Google doodles

[9A]

2 Nov 2018
Day of the Dead 2018






Day of the Dead [or El Día de los Muertos] is an ancient holiday dating back thousands of years to the Aztec Empire. In its essence, it's a joyous occasion that’s about dispelling fear and embracing the cycle of life.

Families prepare for the celebration far in advance, cleaning the house and decorating it with fragrant marigold flowers and intricate tissue-paper cutouts. Playful calacas and calaveras [skeletons and skulls], are usually seen in festive attire, enjoying [after]life to the fullest.

Colorful ofrendas or altars are set up in many homes, surrounded by favorite food and drink, as well as photographs and cherished mementos, plus sweet Pan de Muertos and sugar skulls. Burning candles and incense is also customary to set the mood, evoke the spirit world, and serve as a reminder that death is just another part of life and that human connections will always endure.
Today's Doodle features its own ofrenda, handcrafted by Doodler Nate Swinehart out of clay.
Feliz Día de los Muertos!

[9A]

5 Nov 2018
Michael Dertouzos’ 82nd Birthday






A computer scientist who foresaw how the internet would impact the lives of everyday people, Dertouzos predicted the popularity of personal computers and helped to maximize their potential as director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Laboratory for Computer Science.

Born in Athens, Greece on this day in 1936, Dertouzos was the son of a concert pianist and an admiral in the Greek navy. Upon graduation from Athens College, he attended the University of Arkansas on a Fulbright Scholarship and earned a Ph.D. from MIT, joining the faculty in 1968.

Under Dertouzos’ guidance, the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science grew into a thriving research center employing hundreds of people collaborating on innovations like distributed systems, time-sharing computers, the ArpaNet, and RSA encryption, an algorithm used to ensure secure data transmission. Dertouzos worked to make LCS the North American home of the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C], an alliance of companies promoting the Web's evolution and interconnectivity. Dertouzos recruited Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, to run it.

As early as 1980, Dertouzos was writing about “The Information Marketplace” a concept that he expanded on in his book 1997 book What Will Be: How the New World of Information Will Change Our Lives. “If we strip the hype away,” he observed, “a simple, crisp and inevitable picture emerges -- of an Information Marketplace where people and their computers will buy, sell and freely exchange information and information work.”

Insisting on the importance of bringing “technology into our lives, and not vice versa,” Dertouzos spurred LCS to head up the 1999 Oxygen project in partnership with MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab. The goal of this massive project was to make computers "as natural a part of our environment as the air we breathe."

As reflected in the title of his final book, The Unfinished Revolution: Human-Centered Computers and What They Can Do For Us, Dertouzos’ belief in technology was always grounded in his desire to unleash the full potential of humanity.

[9A]

4 October 2017
Violeta Parra’s 100th Birthday




Today we celebrate the 100th birthday of Violeta Parra, the Chilean composer, folk singer, social activist, author, and artist.

Born in the small, southern Chilean town of San Fabián de Alico, Parra picked up the guitar at an early age and began writing songs with her siblings. She started her career performing in small venues, later traveling across Chile to record a large breadth of traditional Chilean folk music. Her increasing popularity eventually earned her her own radio show and an invitation to perform at a youth festival in Poland. While in Europe, she also explored the visual arts, creating oil paintings, wire sculptures, ceramics, and burlap tapestries called arpilleras which were exhibited in the Louvre Palace in Paris in 1964.

She is perhaps best remembered as the “Mother of Latin American folk,” pioneering the Nueva canción chilena, a renewal of Chilean folk traditions that blossomed into a movement which celebrated the fight for social justice throughout Latin America. Upon her return to Chile in 1965, she established Centro Cultural La Carpa de La Reina, a community center for the arts and political activism.

Violeta’s artistic legacy shines through in this selection from “Gracias a la vida”:

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me two stars, which when I open them,
Perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the tall sky its starry backdrop,
And within the multitudes the one that I love.

[9A]

7 Oct 2017
Begum Akhtar’s 103rd Birthday






Today we celebrate the 103rd birthday of Begum Akhtar — born Aktharibai Faizabadi — one of India’s most iconic singers.

In spite of early personal tragedies, Begum Akhtar’s mother recognized her daughter’s gift at a young age. With the help of family members, she sent her daughter for vocal training with some of the Ustads [masters] of the time. Though her soulful and melancholic voice was featured in many movies, Begum Akhtar ultimately returned to classical music, where she composed many of her own melodies and steeped herself in the rhythm of ghazals.

After marrying, Begum Akhtar gave up singing. However in 1949, deteriorating health drew her back to her calling. Weeping tears of jubilation, she finally returned to a Lucknow studio to record and continued to share her gift with the world until her death in 1974. Her rich voice was comforting, particularly during the years India underwent upheaval caused by partition.

With nearly 400 songs to her credit, Begum Akhtar’s legacy shines on in the musical traditions she loved over her lifetime.

[9A]

9 Oct 2017
Bagong Kussudiardja’s 89th Birthday







On this date in 1928, Bagong Kussudiardja, better known as ‘Bagong,’ was born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A world-renowned choreographer, painter, sculptor, and poet who marched to the beat of his own drum, Bagong spent his formative years studying art, music, and Javanese court dance.

After Indonesia’s independence in 1945, Bagong yearned to expand on his classical training. He started by studying Japanese and Indian dance. From 1957-1958, he trained in the U.S. under Martha Graham, the legendary choreographer famous for her boundary-breaking techniques.

Back on home turf, Bagong incorporated those modern moves to further elevate traditional Indonesian dances. He established the Pusat Latihan Tari Bagong Kussudiardja [Center for Dance] in 1958, followed by the still-thriving Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja [Center for the Arts] in 1978. And he choreographed more than 200 dances in his creative, intricate style.

But choreography was just one part of the picture. Bagong was also revered for his batik oil paintings and watercolors. He worked in a myriad of styles, including impressionistic, abstract, and realistic.
Today’s Doodle illustrates Bagong in his element — paintbrush in hand, richly costumed dancers leaping for joy.

Happy birthday to this avant-garde Javanese artist.

[9A]

10 Oct 2017
Clare Hollingworth’s 106th Birthday





Today’s Doodle offers a glimpse into the mind of one of the world’s most inspirational and pioneering journalists, Clare Hollingworth — a woman so keen for adventure, she kept her passport within an arm’s length at all times, just in case.

Just one week after joining The Telegraph, Clare showed the world why she was called “the doyenne of war correspondents.” Venturing alone across the Germany-Poland border, she was the first to scoop the start of World War II after a windy day blew apart hessian screens, revealing a mass of German troops preparing to invade.

Daring in her approach, Hollingworth often said she was happiest roaming the world, traveling light, and ready for danger. This spirit led her reporting across the world, from working with Jewish refugees in Poland, to covering the Greek and Algerian civil wars, to being the first person to interview Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran.

Though much of her early work was not officially attributed to her, Hollingworth’s experience and bold career path led her to win Woman Journalist of the Year, James Cameron Award for Journalism, and a lifetime achievement award from What The Papers Say.

In commemoration of the gust of wind that led to her first scoop in 1939, we’re blowing out the candles for what would be Clare’s 106th birthday.

[9A]

10 Oct 2017
Fridtjof Nansen’s 156th Birthday





Today we celebrate legendary adventurer Fridtjof Nansen, who explored the world’s unknown terrain and broke new ground as an international humanitarian.

Born in Oslo, Norway in 1861, Nansen was gripped by a sense of adventure from a young age. He learned to cross-country ski as many as 50 miles in one day with minimal supplies — and sometimes with just his dog! His love of the outdoors led him to study zoology at the Royal Frederick University.

In 1888, he became the first person to lead an expedition across the snow-capped interior of Greenland. One icy adventure was not enough: just a few years later, Nansen attempted to become the first person to reach the North Pole. Although the expedition was unsuccessful, he did go farther north in latitude than any other explorer at that time.

As World War I took hold in 1914, Nansen was forced to halt his explorations and focus on research at home. However, by 1920, his interests shifted from understanding the landscape of the world to influencing the international political climate. Nansen worked to free hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war and repatriate refugees. He created the Nansen Passport, a travel document that allowed stateless refugees to emigrate and resettle. Nansen was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for helping those without a voice find a home.

Fridtjof Nansen began his career by shattering the boundaries of human exploration, and he brought the same courage and tenacity to his fight to support refugees.

[9A]

13 Oct 2017
56th Anniversary of 'Traffic Light Man'






What began as a traffic safety measure in 1960s Berlin has become an iconic symbol of the city. Today’s Doodle by guest artist Laura Edelbacher celebrates the 56th anniversary of the Ampelmännchen [which translates to “little traffic light men”] who have guided Berlin’s pedestrians for decades.

On October 13, 1961, traffic psychologist Karl Peglau met with East Berlin’s traffic commission to present his recommendation for reducing accidents involving pedestrians. His research indicated that accidents could better be avoided if pedestrians had their own traffic lights to follow, instead of relying on the same signals used by drivers.

Karl proposed two symbols: a green figure mid-stride signaling it is safe to walk and a red figure with arms outstretched meaning “stop”. He gave the little characters distinguishing traits — including a large hat and pug nose — hoping to prompt an emotional response that would drive the intended pedestrian behavior.

The first traffic light men were installed in 1969 and were so popular they even showed up in children’s cartoons. After the Berlin Wall fell, a group of East Germans called “Rescue the Ampelmännchen” managed to save the symbols after the government attempted to remove them.

[9A]

14 Oct 2017
Teachers' Day 2017 [Poland]

[9A]

15 October 2020
Celebrating Kyu Sakamoto





Today’s Doodle celebrates Japanese singer and actor Kyu Sakamoto, on the 59th anniversary of the release of the record including his iconic song “Ue o Muite Aruko” [“Let’s Look Up As We Walk”, 1961].

Following its release in English markets under the title “Sukiyaki,” the emotional song became the first Japanese track to sell a million copies as well as the first by an Asian recording artist to top the American Billboard Chart.

Kyu Sakamoto was born Hisashi Oshima on December 10th, 1941 in Kawasaki, Japan. His father’s ninth child, he was nicknamed “Kyu,” an alternate reading of his first name [[九), which translates to the number nine. Sakamoto began his career at age 16 as a back-up vocalist before he decided to take his chances as a solo artist. The move quickly paid off when he was signed to a record label the following year.

Sakamoto saw success in Japan, touting multiple pop hits and appearances in movies and TV shows. After a jazz cover of “Ue o Muite Aruko” became a hit in the U.K., Sakamoto’s original was released in the U.S. under the name “Sukiyaki,” catapulting him to international stardom. A testament to its out-of-this-world success, an instrumental version of “Sukiyaki” became one of the first songs sent over the radio to astronauts in space in 1965!

Intent to use his fame for good, Sakamoto helped raise funds for children with disabilities throughout his career, including holding a concert to benefit the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics.

[9A]

18 Oct 2020
Benedict Sandin's 102nd birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 102nd birthday of Sarawak-born folklorist and ethnographer Benedict Sandin, who served as the curator of the oldest museum in Borneo: the Sarawak Museum. A member of the Iban–one of the largest Indigenous ethnic groups in what is now Malaysia–Sandin earned scholarly acclaim as one of the world’s foremost experts on the Iban and dedicated his life to the preservation of his native heritage.

Benedict Sandin was born Sandin anak Attat on this date in 1918 in Sarawak, today a state in the country of Malaysia. His father first introduced him to the poetic Iban language, which Sandin went on to master and champion. In 1941, Sandin began work in the Sarawak civil service, and his gift for writing eventually led to an assignment as the editor of Pembrita—the first news publication in the Iban language. His articles attracted the attention of the Sarawak Museum’s curator, who recruited him to join the museum’s staff in a special post in 1952.

Soon after, Sandin was accepted to a UNESCO fellowship program in New Zealand, through which he studied museum techniques and anthropology. He returned home determined to chronicle the Iban history, culture, and language by absorbing and recording the wisdom of local genealogists, bards, and historians. As a testament to Sandin’s invaluable ethnographic achievements, he was named the Curator of the Sarawak Museum and Government Ethnologist in 1966, a position he held for the better part of a decade.

Thank you, Benedict Sandin, for safeguarding and preserving Indigenous tradition and heritage for generations to come.

[9A]

26 October 2020
Dolores Cacuango's 139th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the 139th birthday of Ecuadorian civil rights pioneer Dolores Cacuango, who spent decades fighting fiercely for the rights of the country’s Indigenous people. Cacuango was a dedicated advocate for accessible education and instrumental in establishing Ecuador’s first bilingual schools, which practiced in Spanish and the Indigenous language of Quichua.

Dolores Cacuango was born on this day in 1881 in the Pesillo hacienda in the northern canton of Cayambe, Ecuador. Like many Indigenous people before her, she began to work at a young age, and at 15 years old was forced to relocate to the Ecuadorian capital of Quito to become a servant. With new insight into the troubling racism and class inequality facing her people, Cacuango returned home committed to the struggle for change.

Back in Pesillo, she became a leader in the movement against the exploitative hacienda system, and through her dynamic speeches, she advocated for causes like land rights, economic justice, and education for the Indigenous community. In 1926, she helped lead the people of Cayambe in challenging the sale of their community land, setting a strong example for future movements. Some two decades later in 1944, she also contributed to the establishment of the groundbreaking Ecuadorian Federation of Indians, which united Indigenous people around economic and cultural issues. She spent the rest of her life advocating for indigenous rights for current and future generations.

Today, Cacuango’s legacy is remembered with a street named in her honor in northern Quito.

[9A]

31 Oct 2020
Eloísa Angulo’s 101st Birthday







Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Lima, Peru-based guest artist Lucía Coz, celebrates the 101st birthday of Peruvian Creole singer Eloísa Angulo, known by many as “Sovereign of the Creole Song.” A blend of Spanish, African, and native Andean influences, música criolla [Creole music] remains a vibrant symbol of the rich culture and heritage of coastal Peru, and Angulo is among the genre’s most treasured performers.

Eloísa Angulo was born on this day in 1919 in Peru’s capital city of Lima. From the time she was a child, she wanted to become a singer, and she was even known to run away from school to participate in contests held by Lima radio stations in order to make her dreams a reality.

In the early 1930s, Angulo burst onto the scene along with Margarita Cerdeña in the duo Las criollitas, which lasted some three decades. Dubbed “La criollita,” she became known for her beautiful and often humorous interpretations of songs like “Araña, ¿quién te arañó?” [“Spider, Who Scratched You?” 1972] and “El conejito” [“The Bunny,” 1972].

In addition to marking Angulo’s birthday, October 31 is observed in Peru as Día de la canción criolla [Day of the Creole Song], an annual celebration of the timeless and uniquely Peruvian art form to which Angulo dedicated her life.

[9A]

3 February 2018
Payom Sinawat’s 109th Birthday





Today we celebrate renowned textile artist Payom Sinawat, who carried the traditional patterns of Isaan, a region in northeast Thailand, into the present day. Born in 1909 in Thailand’s Sisaket Province, Sinawat worked in Isaan arts and crafts for over 60 years. As she handcrafted silk for the Queen, Sinawat played a crucial role in popularizing traditional textile arts.

One of the Isaan cloths that she handcrafted in traditional looms, and which partly inspired today’s Doodle, is named khit. Khit weaving tends to use certain colors, like red, purple, and dark green, to layer contrasting geometric patterns over a light background.

With an emphasis on quality, Sinawat mixed old and new materials to modernize and conserve traditional textile art. In 1987, she received the title of Thailand National Artist for her excellent craftsmanship, a title annually bestowed upon notable Thai artists. Through sharing her craft with society, she ensured that northeastern Thai weaving techniques and their resulting beautiful silks are conserved for generations to come.

[9A]

7 Feb 2018
Aysel Gürel’s 89th Birthday




There will never be another Aysel Gürel. Born on this day in 1929, in Sarayköy in the Denizli Province of Turkey, Aysel Gürel lived life to the hilt. Buoyant and daring, Gürel ruled the Turkish pop music scene from the late 1970s through the 2000s, penning lyrics about love lost and found for both legendary singers as well as up-and-comers including Sezen Aksu, Nilüfer, Tarkan, and Sertab Erener. New songs are produced from the trove of lyrics she left behind even today!

At heart, Gürel was a poet who found her audience through her songs, but she was also a gifted actress, Turkologist, and witty provocateur. She also made her mark as a feminist and animal rights activist.

While stars gave voice to her songs, Gürel wasn’t one to hide in the background. She, too, was made for the limelight. Dressed in her oversized red glasses, pink wigs and head-turning outfits, flirting, and always quick with clever repartee, Gürel was as unforgettable as she was unpredictable.Today’s Doodle celebrates Gürel’s inner [and outer] wild child. Wearing those signature specs, her hair colored in hues of fuschia, her joy is hard to contain on the screen.Happy 89th birthday, Aysel Gürel!

[9A]

16 May 2018
Tamara de Lempicka’s 120th Birthday



Tamara Łempicka, better known as Tamara de Lempicka, was a Polish painter who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art Deco portraits of aristocrats and the wealthy, and for her highly stylized paintings of nudes.

American singer Madonna is an admirer and collector of Lempicka's work. Madonna has featured Lempicka's work in her music videos for "Open Your Heart" [1987], "Express Yourself" [1989], "Vogue" [1990] and "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" [1998]. She also used paintings by Lempicka on the sets of her 1987 Who's That Girl and 1990 Blond Ambition world tours.

Other notable Lempicka collectors include actor Jack Nicholson and singer-actress Barbra Streisand.

In November 2019 the Lempicka painting La Tunique rose [1927] was sold at Sotheby’s for $13,4 million. In February 2020, her painting Portrait de Marjorie Ferry [1932] set a record for a work by Lempicka by fetching £16.3 million [$21.2 million] at the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale at Christie's, London.

[9A]

17 May 2018
Alfonso Reyes’ 129th Birthday







Today we wish happy birthday to Alfonso Reyes, one of Mexico’s most distinguished authors.

Born in Monterrey and educated in Mexico City, Reyes studied the works of intellectuals and philosophers before deciding to pursue law. In law school, he wrote La Cena [The Supper], one of the first and most influential pieces of Mexican surrealism. Today’s Doodle puts mirror-like imagery to this tale; La Cena follows a circular narrative, where the action begins and ends at the same time.

After finishing his education, Reyes went on to become a foreign diplomat in France, Spain, Argentina and Brazil. Afterwards, he settled in Spain to dedicate himself to writing and teaching, publishing essays and poetry. He specialized in Greek classic literature and introduced many of these works to Mexico upon his return.

Reyes continued to write until the end of his life. His work earned him five nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

[9A]

19 May 2018
Celebrating Jang Yeong-sil






Jang Yeong-sil was a Korean engineer, scientist, and inventor during the Joseon Dynasty [1392–1897]. Although Jang was born as a peasant, King Sejong allowed Jang to work at the royal palace. Jang's inventions, such as the Cheugugi [the rain gauge] and the water gauge, highlight the technological advancements of the Joseon Dynasty.

[9A]

20 May 2018
Sam Selvon’s 95th Birthday







Today we celebrate the 95th birthday of novelist, poet, and playwright, Sam Selvon. Born to humble beginnings in rural south Trinidad in 1923, his East Indian heritage and West Indian upbringing would greatly shape his future identity as a writer.

Selvon started writing during his spare time while working in the oilfields, serving in the Royal Naval reserve, and writing for newspapers and literary magazines. In his early twenties, he wrote and published several short stories and poems in his native Trinidad. However, it was his move to England in 1950 which set the stage for his career to blossom.

Drawing from his personal experiences as an immigrant, Selvon published his pioneering novel “The Lonely Londoners” in 1956. In it, he gave the unique Caribbean creolised English, or "nation language", a narrative voice of its own on an international stage. “The Lonely Londoners” was later followed by two more London-based novels: “Moses Ascending” [1975] and “Moses Migrating” [1983], both of which continued the saga of Caribbean immigrants and their experiences in London.

Today’s Doodle by guest artist Jayesh Sivan depicts Selvon and other members of the Caribbean migrant community set against the backdrop of London, which served as the inspiration and setting for much of his works.

[9A]

22 May 2018
Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s 246th Birthday






Today Google is celebrating Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s 246th Birthday. Roy was born in the Bengal Presidency of British controlled India in 1772. He was born to a family of great privilege in the Brahman class. As a young man he traveled throughout the region and learned English, Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit, in addition to the local languages of Bengali and Hindi. His multicultural education taught him to draw from different religions and philosophies to adapt his own ideologies. Roy was very much a free thinker and often championed rights for India’s lower classes. In his fight for a more contemporary society, Roy called for an end to India's Caste system.


Also, Roy consistently advocated for women's rights at a time when they had very few. In fact, he is often remembered for his role in abolishing Sati, a ceremonial funeral practice, and his promotion of a more advanced and just society. It is because of Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s transformative and progressive thinking that many consider him to be the Father of modern India.

[9A]

22 May 2009
Mary Cassatt's Birthday




Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania [now part of Pittsburgh's North Side], but lived much of her adult life in France where she befriended Edgar Degas and exhibited with the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.

[9A]

2 June 2012
Queen's Jubilee





The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only Diamond Jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th anniversary of the 1837 accession of Queen Victoria.

Following the tradition of the Queen's Silver and Golden Jubilees, commemorative events were held throughout the Commonwealth of Nations.

Royal corgis were the Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs owned by Queen Elizabeth II and her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Fond of corgis since she was a small child, Elizabeth II has owned more than 30 corgis since she became Queen of the Commonwealth realms in 1952.

[9A]

31 May 2009
150th Anniversary of Big Ben


Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster; the name is frequently extended to also refer to the clock and the clock tower. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower; it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom.

[9A]

2 Jun 2009
150th anniversary of Yokohama Port Opening




The Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 1858 specified Kanagawa as an open port. The Port of Yokohama formally opened to foreign trade on the 2nd of June 1859. The port grew rapidly through the Meiji and Taisho periods as a center for raw silk export and technology import.

The Port of Yokohama is operated by the Port and Harbor Bureau of the City of Yokohama in Japan. It opens onto Tokyo Bay. The port is located at a latitude of 35.27–00°N and a longitude of 139.38–46°E. To the south lies the Port of Yokosuka; to the north, the ports of Kawasaki and Tokyo.

[9A]

9 June 2021
Celebrating Shirley Temple







Today's Doodle honors American actor, singer, dancer, and diplomat Shirley "Little Miss Miracle" Temple. Not only did Temple help millions of Americans through the hardships of the Great Depression as Hollywood's top box office draw, she also later shared her charisma with the world through her work in international relations. On this day in 2015, the Santa Monica History Museum opened “Love, Shirley Temple,” a special exhibit featuring a collection of her rare memorabilia.

Shirley Jane Temple was born on April 23, 1928 in Santa Monica, California, and began dance classes at the tender age of three. With her signature dimples, blonde ringlet curls, and strong work ethic, she captivated the nation when she landed a role in the 1934 toe-tapping musical “Stand Up And Cheer.”

Temple starred in a dozen films in 1934 alone, including “Bright Eyes,” where she performed what became one of her most famous routines “On the Good Ship Lollipop.” Before she even reached double digits in age, Temple was one of the most popular actors in American cinema—even becoming the first child star to receive an Academy Award at just six years old!

In 1942, Temple’s unprecedented talent jumped from the silver screen to the airwaves as the star of “Junior Miss,” a radio sitcom about a teenage girl growing up in New York City. She continued to star in films throughout her teenage years, and at 22, she retired from the movie industry as a Hollywood icon. In 1958, Temple narrated the eponymous “Shirley Temple’s Storybook,” a children’s television series which adapted family-friendly stories—sometimes even filmed live. This short-lived anthology marked her final foray in American entertainment before her graceful transition into full-time public service.

With a lifelong devotion to improving the lives of others, Temple was appointed as a representative of the U.S. to the United Nations in 1969. Her career in politics included her dedicated environmentalism, representing her nation in 1972 at the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment. In recognition of her diplomatic achievements, which included an ambassadorship to Ghana and becoming the first female Chief of Protocol to the State Department, she was appointed an Honorary Foreign Service Officer in 1988.

In 2006, the Screen Actors Guild presented Temple with its Lifetime Achievement Award, the organization’s highest honor.

Thank you, Shirley Temple!

From iconic child star to breast cancer advocate, Shirley Temple’s journey is an extraordinary tale. Learn more with Google Arts & Culture

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Special thanks to the family of Shirley Temple for their partnership on this project. Below Teresa Caltabiano, Temple’s granddaughter, shares her thoughts on the Doodle and her grandmother’s legacy.If you've seen a Shirley Temple movie, you have in a sense gotten to know who she was as a person. The feisty heroines she played who loved their families and who wanted to make the world a better and happier place was a reflection of her genuine character. Bright and highly intuitive, she quickly discovered that her "movie world" experience sparked in her what would become a lifelong fascination with people and the real world around her. Growing up, her character was tempered by the Depression and World War II, as was her awareness of the need to serve others. Her brother's M.S. diagnosis and later her own mastectomy strengthened her conviction that she could have a positive effect, not only in her own family, but around the world.

As a Special Representative to the United Nations, among other responsibilities, she took on the role as an early environmental advocate. As Ambassador to Ghana and later to the Czech Republic, the merging of her talents as a communicator and her gift for service to others gave her great personal satisfaction. Her last diplomatic position as U.S. Chief of Protocol at the White House gave her the honor of welcoming the world to the country she loved.

At the heart of everything was her family. We were blessed to know her, her love, her courage, and her strength. She is still deeply loved and truly missed, and we treasure our memories of her.Pictured: Shirley Temple
Courtesy of the Black Family Archives

[9A]

7 Jun 2021
Roberto Cantoral's 85th birthday






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

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

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

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

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

[9A]

7 June 2019
Dragon Boat Festival 2019






Today’s Doodle celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Jie, which begins on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The exciting three-day event has occurred for over 2,000 years, and 10 years ago was inscribed on UNESCO’s list representing the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

The festival’s practice of racing boats originated from stories of people rowing on China’s Miluo River to try and rescue the ancient poet Qu Yuan from drowning during the third century B.C. Since then, the races have grown in popularity and spread throughout the world.

The boats are traditionally made of teak wood and can range up to 100 feet in length, accommodating as many as 80 rowers. Boats are usually decorated with dragon heads at the bow and scaly tails at the stern. A sacred ritual is held before the race when the eyes are painted on, which is said to “bring the boat to life.” During the race, a drummer sits in the front of each boat, helping the rowers to work in unison.

Families clean their homes and property in preparation for the festival, hanging bunches of mugwort and calamus on doors to ward off bad luck and disease. Aside from the race itself, there are many time-honored customs associated with the festival: eating sticky rice dumplings wrapped in lotus leaves, called zongzi; drinking wine made with the ruby-colored crystal realgar; and wearing “perfume pouches,” colorful silk bags filled with fragrant medicinal herbs.

端午节快乐!

[9A]

7 June 2008
Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Birthday






Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdonald, was influential on European design movements such as Art Nouveau and Secessionism and praised by great modernists such as Josef Hoffmann. Mackintosh was born in Glasgow and died in London. He is among most important figures of Modern Style [British Art Nouveau style].

[9A]

8 Jun 2008
Dragon Boat Festival 2008

[9A]

8 June 2013
Primož Trubar's 505th Birthday





Primož Trubar or Primus Truber was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Duchy of Carniola, and for consolidating the Slovenian language. Trubar introduced The Reformation in Slovenia, leading the Austrian Habsburgs to wage the Counter-Reformation, which a small Protestant community survived. Trubar is a key figure of Slovenian history and in many aspects a major historical personality.



The monument to Primož Trubar by Franc Berneker.
White marble, 1910. The statue stands in Trubar Park
opposite the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana.

[9A]

8 June 2005
Frank Lloyd Wright's 138th Birthday





Frank Lloyd Wright [June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959] was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was exemplified in Fallingwater [1935], which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture". Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing architects worldwide through his works and hundreds of apprentices in his Taliesin Fellowship.

Wright was the pioneer of what came to be called the Prairie School movement of architecture and also developed the concept of the Usonian home in Broadacre City, his vision for urban planning in the United States. He also designed original and innovative offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, museums, and other commercial projects. Wright-designed interior elements [including leaded glass windows, floors, furniture and even tableware] were integrated into these structures. He wrote several books and numerous articles and was a popular lecturer in the United States and in Europe.

Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time". In 2019, a selection of his work became a listed World Heritage Site as The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.



Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City [1959]





Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania [1937]

[9A]

18 June 2006
Fathers Day 2006

[9A]

18 June 2014
World Cup 2014 #16






Chile v Spain.

[9A]

18 June 2014
World Cup 2014 #15

[9A]

17 Jun 2014
World Cup 2014 #14







Here we have an artist’s rendition of the late Paul the Octopus–perhaps the most famous of all psychic cephalopods–trying to choose the winner in the World Cup match from that big aquarium in the sky. Who will it be?? Only Paul knows.

Incidentally, Google Trends tells us that searches for "Paul the Octopus" spiked on last Thursday, and at their highest were 25x higher than earlier in the month.

Here're Paul's spot-on predictions for the games on this day:

Brazil vs. Mexico: Draw

Russia vs. South Korea: Draw

Belgium vs Algeria: Belgium

[9A]

18 June 2000
Father's Day 2000

[9A]

18 June 2008
Centenary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil







The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908. Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. Since the 1980s, a return migration has emerged of Japanese Brazilians to Japan.

[9A]

18 June 2018
Dragon Boat Festival 2018




June 18th marks the 5th day of the 5th month on the lunar calendar: the start of Dragon Boat Festival! Today, communities around Greater China and Southeast Asia celebrate their culture and remember ancient stories and traditions. The festival began as a way to pay tribute to Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet whose acts of patriotism are commemorated by dragon boat races each year.

The ancient tradition of Dragon boat racing has been a part of Asian culture for thousands of years. Participants row canoes shaped like fierce dragons, painted in vibrant colors to pay homage to ancient war canoes. The team of dragon boat sailors row as fast as they can toward a finish line while one team member sits toward the front of the ship and beats a drum to maintain their pace and keep spirits high. Today’s Doodle lets you sit in the back of the boat and become part of the action!

There are ways for everyone to celebrate the festival [even if you aren’t handling an oar]. Traditional Dragon Boat festival customs include preparing and eating zongzi, a traditional Chinese food made with rice and filled with various stuffings, and then wrapped in leaves of bamboo, banana, or lotus. Depending on where you’re celebrating, you may enjoy sweet dessert zongzi filled with fruit or nuts, or more savory zongzi stuffed with chicken or pork. These delicious treats are a symbol of luck and an essential part of celebrations.

[9A]

16 Jun 2014
World Cup 2014 #13







USA & Ghanaian eagles go beak to beak. What an eggcellent game.

[9A]

16 June 2003
M.C. Escher's 105th Birthday




Maurits Cornelis Escher was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for long somewhat neglected in the art world, even in his native Netherlands. He was 70 before a retrospective exhibition was held. In the late twentieth century, he became more widely appreciated, and in the twenty-first century he has been celebrated in exhibitions across the world.

His work features mathematical objects and operations including impossible objects, explorations of infinity, reflection, symmetry, perspective, truncated and stellated polyhedra, hyperbolic geometry, and tessellations. Although Escher believed he had no mathematical ability, he interacted with the mathematicians George Pólya, Roger Penrose, Harold Coxeter and crystallographer Friedrich Haag, and conducted his own research into tessellation.

Early in his career, he drew inspiration from nature, making studies of insects, landscapes, and plants such as lichens, all of which he used as details in his artworks. He traveled in Italy and Spain, sketching buildings, townscapes, architecture and the tilings of the Alhambra and the Mezquita of Cordoba, and became steadily more interested in their mathematical structure.

Escher's art became well known among scientists and mathematicians, and in popular culture, especially after it was featured by Martin Gardner in his April 1966 Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. Apart from being used in a variety of technical papers, his work has appeared on the covers of many books and albums. He was one of the major inspirations of Douglas Hofstadter's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach.



Hexagonal tessellation with animals:

Study of Regular Division of the Plane with Reptiles [1939].
Escher reused the design in his 1943 lithograph Reptiles.



Gravitation

[9A]

16 June 2002
Father's Day 2002

[9A]

23 Nov 2017
José Clemente Orozco’s 134th Birthday






Celebrated Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco was born in Ciudad Guzmán in central Mexico 134 years ago today.

After his family moved to Mexico City, the young Orozco would often cross paths with satirical caricaturist José Guadalupe Posada on his way to school. These meetings awakened in the young boy a keen political consciousness and a deep love for art, a powerful medium in the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution. Orozco would later document the social and political change of the era as one of Los Tres Grandes [The Three Greats] of Mexican mural art.

His sprawling, emotive frescos were initially often commissioned by the government. Dissatisfied with the condition of ordinary Mexicans however, he started to contradict his own sponsors - sometimes subtly [Maternidad [Maternity], 1924] and sometimes visibly [La Trinchera [The Trench], 1926]. This paradoxical relationship caused him to leave the country for seven long years, living in the US and earning international renown for works such as Prometeo [Prometheus] [1930] and The Epic of American Civilization [1934]. When he returned to Mexico, Orozco began work on the frescos of Hospicio Cabañas, murals sketching the span of Mexican history from indigenous civilizations to the Revolution.

Today’s Doodle—by Mexico City-based artist Santiago Solis—depicts Orozco in front of the jaguar featured in Las Riquezas Nacionales [The National Riches], his mural at La Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación in downtown Mexico City.

Feliz cumpleaños, Señor Orozco!

[9A]

29 Nov 2017
Gertrude Jekyll’s 174th Birthday








If not for legendary horticulturist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, the world might be a much drabber place. Born in London on this day in 1843, Jekyll spent most of her life in Surrey, England, on her family’s estate, Munstead House. Later, she moved into her own house, Munstead Wood, where she planted one of her most enchanting gardens.

A woman of innumerable talents, Jekyll was also an accomplished musician, composer, woodworker, metalworker, and botanist. Her foundation as a budding artist greatly influenced her breathtaking creations. As a student, she took inspiration from the landscapes of English Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner, capturing the seasons, the light, the textures, and the hues of every growing thing on her canvases. Jekyll brought that painterly sensibility to her life’s work, designing about 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the U.S., which were documented in photographs, over a dozen books, and thousands of magazine articles.

Today’s Doodle was created by British artist Ben Giles. Giles unites the hot and cool colors the horticulturist favored to create a lush and brilliant garden collage. From the corner of the illustration, Jekyll watches her garden grow.

Happy 174th birthday, Gertrude Jekyll!

[9A]

29 November 2016
Louisa May Alcott’s 184th Birthday






"I like good strong words that mean something," says Jo March in Little Women. The same could be said of that beloved novel's author, Louisa May Alcott, who was born on this day in 1832. In addition to being a writer, Alcott was a suffragist, abolitionist, and feminist. She grew up in the company of luminaries like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau, who fostered in her a strong sense of civic duty. Alcott volunteered as a nurse during the American Civil War, and her family's home was a station on the Underground Railroad. She was active in the women's suffrage movement and became the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts. Through it all, she wrote novels and short stories tirelessly, sometimes working 14 hours a day.

Today's Doodle portrays Beth, Jo, Amy, and Meg March, as well as Jo's best friend Laurie, their neighbor. The March family of Little Women was based on Alcott's own, and the coltish Jo was Louisa's vision of herself: strewing manuscript pages in her wake, charging ahead with the courage of her convictions, and cherishing her family above all.
Doodle by Sophie Diao

[9A]

28 Nov 2016
Drs. Suyadi's 84th Birthday





Drs. Suyadi, known widely by his alter-ego's name: Pak Raden, created books and animated films for children. His career spanned many years, creating his first book in 1952 at university and completing his last book, Petruk Jadi Raja, in 2008 at the age of 76.

In addition to books and films, Suyadi is perhaps best known for creating a children's puppet show called “Unyil.” The show aired on the Indonesian national station TVRI every Sunday from 1981 - 1993. To this day, the puppets are remembered fondly across Indonesia, especially Pak Raden, the grumpy character played by Suyadi himself. Never seen without his cane and false mustache, Pak Raden was one of the Unyil’s most popular puppets.

Today’s Doodle celebrates Drs. Suyadi on what would be his 84th birthday. Thank you for creating joy and inspiring curiosity in children and adults alike!

[9A]

27 Nov 2016
100th Anniversary of “Pelo Telefone”





The first samba ever recorded, Pelo Telefone began dancing its way into Brazilian hearts 100 years ago today. With a name meaning “on the telephone,” the upbeat number was an ode to new technologies, written by Ernesto dos Santos [better known as Donga] and Mauro de Almeida. Because it was first conceived at the home of Tia Ciata where musicians often participated in rodas de samba, or group improvisations, many others tried to claim authorship of the tune. But it was Donga who registered the sheet music at the National Library of Brazil on November 27, 1916.


Soon after, the song was recorded by the Brazilian singer Baiano and released by Odeon Records. Up to that point, most people didn’t know what samba was. That all changed as Pelo Telefone’s popularity skyrocketed. Suddenly, the playful style of music was at the center of Carnaval celebrations and eventually, at the forefront of Brazilian culture. Much of the genre’s success can be credited to Donga, who continued to perform and record music for much of his life. In today’s Doodle, the legendary musician shows off his moves as we groove to his famous composition.

[9A]

22 Nov 2016
Cecilia Grierson’s 157th Birthday






Born in Buenos Aires in 1859, Cecilia Grierson was a physician, activist, author, inventor, reformer, and the first woman to receive a medical degree in Argentina.

In 19th century Argentina, medical school was off limits to women—in fact, very few women enrolled in secondary education of any kind. Grierson’s perseverance earned her a degree, and the struggles she faced fueled her work as a human rights activist. As vice president of the International Council of Women, a suffragist organization, she fought tirelessly for social causes like welfare benefits, maternity leave for working women, and the end of the slave trade, to name a few.

As a physician, Grierson founded the first nursing school in Argentina and helped to advance studies in gynecology and kinesiology. She was also the first person to suggest that medical service vehicles should have alarm bells — resulting in what we now know as the ambulance. Today, many medical institutions bear her name.

Today’s Doodle honors Grierson, a true pioneer, on what would be her 157th birthday.

[9A]

20 Nov 2016
Children's Day 2016 [Multiple Countries]

[9A]

20 November 2012
Otto von Guericke's 410th Birthday






Otto von Guericke was a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental methods and repeatable demonstrations on the physics of the vacuum, atmospheric pressure, electrostatic repulsion, his advocacy for the reality of "action at a distance" and of "absolute space" were remarkable contributions for the advancement of the Scientific Revolution.

[9A]

20 November 2015
Nadine Gordimer’s 92nd Birthday




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

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