyball

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29 Aug 2004
2004 Athens Olympic Games - Closing Ceremony

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22 Sept 2004
Ray Charles' 74th Birthday





Ray Charles Robinson [September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004] was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother Ray". He was often referred to as "The Genius". Charles was blinded during childhood due to glaucoma.

Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic. He contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums.^[7][8][9] While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.

Charles' 1960 hit "Georgia On My Mind" was the first of his three career No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. His 1962 album Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music became his first album to top the Billboard 200. Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 44 on the US R&B singles chart, 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, 2 on the Hot Country singles charts.

Charles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but his music was also influenced by Louis Jordan and Charles Brown. He had a lifelong friendship and occasional partnership with Quincy Jones. Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles "the only true genius in show business," although Charles downplayed this notion. Billy Joel said, "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley".

For his musical contributions, Charles received the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Polar Music Prize. He won 17 Grammy Awards, including 5 posthumously. Charles was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked Charles No. 10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and No. 2 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

[9A]

4 Oct 2004
Lunar X Prize









The Google Lunar XPRIZE [GLXP], sometimes referred to as Moon 2.0, was a 2007–2018 inducement prize space competition organized by the X Prize Foundation, and sponsored by Google. The challenge called for privately funded teams to be the first to land a lunar rover on the Moon, travel 500 meters, and transmit back to Earth high-definition video and images.

The original deadline was the end of 2014, with enhanced prize money for a landing by 2012. In 2015, XPRIZE announced that the competition deadline would be extended to December 2017 if at least one team could secure a verified launch contract by 31 December 2015. Two teams secured such a launch contract, and the deadline was extended. In August 2017, the deadline was extended again, to 31 March 2018.

Entering 2018, five teams remained in the competition: SpaceIL, Moon Express, Synergy Moon, Team Indus, and Team Hakuto, having secured verified launch contracts with Spaceflight Industries, Rocket Lab, Interorbital Systems, and ISRO [jointly for the last two teams].
On 23 January 2018, the X Prize Foundation announced that "no team would be able to make a launch attempt to reach the Moon by the [31 March 2018] deadline... and the US$30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE will go unclaimed." On 5 April 2018, the X Prize Foundation announced that the Lunar XPRIZE would continue as a non-cash competition.

On 11 April 2019, the SpaceIL spacecraft crashed while attempting to land on the moon. The SpaceIL team was awarded a $1 million "Moonshot Award" by the X Prize Foundation in recognition of touching the surface of the Moon.

[9A]

11 Nov 2004
Remembrance Day 2004

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8 Feb 2005
Lunar New Year 2005 - China

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22 Apr 2005
Earth Day 2005

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18 Jun 2005
Father's Day 2005

[9A]

26 September 2015
200th Anniversary of the Dutch Kingdom









In 1815, William I hoisted a crown upon his head.


For the next two centuries, the small yet mighty Netherlands took shape through a set of visionary milestones: in 1848, the freedoms of assembly, association, and education became rights for Dutch citizens. In 1863, slavery was abolished. In 1958, the Dutch co-founded the European Union. Now, 200 years later, the Netherlands prides itself on its openness, inclusion, and unwavering respect for the democratic rule of law. Plus, it’s one of the happiest countries in the world. Which, if you’ve seen the landscapes, might not be so surprising...

[9A]

27 Sept 2015
Google's 17th Birthday







In the world of computer programming, 17 is widely considered the least random number. To assume we made it this far without a little luck, though, would be like assuming lava lamps, turtlenecks, and servers held together by building blocks are harbingers of success.

[9A]

27 Sept 2015
Chuseok 2015







Once a year, Koreans flock from the big city to visit their ancestral hometowns to celebrate Chuseok, a time of thankfulness and memorial. Along with friends and family, they dedicate the next three days to celebrating the harvest with traditional feasts of songpyeon and hangwa, rice wines like dongdongju, and games and dances like Ssireum and Ganggangsullae.

Like other autumn equinox festivals across the world, Koreans spend Chuseok giving thanks for the good things in their lives. It’s also a time to venerate ancestors whose spirits watch over the living. After a morning memorial service and a special feast [Charye], the people of Korea honor their ancestors by visiting their gravesites [Seongmyo] and tidying up the surrounding area [Beolcho].

Created by Kevin Laughlin, today’s Doodle illustrates the vibrant variations of songpyeon, rice cakes stuffed with beans and nuts and steamed over pine needles. Songpyeon is typically the centerpiece of Chuseok feasts, garnishing the celebration with fragrance and color.

[9A]

27 September 2006
Google's 8th Birthday

[9A]

23 October 2018
Shamsur Rahman’s 89th Birthday







In the final stanza of his poem, “Shadhinota Tumi” [“Ode to Freedom”], the Bengali poet Shamsur Rahman defined freedom as:

“A garden room, the koel-bird's song
The old banyan tree's gleaming leaves
My notebook of poems written just as I please."

Born in Dacca, British India, [now Dhaka, Bangladesh] on this day in 1929, Rahman was a poet, journalist, columnist, and advocate for human rights and democracy. While studying English literature at the University of Dhaka he joined a student group known as the Progressive Writers and Artists Association, reading his verse at Madhu’s Canteen and staunchly supporting the movement to retain Bengali as the official language of East Pakistan [now Bangladesh].

After graduating with honors in 1953, he went on to make his living working for Radio Pakistan and editing the daily newspaper Dainik Bangla, he is remembered as the “unofficial poet laureate of Bangladesh.” Rahman published more than sixty books of poetry, ranging from love sonnets to patriotic verse to whimsical lines about his cat. His well known 1971 poem, “Shadhinota Tumi” [“Ode to Freedom”], was written in the throes of Bangladesh’s battle for independence from Pakistan.

Rahman’s life and work earned him numerous accolades including the Bangla Academy Award, Ekushey Padak and the Shadhinota Award, the highest honor given by the government of his beloved homeland.

[9A]

31 Jan 2019
Celebrating Mercedes Sosa







"I never thought that I would sing for a living," said Mercedes Sosa, the powerful Argentinian vocalist widely known as “the voice of the voiceless ones.” Also known as “La Negra” due to her long, black hair, Sosa’s powerful voice afforded her opportunities to perform at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum in Rome. A driving force behind the “Nueva Canción” movement, her songs married traditional South American folk music with powerful lyrics advocating for human rights.

Born on July 9, 1935 in the northern Argentine province of Tucumán, Mercedes Sosa’s family lineage came from the indigenous Aymara people. Her heritage deeply influenced her stylistically and by 15, she won a radio talent contest for her traditional folk music. A dramatic tipping point of her career happened on this day in 1965, when singer Jorge Cafrune invited Sosa on stage during his set at Argentina’s renowned Cosquín Folk Festival. Her performance received a massive ovation and by the following year, she had signed a recording contract.

Many of Sosa's best-known songs were written by others, but her performances of songs like Violeta Parra’s "Gracias a la Vida" [Thanks to Life] and Horacio Guarany’s “Si Se Calla El Cantor” [If the Singer is Silenced] helped catapult her into fame. She released some 70 albums over the course of nearly a six-decade career, exploring diverse genres such as Argentinian tango, Cuban nueva trova, Brazilian bossa nova, rock, and sacred music. In later years, she collaborated with artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Sting, Joan Baez, and even Shakira.

Fearlessly singing truth to power, she went into exile from her homeland for several years and was finally able to return home in 1982. She continued to perform around the world and later became a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.

[9A]

26 Jan 2019
India Republic Day 2019





The Constitution of India came into force on this day in 1950, an anniversary celebrated each year as Republic Day. Republic Day is one of only three national holidays celebrated all across India, the other two being Independence Day on August 15 and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2.

Although India’s constitution was adopted in November 1949, the date January 26 was chosen for the document to take effect, because it commemorates Pūrna Swarāj Day, which took place exactly 20 years earlier. On January 26, 1930, the Indian National Congress issued a bold resolution declaring complete freedom from the British Raj. From that point, it was only a matter of time before Independence Day, followed by full sovereignty.

Celebrations take place all across the subcontinent, with the epicenter in the capital city of Delhi, where a parade runs along Rajpath near the President’s Palace. Today's guest artist, Reshidev RK, recreated the colorful celebrations and depicted the famous parade floats that decorate the city, each representing a different component of India’s history: environment, architecture, textiles, wildlife, monuments, and farming. Observances last for four days, coming to a conclusion on January 29th with the Beating Retreat ceremony, featuring the bands of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.

[9A]

26 Jan 2019
Australia Day 2019





Today’s Doodle celebrates the natural beauty of the Fitzgerald River National Park, located on Western Australia’s rugged south coast. The land around the coastal hills known as “the Barrens” is teeming with life. Stretching across the Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Jerramungup, the park protects one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.

More than 1,800 species of plants live in the park—75 of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The park is also home to 184 bird species, 41 reptile species, 12 frog species, and 22 mammal species, including the adorable honey possum featured in today’s Doodle. These mouse-sized marsupials, also known as “Noolbenger,” have prehensile tails longer than their bodies, pointed snouts, and long tongues covered with bristles to help them drink nectar from native flowers like the Banksia. Tiny but thirsty, one honey possum can drink up to 7 milliliters of nectar per day—roughly equivalent to a human drinking 50 liters of soda! They also help the plants reproduce by spreading pollen as they feast. ​

[9A]

20 Jan 2019
Louay Kayali’s 85th Birthday







Today’s Doodle celebrate the work of Louay Kayali, a modern painter born in Syria and trained in Italy whose quietly powerful portraits convey the strength, resilience, and nobility of everyday folk—bakers, fisherman, and pregnant mothers.

Born in Aleppo on this day in 1934, Louay Kayali began painting at the age of 11 and held his first exhibition when he was 18 at Al-Tajhis Al-Oula School. Awarded a scholarship, Kayali moved to Italy in 1956 for advanced studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and went on to represent Syria at the 1960 Venice Biennale—a prestigious international art exhibition.

Joining the faculty of the Higher Institute for the Fine Arts in Damascus in 1962, Kayali’s instruction made a profound impact on future generations of Syrian artists. During the mid-1960s, he began a series of charcoal works which marked a departure from his previous paintings. The emotionally challenging images in his 1967 traveling exhibition “Fi Sabil al-Qadiyyah” [For the Sake of the Cause] depicted human suffering, reflecting upheaval in the Arab world. Upset by scathing reviews of the show, the artist announced that he would no longer paint, and destroyed much of his work.

Fortunately, he did return to painting, showing new work throughout the 1970s, including a joint exhibition with his old friend Fateh al-Moudarres.

On what would have been his 85th birthday, we remember Louay Kayali, a passionate artist who aimed to paint exactly what he saw—and felt.

[9A]

17 Jan 2019
Dalida’s 86th Birthday

“Mon petit Bambino
Ta musique est plus jolie
Que tout le ciel de l’Italie”[[“My little Bambino
Your music is more beautiful
Than the whole sky of Italy”)—Dalida “Bambino” [[1956)

Today’s Doodle celebrates Dalida, a French singer and actress, whose aching voice and real-life heartaches earned her a cult following worldwide. Her breakthrough single“Bambino,” tells the tale of a heartbroken boy who plays beautiful music on his mandolin. The song became a hit in France, spending most of 1956 at the top of the charts. It also kicked off the artist’s 30-year singing career during which she would sell millions of records.

Born Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti on this day in 1933, Dalida grew up in the suburbs of Cairo, Egypt. After being crowned Miss Egypt in 1954, she landed her first movie role, using the stage name “Delila,” in homage to Hedy Lamarr’s character in the Hollywood classic Samson & Delilah. She changed it slightly to “Dalida” after moving to Paris in late 1954 to pursue a career on screen. To support herself in the new city, Dalida began singing in cabarets where her talent was discovered. She soon signed her first record deal and went on to release more than 45 studio albums and hold countless concerts all over the world. Dalida’s multicultural background and her ability to sing in French, Arabic, Italian, and many other languages enabled her to connect with audiences across the globe. When performing in Egypt, she was known for asking audiences “mabsoteen?” [Arabic for “are you happy?”]. Although her life was touched by tragedy in the end, Dalida’s soulful music continues to bring joy to her fans around the globe.

[9A]

15 Jan 2019
Celebrating Sake Dean Mahomed








A man of many talents, Sake Dean Mahomed was an entrepreneur who made a name for himself by building cultural connections between India and England. On this day in 1794, he became the first Indian author to publish a book in English and later, to open an Indian restaurant in England—ushering in what would become one of Great Britain’s most popular cuisines. Mahomed went on to find success as the “The Shampooing Surgeon of Brighton,” opening a spa in the British seaside town that attracted the rich and royal.

In 1810, after moving to London, Mahomed opened the Hindostanee Coffee House, Britain’s first Indian restaurant. The Epicure’s Almanack—an early London restaurant guide—hailed it as a place for nobility to enjoy hookah and Indian dishes of the highest perfection. Nonetheless, Mahomed was forced to close his luxurious restaurant in 1812 and sought to reinvent himself.

Moving his family to the beachside town of Brighton, he opened a spa named Mahomed’s Baths offering luxurious herbal steam baths. His specialty was a combination of a steam bath and an Indian therapeutic massage—a treatment he named “shampooing” inspired by the Hindi word champissage meaning “a head massage.” He also published a book about the therapeutic benefits of the treatment with testimonials from his patients. In 1822, King George IV appointed Mahomed as his personal ‘shampooing surgeon’, which greatly improved his business. A portrait of Mahomed hangs in the Brighton Museum, commemorating this man who helped merge the cultures of his two homelands.

[9A]

1 May 2021
Go Tik Swan's 90th birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates Indonesian artist Go Tik Swan, a contemporary master of the ancient art form of designing fabric with hot wax known as batik.

Go Tik Swan was born on this day in 1931 in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia. He came of age frequenting his grandfather’s batik workshops, where he absorbed Javanese cultural knowledge from local craftspeople. Fascinated by his ancestry, Swan further explored his heritage by studying Javanese literature and dance at the University of Indonesia.

It was during one of his college dance performances that Indonesia’s president caught wind of Swan’s family background in batik manufacturing and commissioned him to create a new batik style; one that he believed could transcend division and unite the Indonesian people. In the 1950s, Swan fulfilled the president’s request by combining regional batik techniques to introduce “Batik Indonesia.”

Swan held such high reverence for his craft that he considered each piece of batik to carry philosophical meaning, even developing a motif in the 70s entitled Kembang Bangah [“Rotten Flowers''] as a love letter to his national identity. An expert in Javanese culture, he was also a master of kris [an ancient Javanese ceremonial dagger tradition] and a skilled player of gamelan [a popular orchestral form of traditional Indonesian music]. He gave back so much to his heritage, the Surakarta government honored him with the noble title of Panembahan Hardjonegoro.

[9A]

4 May 2021
Geta Brătescu’s 95th birthday







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

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

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

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

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

[9A]

7 September 2020
Kim Sowol’s 118th birthday








Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Eusong Lee, honors the 118th birthday of Korean poet Kim Sowol, whose beloved 1922 lyric poem “The Azaleas” [“Chindallae kkot”] is widely considered a masterpiece of the form. Celebrated for his contributions to early modern Korean poetry, Sowol composed many poems in the familiar cadence of traditional Korean folk music, which added to the broad popularity of his work.

Kim Sowol was born Kim Jeong-sik on this day in 1902 in present-day North Korea’s North Pyongan Province. As a teenager, Jeong-sik attended the esteemed Osan Middle School, where he became a lifelong protégé of the teacher and poet Kim Eok. In 1920, Jeong-sik published his first poems in a literary magazine, after which he assumed the pen-name Sowol, which translates into “White Moon.”
While still a high school student in 1922, Sowol published his famous work “The Azaleas.” This melancholic poem of love and loss inspired the colorful burst of Azalea flowers that surrounds his portrait in today’s Doodle artwork.

He went on to compose over 150 literary works and in 1925 published his sole collection of poems, also named “The Azaleas.” Sowol’s lifetime of heartfelt compositions cemented his legacy as one of Korea’s most treasured poets, and to this day many Koreans can recite his poems by heart. The annual Sowol Poetry Prize, established in 1987 in Kim Sowol’s honor, is considered one of the most prestigious awards in Korean poetry.

[9A]

17 May 2017
Norway National Day 2017







Hurray for the red, white and blue! On Norway’s National Day, celebrated today, local children carry tri-color flags and stride with marching bands in school parades, some even passing by Oslo’s royal palace. Buildings are also cloaked in Norwegian flags, while parade-goers wear red, white and blue ribbons or bunad [traditional folk garments]. Music fills the air, with repertoires including songs such as “Norway in Red, White and Blue” and “Seventeenth of May I’m So Glad.” And of course there’s food, glorious food, especially favorite junk food treats like hot dogs and ice cream.

National Day was first established in 1814 to recognize the signing of the Constitution of Norway in Eidsvoll, which made Norway an independent kingdom under Swedish rule. By the 1860s, the day had transformed from a patriotic tribute to a celebration for children, with the first barnetog [children’s parade] held in Christiania [Oslo] in 1870. This historic day belongs to Norway’s children.

Colored in the hues of the national flag, our upbeat Doodle cheers on the young Norwegians who make this day such a joyous celebration.

[9A]

6 August 2017
Luang Pradit Phairoh’s 136th Birthday






136 years ago, Luang Pradit Phairoh was born Sorn Silapabanleng to a musician's family in the Amphawa District of Thailand. As a young boy, he accompanied his father and performed as part of a traditional Thai piphat [[musical ensemble) across the countryside. At one of these soirees, his musical genius was discovered by a nobleman, and he encouraged 19-year-old Sorn to move to the capital to study music.

Today, he is regarded as the greatest composer of traditional Thai music.

Luang Pradit tutored some of Thailand’s finest musicians and composers, including King Rama VII and Her Majestic Queen Rambhai Barni. In 1925, he was titled ‘Luang’ [a title similar to ‘Sir’], and in keeping with the tradition of the times, was also renamed with the honorific, Pradit Phairoh – loosely translated as ‘Master of Symphony’.

Today’s Doodle depicts Luang Pradit Phairoh, against the backdrop of the ranat ek – a type of xylophone that forms the centerpiece of a traditional piphat. Luang Pradit was particularly known for his mastery of this instrument.

[9A]

19 November 2019
200th Anniversary of Museo del Prado







Today’s Doodle celebrates the 200th anniversary of Madrid’s Museo del Prado. Opened on this day in 1819, the museum is home to thousands of Spanish paintings from the 12th century to the 20th century, including masterpieces by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Diego Velázquez, amongst other European masters.

Designed in 1785 by architect Juan de Villanueva, the building was repurposed by King Ferdinand VII and Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza from a center for the natural sciences to a public gallery in 1819. Originally called the Royal Museum, it was later named Museo Nacional del Prado. With a collection of over 5,000 pieces, the museum pursued an expansion project that increased public access and reduced crowding in the main building.

The nearby Jerónimos Cloister was restored and incorporated to create the Museo del Prado Campus, allowing the museum to showcase the masterpieces of a new era. The Bicentenary exhibit, “A Place of Memory,” pays homage to the museum’s history through some of its darkest periods and offers a glimpse into how the museum has transformed into the institution it is today.

The museum is looking to the future on its 200th anniversary, taking time to ensure that diversity is embraced at the dawn of its third century. Throughout the year, the collection exhibited artists from Latin America such as Matrimonios de Martín de Loyola con Beatriz Ñusta y de Juan de Borja con Lorenza Ñusta de Loyola, an extraordinary example of the viceregal painting, coming from the Pedro de Osma Museum in Lima, Peru, and women in A Tale of Two Women Painters: Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana and Twelve Photographers. Guests should be able to see most of the museum in a couple of hours, but they might lose track of time trying to unpack the scenes in Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights.”

Happy two centuries, Museo del Prado!

[9A]

19 November 2014
Ofra Haza's 57th Birthday








Our homepage in Israel features a portrait of singer Ofra Haza for her 57th birthday. Popular in both her homeland and countries across the Middle East, Haza gained wider international recognition after she won second place in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest.

[9A]

18 November 2017
Pedro Infante’s 100th Birthday






What’s in a name? If nicknames count, the answers are infinite for beloved Mexican singer and actor Pedro Infante. Often compared to Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, and Elvis Presley, the artist’s monikers — from "El Rey de Rancheras" to "El ídolo de Guamúchil" to "El Inmortal" — illustrate his myriad talents and enduring charm.

Born in 1917 in the fishing town of Mazatlán, Infante apprenticed to a carpenter and learned music from his father. Though deft at many instruments [he even crafted his own guitar], his voice was his most exceptional talent. As part of his father’s band, “La Rabia” in his teenage days, Infante experimented with the style that made him most famous. Mixing feeling with technique, his soulful croon forever changed the way the mariachi was sung and he helped popularize the genre around the world.

But singing was just the first act in Infante’s story. In 1943 he starred in "La Feria de las Flores," and also created his first musical record, "El Soldado Raso." This marked the beginning of a 14 year career in which Infante acted in nearly 60 films and recorded 366 songs, becoming one of the most prominent and loved figures in "La época de Oro del Cine Mexicano" [the Golden Era of Mexican cinema].

As today’s Doodle shows, Infante’s passions went beyond stage and screen, though they often appeared intertwined. An avid boxer off-camera, Infante stepped into the ring for 1953’s "Pepe El Toro," one of his most iconic roles. In "A Toda Máquina," Infante played the part of a motorcycle cop, dignifying the profession and immortalizing high-speed “acrobacias” — a sequence of dizzying, two-wheeled pirouettes that are still performed in many of Mexico’s parades and civil events today.

Infante was posthumously awarded a Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in "Tizoc," his last film. Today we celebrate what would have been the artist’s 100th birthday with scenes illustrating the vibrant parallels between his life and work — all beginning with a classic Infante pose.

[9A]

19 November 2011
Mikhail Lomonosov's 300th Birthday







Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of mass in chemical reactions. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art, philology, optical devices and others. Lomonosov was also a poet and influenced the formation of the modern Russian literary language.

[9A]

27 August 2019
Gladys Elphick’s 115th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Australian Aboriginal community leader Gladys Elphick, known as “Aunty Glad,” who dedicated herself towards social justice in Australia.

Born on this day in 1904 a proud Kaurna and Ngadjuri woman, she became the founding president of the Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia, bringing about important social reforms. Despite leaving school at age 12, she was a tireless advocate for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women alike, inspiring many to stand up for their rights.

After the death of her first husband, Aunty Glad moved to Adelaide in 1939, supporting her two children. During the 1940s, she joined the Aborigines Advancement League of South Australia, the country’s first group for Aboriginal women. In the mid-1960s, she served on the activities committee supporting important initiatives such as opening a community center for adult education, medical, and legal services. Her efforts led to the establishment of many other institutions, including the College of Aboriginal Education and the Aboriginal Medical Service.

In 1971, Aunty was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and named South Australian of the Year in 1984. Since 2003, the Gladys Elphick Award has been awarded to recognize Aboriginal women working to advance the status of Indigenous people through a wide range of mediums.

[9A]

3 May 2021
US Teacher Appreciation Week 2021 begins!






Happy U.S. Teacher Appreciation Week 2021!

Today’s interactive, animated Doodle honors educators across the nation by inviting us all to listen to five real stories of their experiences and the lasting impact they have on their students every single day. Created in partnership with StoryCorps and US-based guest animators Lindsey Deschamps, Monique Wray, and Vrinda Zaveri, today’s Doodle features stories across a spectrum of backgrounds and eras—including the COVID-19 pandemic which has brought unprecedented challenges to the lives of educators and students everywhere.

As you listen to these touching stories, we encourage you to think of a time when a teacher changed your life for the better. Do they know the impact they had on your life? Visit StoryCorps to #ThankAnEducator by using self-directed recording tools to interview a special teacher in your life—or to have a conversation reflecting on their impact with a friend or fellow student. These moments of gratitude will be archived in the Library of Congress.

To educators everywhere: We appreciate you!

[9A]

3 May 2018
Celebrating Georges Méliès






"My friends, I address you all tonight as you truly are; wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, magicians... Come and dream with me."

—Georges Méliès


Today’s first-ever Virtual Reality [VR] / 360° interactive Doodle—created in collaboration with the Google Spotlight Stories, Google Arts & Culture, and Cinémathèque Française teams—celebrates Georges Méliès, the trailblazing French illusionist and film director on the release date of what is considered to be one of his greatest masterpieces: À la conquête du pôle [The Conquest of the Pole, 1912]. Méliès pioneered numerous technical and narrative film techniques in the early days of cinema, primarily in the use of special effects and creation of some of the earliest films of the science fiction genre.

Enjoy the full Google Doodle VR experience on mobile, Cardboard, or Daydream by downloading the Google Spotlight Stories app now on Google Play or in the App Store. You can also experience the Doodle without a headset as a 360° video on the Google Spotlight Stories YouTube Channel!

[9A]

30 Apr 2018
Levi Celerio’s 108th Birthday




Today's Doodle celebrates prolific Filipino musical phenom, Levi Celerio. The composer and lyricist wrote over 4,000 songs, many still popular today. With his unique talent of playing music with a leaf, Celerio received international attention as the “only leaf player in the world” by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Levi Celerio was born in Manila in 1910. With a scholarship to the Academy of Music in Manila, he became the youngest member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.

His folk, Christmas, and love songs embodied Filipino life and traditions. Any Filipino born in 1947 and beyond was probably lulled to sleep to the beloved lullaby Sa Ugoy ng Duyan [English: “In the cradle's rocking”]. Fifty years later, Celerio was named National Artist for Music and Literature, the highest national honor recognizing significant contributions to Philippine arts and cultural identity. Many of his songs written for local movies, some becoming the films’ titles, earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Film Academy of the Philippines.

In later years, Celerio became a cultural icon after appearing on The Merv Griffin Show and That’s Incredible! television shows. He continued to play public concerts at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at a local Quezon City bar. On his 100th birthday, the Philippines honored him with a stamp.

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30 Apr 2018
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauß’s 241st Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the birthday of Johann Carl Friedrich Gauß, one of history's most influential mathematicians — and it was the scholar, himself, who worked out the date. While his mother couldn’t read or write, she knew her son was born eight days before the Feast of the Ascension [39 days after Easter]. At the age of 22, Gauß set about using math to solve the mystery, devising a formula to compute the date on which Easter fell in any given year, and his exact birthday — April 30th.

It was far from the first time Gauß exhibited mathematical gifts; at the age of three, he found an error in his father’s business payroll accounts, and by the age of five, he was made responsible for overseeing them. At age seven, he shocked his teachers by almost instantly summing integers from 1 to 100, using a formula he created himself.

Gauß made substantial contributions to the fields of Algebra, Astronomy, and non-Euclidean geometries. He developed the Theorema Egregium, a method of calculating the curvature of a surface using angles and distances, as well as Gaußian statistics [the bell curve] and the Gauß Divergence Theorem. At the age of 24, he wrote “Disquisitiones Arithmeticae” which laid the foundation for modern number theory and is widely regarded as one of the most influential mathematics texts of all time.

In fact, his contributions to the world of mathematics remain so vital that one of the highest honors in mathematics, the Gauß Prize, bears his name.

Today’s Doodle was created by guest artist Bene Rohlmann and highlights several of the things for which Gauß is widely known. The star, found on the Gauß statue in his hometown, represents the heptadecagon he constructed. He invented the sextant/heliotrope for geodetic surveying, and the ellipse represents his work in astronomy. The curve shows a triple version of the normal distribution, which he popularized, and E represents Sigma, the mathematical symbol for a sum.

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30 Apr 2018
Dadasaheb Phalke’s 148th Birthday









Almost 150 years ago on this date, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke was born in Trimbak in present-day Maharashtra.

The son of a scholar, Phalke developed a keen interest in the arts and studied at various points, photography, lithography, architecture, engineering, and even magic. After stints as a painter, draftsman, theatrical set designer, and lithographer, he chanced upon Alice Guy's silent film, The Life of Christ [1910)].

Already deeply influenced by the works of painter, Raja Ravi Varma, Phalke resolved to bring Indian culture to the silver screen. He traveled to London to learn filmmaking from Cecil Hepworth.
In 1913, India’s first silent film, Raja Harishchandra was released. Phalke’s magic touch with special effects and mythology made it a huge hit, and it was followed by a dozen more.

In 1969, the Government of India paid homage to this visionary filmmaker by establishing the Dadasaheb Phalke award recognizing lifetime contributions to Indian cinema.

Today’s Doodle by guest artist Aleesha Nandhra shows a young Dadasaheb in action as he went about directing the first few gems in the history of Indian cinema. Happy Birthday!

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27 Apr 2018
King's Day 2018





Happy Koningsdag, or King’s Day, to all Dutch people everywhere! Each year on April 27, Dutch families all through the country and around the world partake in commemorating the birthday of King Willem-Alexander.

Planning and preparation for the day is the responsibility of the Oranjecomité, or Orange Committees, sourced from local communities. These groups will plan concerts, parties and vrijmarkt, or flea markets, a longstanding tradition on King’s Day. While towns across the Netherlands will participate in the festivities, the largest events take place in the capital city ofAmsterdam. Over a million visitors, decked in orange clothing [and some with orange hair], flock to the city to celebrate in the streets and canals, and honor their country.

Today’s Doodle depicts the Dutch game of Koekhappen, traditionally played by children to celebrate King’s Day. Koekhappen involves a piece of soft sweet cake, such as gingerbread, tied to a string. The game begins as players either close their eyes or are blindfolded, the cake is held just above their heads and each must try to take bites of the cake without opening their eyes!

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27 Apr 2018
Celebrating Mahadevi Varma





Born in 1907, Mahadevi Varma was a transformative poet, essayist, and advocate for women’s rights in India. She spent her childhood near the city of Allahabad, where her father was a professor. While both parents encouraged their daughter to pursue her education, it was Varma’s mother who inspired her daughter to write in Sanskrit and Hindi.

While pursuing a masters degree in Sanskrit, Varma penned her first verses in secret — only to be discovered by her roommate and friend, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan [herself a well-known poet]. As modern Hindi became more accepted in literary circles, Varma and Subhadra grew together as writers, reading aloud and publishing their work in the language. Today, Varma is considered one of the foundational poets of the Chhayavad movement in Hindi literature.

Varma’s poignant poetry, and later, essays, often centered on the experience of being a woman. Her feminist work appeared in magazines and books, and her collection of short stories, “Sketches from My Past,” portrays the women she encountered while principal of an all-girls school. While she was a firm supporter of women’s rights, Varma also explored the topics of tradition and the past with great fondness.

Varma received the Jnanpith Award on this date in 1982 for her outstanding contributions to Indian literature.

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26 Apr 2018
Fanny Blankers-Koen’s 100th Birthday




On a rainy summer day in 1948, onlookers at London’s Wembley track saw an unexpected athlete make history. Dutch runner and 30-year-old mother of two Fanny Blankers-Koen outstrided her opponents in the women’s 200m by 0.7 seconds—the highest margin in Olympics 200m history and a record that still stands today.

Born near Baarn, the Netherlands, in 1918, Blankers-Koen had set a national record for the women’s 800m by age 17. At 18, she competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, placing fifth in the 4x100m and sixth in high jump.

After the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were canceled, many thought Blankers-Koen would never make another Olympics. When she declared her intentions to compete in the 1948 London Games, she received letters from many criticizing her for continuing to race despite being a mother and insisting she stay home.

But words couldn’t break Blankers-Koen’s stride. She captured four golds during the 1948 London Games, winning the 100m, 80m hurdles, 200m, and 4x100m relay to become the first woman to win four medals in a single Olympics. Her quick feet didn’t just set records. Blankers-Koen’s accomplishments flattened stereotypes of female athletes at the time, earning her the nickname “The Flying Housewife.”

Today, we celebrate what would’ve been her 100th birthday with a Doodle that imagines her racing down the track, smiling mid-stride.

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25 Apr 2018
Hung Kings Commemoration Day





On the 10th day of the third lunar month, Vietnam celebrates Hùng Kings Commemoration Day [also known as Hùng King Temple Festival day]. An official holiday since 2007, the celebration pays tribute to the Hùng Kings, the 18 emperors of Vietnam who, according to legend, ruled from 2879-258 BC and founded Văn Lang [the former name of Vietnam]. Immortalizing the Vietnamese proverb “when drinking water, think of its source” [uống nước nhớ nguồn], Hùng Kings Commemoration Day is a joyous way for young people to learn about their country’s ancestors and ancient rituals.

Today, celebrants from near and far make the pilgrimage to the Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain near Việt Trì, where, as the story goes, the first Hùng King, Kinh Dương Vương, is said to have established his kingdom.

While some gather at the foot of the mountain with sticks of incense and food, others make the procession to the High Temple at the summit, preparing palanquins and sacred offerings, carrying wreaths from the country’s leaders, or dressing in colorful costumes, all accompanied by the sound of bronze drums. Activities like Chèo singing, games of chess, and rice cooking add to the fun.

Today's Doodle captures the spirit of this vibrant, culturally significant holiday with a depiction of the dragon dance and the colorful banners that lead the march to the temple relic site.

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25 April 2015
100th anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli





Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps [ANZAC] who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War [1914–1918].

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24 Apr 2015
Doodle 4 Google 2015 – Russia Winner

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23 Apr 2015
St. George's Day 2015