Google doodles

[9A]

26 Mar 2008
Parametron Computer





Parametron is a logic circuit element invented by Eiichi Goto in 1954. The parametron is essentially a resonant circuit with a nonlinear reactive element which oscillates at half the driving frequency. The oscillation can be made to represent a binary digit by the choice between two stationary phases π radians [180 degrees apart.

Parametrons were used in early Japanese computers from 1954 through the early 1960s. A prototype parametron-based computer, the PC-1, was built at the University of Tokyo in 1958. Parametrons were used in early Japanese computers due to being reliable and inexpensive but were ultimately surpassed by transistors due to differences in speed.

[9A]

6 Apr 2008
5th birthday of Astro boy and 80th anniversary of Osamu Tezuka




Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the Father of Manga", "the Godfather of Manga" and "the God of Manga". Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years. Though this phrase praises the quality of his early manga works for children and animations, it also blurs the significant influence of his later, more literary, gekiga works.

Astro Boy, known in Japan by its original name Mighty Atom is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka It was serialized in Kobunsha's Shōnen from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 tankōbon volumes by Akita Shoten. English volumes were not available until 2002, when the manga was licensed by Dark Horse. The story follows Astro Boy, an android young boy with human emotions who is created by Umataro Tenma after the recent death of his son Tobio. Eventually, Astro is sold to a robot circus run by Hamegg, but is saved from his servitude by Professor Ochanomizu. Astro becomes a surrogate son to Ochanomizu who creates a robotic family for Astro and helps him to live a normal life like an average human boy, while accompanying him on adventures.

Astro Boy has been adapted into three anime series produced respectively by the first incarnation of Mushi Production and its direct successor Tezuka Productions, with a fourth in development. The manga was originally produced for TV as Astro Boy, the first popular animated Japanese television series that embodied the aesthetic that later became familiar worldwide as anime.

After enjoying success abroad, Astro Boy was remade in the 1980s as New Mighty Atom, known as Astroboy in other countries, and again in 2003. In November 2007, he was named Japan's envoy for overseas safety.^[10] An American computer-animated film based on the original manga series by Tezuka was released on October 23, 2009. In March 2015, a trailer was released announcing a new animated series. The success of the manga and anime series led it to becoming a major media franchise consisting of films including a major motion picture, a number of soundtracks and a library of video games. The series was also among the first to embrace mass merchandise including action figures, collectible figurines, food products, clothing, stamps and trading cards. By 2004, the franchise had generated $3 billion in merchandise sales.

Astro Boy is one of the most successful manga and anime franchises in the world and has become Tezuka's most famous creation. The combined 23 tankōbon volumes have sold over 100 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. The 1963 anime series became a hit on television in Japan and the United States. Astro Boy has been praised for its importance in developing the anime and manga industry. It has been featured on numerous greatest anime of all time lists and has partially inspired other authors in the creation of influential manga.

Astro Boy

[9A]

6 April 2016
120th Anniversary of First Modern Olympic Games





Today is the 120th anniversary of the first modern Olympic games, which started in Athens, Greece in 1896. Officially called the Games of the I Olympiad, the events took place inside the Panathenaic Stadium.

The 1896 games included 9 different sports and 43 events. Most noteworthy was the marathon — it had the greatest number of international athletes ever. Equally noteworthy was its winner, Spyridon "Spyro" Louis, the only Greek champion in the athletics division, and a national hero for the host country. His monumental victory on that historic day continues to inspire Greek pride. Today's Doodle by Olivia When shows 4 different scenes from the games; refresh the homepage to see them all.

[9A]

12 Apr 2008
Antonio Meucci's 200th Birthday



Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci was an Italian inventor and an associate of Giuseppe Garibaldi, a major political figure in the history of Italy. Meucci is best known for developing a voice-communication apparatus that several sources credit as the first telephone.

[9A]

16 Apr 2008
50th anniversary of the Atomium



The Atomium is a landmark building in Brussels [Belgium], originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair [Expo 58]. It is located on the Heysel Plateau in Laeken, where the exhibition took place. It is now a museum.

Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 metres [335 ft] tall. Its nine 18-metre-diameter [59 ft] stainless steel clad spheres are connected in the shape of a unit cell that could represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes connecting the spheres enclose stairs, escalators and an elevator [in the central, vertical tube] to allow access to the five habitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere includes a restaurant which has a panoramic view of Brussels. The building was completely renovated between 2004 and 2006 by the companies Jacques Delens and BESIX.

This site is served by Heysel/Heizel metro station on line 6 of the Brussels metro.

The Atomium

[9A]

Christiaan Huygens' Birthday






Christiaan Huygens, also spelled Huyghens, was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, astronomer and inventor, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and a major figure in the scientific revolution. In physics, Huygens made groundbreaking contributions in optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he is chiefly known for his studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan.

As an inventor, he improved the design of telescopes and invented the pendulum clock, a breakthrough in timekeeping and the most accurate timekeeper for almost 300 years. An exceptionally talented mathematician and physicist, Huygens was the first to idealize a physical problem by a set of parameters then analyze it mathematically [Horologium Oscillatorium], and the first to fully mathematize a mechanistic explanation of unobservable physical phenomena. For these reasons, he has been called the first theoretical physicist and one of the founders of modern mathematical physics.

[9A]

21 Apr 2009
Kartini Day 2009


Every 21 April, Indonesians commemorate Hari Kartini [Kartini’s Day]. A day to celebrate Indonesian hero of women empowerment – Raden Ajeng Kartini, or more popular withIbu Kartini. This is akin to International Women’s Day and the focus is the issue of women empowerment.

All across Indonesia, female students and teachers in schools dress in Kebaya, while the male students dress in Batik. Various competitions such as fashion shows, cooking competitions and flower arrangement competitions are held to enliven the commemoration.

[9A]

21 April 2006
Earth Day 2006

[9A]

21 May 2006
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 147th Birthday






Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are considered milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer; other than Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" [1884], helped to popularise the mystery of the Mary Celeste.

[9A]

2 June 2018
Hermila Galindo’s 132nd Birthday




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

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

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

[9A]

2 June 2018
Heinz Sielmann’s 101st Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the renowned biologist and documentary filmmaker, Heinz Sielmann. Sielmann is also often recognized as ‘Mr. Woodpecker’, a nickname earned after the release of one of his most beloved wildlife documentaries showing the mysterious lives of Woodpeckers—filmed at times from within the bird’s nest.

Heinz Sielmann was born in Germany, in 1917, and moved to East Prussia at a young age where his father opened a business of electrical and building materials. Even in his early childhood, Sielmann had a fascination with the natural world; often waking up early to observe birds before school. At the age of 17, after being given his first camera, he traded in his sketches for photographs of his natural surroundings.

One of Sielmann’s most notable achievements was his development of Carpenters of the Forest which featured the elusive Woodpecker in a degree of depth that had not been seen before. Sielmann placed cameras inside of the woodpecker’s nests and in doing so captured intimate moments between parent and offspring. The film was an enormous success globally and was followed by a book about it’s making. In it Sielmann wrote, “of all the animals that I have worked with, the woodpeckers are my favourites... because I was able to find out many new facts about the biology of these birds.”

In the late 1950’s, Heinz Sielmann released his first feature film, Les Seigneurs de la Forêt [Lords of the Forest], which was commissioned by the King of Belgium and filmed in what was at the time the Belgian Congo. In addition to the wildlife and breathtaking landscapes, Sielmann was of the first to capture the familial and social nature of Gorillas. This film won first place at the Moscow Film Festival and quickly became one of his most revered films—even being translated into 26 languages.

Over the following decades, Sielmann continued to make documentary films and series. In 1971 he photographed for the Academy Award winning film The Hellstrom Chronicle, along with Walon Green, about the threat that insects collectively pose to humans and the struggle between the two.

Today’s Doodle depicts Heinz Sielmann as he appeared in his popular TV show Expeditionen ins Tierreich, documenting the forest wildlife that surrounds him.

[9A]

22 September 2019
Junko Tabei’s 80th Birthday




“Do not give up,” said Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei, when asked for advice. “Keep on your quest.”

Born on this day in 1939, Tabei was raised in Miharu, a small town in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture. She discovered the joy of climbing at age 10 during a class trip to Mount Nasu. Though she was the first woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, Tabei once said she preferred to be remembered as the 36th person to climb the world’s highest mountain peak.

“I did not intend to be the first woman on Everest,” she explained. Still, it's undeniable that the 4-foot-9 [144.8 centimeter] mother of two made history in 1969 when she founded Japan’s first Ladies Climbing Club, defying the traditional notion that women should stay at home and clean the house.
The Everest expedition started in the spring of 1975 with 15 climbers and 6 sherpas. At an elevation of 9,000 feet [2,743.2 meters], their camp was buried by an avalanche. After 3 days of recovery, Tabei continued with the climb, reaching the summit on May 16, 1975, accompanied only by the sherpa Ang Tshering.

After returning from the summit, she received congratulations from Japan’s Emperor, Crown Prince, and Princess, among others. “It took two months until I could settle at home,” she recalled. “My three-year-old daughter was scared of all the cameras."

Excited more by mountain climbing than media attention, Tabei continued to scale new heights, including the “seven summits”—the highest peaks on each continent—as depicted in today’s Doodle. Even when battling illness, she continued climbing.

Tabei eventually reached mountaintops in 76 different countries.

[9A]

22 September 2020
Celebrating Benyamin Sueb





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Indonesia-based guest artist Isa Indra Permana, commemorates iconic Indonesian actor, comedian, singer, songwriter, writer, director, and producer Benyamin “Bang Ben” Sueb, who championed Jakarta, Indonesia’s Betawi culture as the star of more than 50 movies and composer of over 300 original songs. On this day in 2018, Jakarta inaugurated Benyamin Sueb Park, a cultural center dedicated to upholding the Betawi heritage to which Sueb devoted so much of his life.
Benyamin Sueb was born on March 5th, 1939 in present-day Jakarta. He first entered the music scene in the 1950s as a member of the “Melody Boys,” a band that drew upon a wide variety of international influences. Sueb later relied on more traditional Betawi musical idioms to write hits including “Nonton Bioskop” [“Watching Movies”] and “Hujan Grimis” [“Drizzle”] and helped to revitalize the gabang kromong style through beloved songs like “Ondel-Ondel” [Giant Puppets].

Sueb’s acting career took off in the early ‘70s, and through the lens of his often playfully comedic films, he is credited with painting a more accurate depiction of Betawi culture. He garnered acclaim for roles in films like “Intan Berduri” [“Thorny Diamond,” 1972)] and “Si Doel Anak Modern” [“Doel the Modern Child,” 1976], both of which earned him Best Actor Citra Awards at the Indonesian Film Festival.

In 1990, Benyamin created Ben’s Radio, Indonesia’s only radio station dedicated to Betawi, which continues to play Sueb’s music to this day.

Thank you, Benyamin Sueb, for using music and humor to preserve valuable tradition and culture for generations to come!

[9A]

27 Sept 2020
Google’s 22nd birthday






The partnership between Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin traces its roots to the sunny campus of Stanford University. As graduate students, the pair set out to improve the way people interacted with the wealth of information on the World Wide Web. In 1998, Google was born, and the rest is history.

The now world-famous moniker is a play on a mathematical term that arose out of an unassuming stroll around the year 1920. While walking in the woods of New Jersey, American mathematician Edward Kasner asked his young nephew Milton Sirotta to help him choose a name for a mind-boggling number: a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Milton’s reply? A googol! The term gained widespread visibility twenty years later with its inclusion in a 1940 book Kasner co-authored called “Mathematics and the Imagination.”

In 2006, the word “Google” was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary as a verb.
Cheers to 22 years!

[9A]

28 Sept 2020
Celebrating Cải Lương





Today’s Doodle celebrates cải lương, a style of modern South Vietnamese folk opera, on the observance of Vietnam Stage Day, an annual celebration of the rich history of theater in the country. A blend of traditional and contemporary influences, cải lương combines opera with spoken drama to create a vibrant expression of Vietnamese culture and identity.

Loosely translated to “reformed theater,” the form evolved from the traditional Vietnamese opera called hát bội in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam at the turn of the 20th century. Accompanied by an orchestra containing traditional Vietnamese instruments like the đàn tranh [“six-string zither”], cải lương brings to life a wide range of stories, from ancient legends of monarchs and warriors to explorations of modern Vietnamese social themes. While the subject material may vary, one common element is the signature melancholic song structure called vọng cổ, which translates to “nostalgia for the past.”

One of the most iconic cải lương productions is “Tiếng Trống Mê Linh,” which translates roughly to “The Drum Sound of Mê Linh.” The historical play tells the true story of Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị, two sisters who helped lead the fight for Vietnamese independence from the Chinese Han Dynasty in the 1st century. A classic of the artform, “Tiếng Trống Mê Linh” has been staged by many of Vietnam’s top cải lương performers since it first debuted in 1977.

Over a century after its birth, cải lương is still enjoyed today as one of the uniquely Vietnamese artforms and a vital link to the country’s history.

[9A]

28 September 2009
Confucius' Birthday - China, Hong Kong






Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who was traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Widely considered one of the most important and influential individuals in Chinese and East Asian philosophy as well as Chinese and human history, Confucius's teachings and philosophy formed the basis of East Asian culture and society, and continue to remain influential across China and East Asia today.

His philosophical teachings called Confucianism — emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, and sincerity. Confucianism was part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians, everyday life was the arena of religion. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's thoughts received official sanction in the new government.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, Confucianism developed into a system known in the West as Neo-Confucianism, and later New Confucianism.

[9A]

2 Oct 2009
Birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi






The doodle to celebrate of Mohandas Gandhi's birthday is both my first illustration since joining the doodle team and a project that is very dear to me. As a prominent figure for peace and non-violent resistance, Gandhi is an icon whose legacy I could not readily distill into one representation. The early stages of the project saw the development of a second version that depicted Gandhi journeying through the desert with his signature walking stick. In order to decide which doodle best portrayed him, I consulted hundreds of Google employees both in the US and in our offices in India. The simple indigo drawing of Gandhi on khadi cloth made it to our homepage, but the alternate version can still live here!

[9A]

2 October 2019
Waheed Murad’s 81st Birthday






Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Canada-based, Pakistan-born guest artist Anoosha Syed, celebrates the iconic Pakistani actor and producer Waheed Murad. Also known as “the Chocolaty Hero,” Murad’s blockbuster films electrified South Asian cinema throughout the 1960s and ’70s. Born in the former British India on this day in 1938, Murad was the only son of distributor Nisar Murad. After a brief appearance in the 1959 film Saathi, he began working with his father’s Film Art Productions, becoming the youngest producer Lollywood had ever seen.

Casting rising actress Zeba in an early lead role and helping her rise to stardom, Zeba, in turn, encouraged Murad to pursue acting. “I asked Waheed to become a leading man but his reply stunned me,” she recalled later. Waheed asked if she was mocking him, but after taking a role in the 1962 film Aulaad, he never looked back. The pair headlined many hit movies together, including Heera Aur Patthar in 1964 and Rishta Hai Pyar Ka, which was partially shot in London and Paris.

Murad went on to receive the Nigar Award for Best Producer and Best Actor for the 1966 romantic musical Armaan. The matinee idol was adored by many. He once found his white car covered with lipstick marks from female fans in Karachi.

During a career spanning a quarter-century, he appeared in more than 100 films, including Urdu, Punjabi, and Pashto productions. In November 2010, Murad was posthumously awarded the prestigious Sitara-e-Imtiaz [star of excellence] award by the Pakistani government for his outstanding contributions to the arts. To this day, Pakistan’s Waheedi Club organizes an annual film festival in his honor.

[9A]

9 Oct 2019
Hangeul Day 2019





Today’s animated Doodle, created by Seoul-based guest artists Yunho Lee and Kangin Kim of Studio Kimgarden to reflect a merging of Hangeul and English, celebrates Hangeul Proclamation Day in Korea. Locally known as Hangeulnal it is the world’s only national holiday that honors an alphabet.

Designed in the 1440s by a royal committee convened by King Sejong the Great, Hangeul would change Korean society in a big way. Koreans once used Chinese characters, and the writing system was so complicated that access to education was confined to society’s elite. Hangeul was designed to be easy to learn. Consonants are drawn to mimic the shape of the mouth when making a particular sound while vowels are based on combinations of three elements: a dot symbolizing the sun in the sky, a line symbolizing a human being, and a horizontal line symbolizing the earth.

As a result of these improvements, literacy rates increased throughout Korea. Despite some resistance—a 16th-century king actually banned Hangeul for a time to preserve the status of the elite class—the language grew in popularity. Today, Hangeul is Korea’s official written language, with a national holiday in its honor.

Many people celebrate Hangeul Day by visiting the museum of King Sejong which is located near Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. A large golden statue of King Sejong stands there in honor of a leader remembered for his contributions to education for all.

Happy Hangeul Day!

[9A]

11 Oct 2019
Maria Firmina dos Reis’ 194th Birthday





“It is horrible to remember that human creatures treat their fellow men like this,” wrote Brazilian author and educator Maria Firmina dos Reis in her 1859 abolitionist novel, Úrsula. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Porto Alegre and Berlin-based guest-artist Nik Neves, celebrates the life and work of a black woman who boldly spoke out against slavery at a time when few others would dare.

Born on the island of São Luís in Maranhão on this day in 1825, not long after Brazil declared independence from Portugal, Maria was the daughter of a black slave and a Brazilian woman. She grew up to become her nation’s first novelist.

Growing up in her aunt’s house on the mainland, Maria was raised by her mother and grandmother, attaining much of her education at home. Her cousin Sotero dos Reis became a famous writer and teacher, and Maria began teaching primary school at age 22. She eventually founded the country’s first free and mixed school, a radical concept before the passage of the 1888 “Golden Law” ending slavery in Brazil.

Maria published poetry, essays, stories, and puzzles in local newspapers and journals, as well as composing abolitionist songs. Published under the name Uma Maranhense [“a Maranhão woman”], Úrsula depicted slaves as human beings longing for freedom and exposed the evils of those who profited from the slave trade. Now recognized as the first Afro-Brazilian novel, the pseudonymous work fell into obscurity before being revived in the 1960s. Úrsula has since been reprinted, inspiring a new appreciation for this pioneering thinker and activist.

[9A]

11 October 2016
Edgar Negret’s 96th birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Edgar Negret, a Colombian sculptor known for depicting abstract nature scenes out of intricate metalwork. The second "o" in “Google” features some of his signature
sculptures.

In 1957 Negret created one of his most famous sculpture series, “Aparatos mágicos,” or Magical Apparatuses. The magical realism of these sculptures showcase Negret’s style, which would become a major part of Colombia’s fine arts scene.

Many of Negret’s sculptures can now be found in his hometown of Popayán, Colombia, in the house where he lived, which now serves as the Negret House Museum. On the 96th anniversary of Negret’s birth, we remember his dedication to art, nature, and Colombia.

[9A]

30 July 2019
Muthulakshmi Reddi’s 133rd Birthday





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

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

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

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

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

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

[9A]

30 July 2020
Turhan Selçuk’s 98th birthday





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Istanbul-based guest artist M.K. Perker, commemorates the 98th birthday of iconic Turkish cartoonist, artist, and satirist Turhan Selçuk, a celebrated pioneer of the contemporary Turkish comic strip. Wielding a minimalist style of line art infused with acute wit, Selçuk masterminded one of the country’s first and most famous original comic book characters, Abdülcanbaz, who is depicted riding a bike in today’s Doodle artwork.

Turhan Selçuk was born on this day in 1922 in the ancient Turkish city of Milas. While still a high school student in 1941, he published some of his first illustrations in the newspaper Türk Sözü [The Turkish Word] and saw continued success with his work throughout the decade.

As the chief illustrator for the Yeni Istanbul [New Istanbul]. he honed his artistic style and championed the belief that cartoons were a universal medium of storytelling. In 1954, he took the same position at Milliyet, an Istanbul-based daily national newspaper that three years later became the home for Selçuk’s definitive, postmodern comic series “The Adventures of Abdülcanbaz.” Across a nearly three-decade run, the angular hero Abdülcanbaz, also known as the “Istanbul Gentleman,” traveled around the world and even through time to fight injustice and help the powerless.

In 1969, Selçuk co-founded the Turkish Cartoonists Association to educate young cartoonists and promote the medium around the world. He received numerous awards throughout his almost seventy-year career and was the first Turkish cartoonist to be awarded internationally.

[9A]

31 Jul 2020
Celebrating Pacita Abad






Today’s Doodle celebrates Philippine artist, feminist, and activist Pacita Abad, renowned for her bold use of color and mixed media as well as her use of art to address global themes. On this day in 1984, Abad made history as the first woman to receive the Philippines’ prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Men award.

Pacita Abad was born on October 5th, 1946 in Basco, in the northern province of Batanes, the Philippines. She pursued graduate studies in San Francisco, California in the U.S. in 1970 and became very involved in the city’s artistic community. Abad went on to study painting and then traveled the world with her art supplies, from Bangladesh to Sudan, and the cultures she encountered had a profound influence on her ever-evolving artistic style. Dedicated to improving the world through art, she used pieces like her 1979 series “Portraits of Cambodia” to raise awareness of societal issues.

Over time, Abad transitioned toward abstract work and pioneered a painting technique called trapunto [Italian for quilting]. To achieve this style, she stuffed her canvases to create a sculptural effect and integrated culturally significant materials discovered during her travels, like shells and fabrics. Abad channeled a passion for public art into her 2003 project “Painted Bridge,” for which she covered Singapore’s 55-meter Alkaff Bridge with an explosion of 2,350 vibrantly colored circles.

Abad crafted over 5,000 pieces of art, and today her colorful legacy resonates in collections in over 70 countries.

Thank you, Pacita Abad, for painting the picture of a brighter tomorrow!

[9A]

3 Aug 2020
Celebrating Vicki Draves





Today’s Doodle celebrates Filipino American diver and coach Victoria “Vicki” Draves, the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal. On this day in 1948, Draves won the gold medal in the women’s 3-meter springboard event at the London Summer Olympics.

Victoria Draves was born Victoria Taylor Manalo in the South of Market district of San Francisco on December 31st, 1924. Growing up, she and her family often hopped on the trolley to the enormous Fleishhacker Pool to swim and watch the divers. When she was a teenager, a member of a local swim team asked if she wanted to learn to dive, and she eagerly accepted, springboarding her into the sport she went on to champion.

After thousands of dives to perfect her form and three consecutive U.S. National Diving Championship platform titles, Draves earned a spot at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She dominated the games one faithful leap at a time and made history as the first woman to take home the gold in both the platform and springboard events.

Thank you, Vicki Draves, for inspiring people everywhere to aim high and take the plunge!

[9A]

3 August 2014
Birgit Cullberg's 106th Birthday




We mark the 106th birthday of renowned ballet dancer Birgit Cullberg on our homepage in Sweden. Cullberg is best remembered for establishing the contemporary dance company The Cullberg Ballet.

[9A]

4 Aug 2014
John Venn's 180th Birthday







John Venn was a logician and philosopher best known for introducing the Venn diagram. In the diagram, circles are used to visually and logically sort groups to illustrate their relationships to each other. For example, one circle may contain things that are mammals. The other circle may contain things that have wings. The overlapping space that both circles occupy would consist of mammals that have wings.

With a concept this simple, you would think it was all fun and games to design an interactive doodle for John Venn’s 180th birthday. And you would be right, but there was also a lot more to it! The doodle team asked the project lead and designer of the Venn doodle, Mike Dutton, a few questions about the creative process.

[9A]

4 August 2011
Roberto Burle Marx's 102nd Birthday





Roberto Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect [as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician] whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil. He was known as a modern nature artist and a public urban space designer. His work had a great influence on tropical garden design in the 20th century. Water gardens were a popular theme in his work. He was deftly able to transfer traditional artistic expressions such as graphic design, tapestry and folk art into his landscape designs. He also designed fabrics, jewellery and stage sets.

He was one of the first people to call for the conservation of Brazil's rainforests. More than 50 plants bear his name. He amassed a substantial collection of plants at his home, including more than 500 philodendrons.

[9A]

17 Aug 2011
Pierre de Fermat's 410th Birthday







Pierre de Fermat was not a particularly revolutionary mathematician. A lawyer full-time, he practiced math as a hobby and never devoted enough time to it to become widely celebrated in his day. His name lives on today, though, because his sly wit generated a mystery for the ages that perplexed mathematicians for 358 years.

Fermat wrote many little theorems, including the deceptively simple Last Theorem, which states that no three positive integers a, b, and c can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn when n is greater than two. Fermat first scrawled this supposition in the margins of the Arithmetica by Diophantus, followed by the note: "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain." It remains hotly contested to this day whether Fermat actually did have a proof, or whether he was just using the convenient excuse of a small margin to avoid being held responsible for it. Either way, his theorem remained unproved until 1995, when British mathematician Andrew Wiles successfully developed a solution – a saga documented in the excellent BBC Horizon documentary, "Fermat's Last Theorem."

We were so tickled by Fermat's little jab that we tried something similar. When this doodle ran, the hover text read: "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this theorem, which this doodle is too small to contain."

[9A]

17 Aug 2011
Indonesia Independence Day 2011

[9A]

24 Aug 2011
112th Birthday of Jorge Luis Borges





I jumped at the opportunity to illustrate a doodle commemorating Jorge Luis Borges, the fantastical Argentine writer who had long been one of my all-time favorites.

I first read The Library of Babel in college, and its imagery had stuck with me ever since. In it, the narrator inhabits a library that contains every possible permutation of a particular template of book, which contains 410 pages and 40 lines per page. Though most of the books are random gibberish, there are some that – by chance – contain coherent words, or even fragments of nonsensical sentences. The citizens of the Library are fixated on finding books that carry actual messages or directives.

This parable fascinated me, and as I explored the rest of Borges's work as research for the doodle, I continued to uncover striking passages. Whether the Borgesian protagonist was exploring labyrinths, temples, or his own mind, these stories always touched upon the same themes – the overwhelming complexity of the world's information, the incomprehensible machinations of memory, and the deep mysteries of dreams. These are the elements that I tried to convey visually in the doodle by drawing a vast and circuitous theoretical library.


I worked with fellow Googler Matt Werner, a Borges enthusiast who has written a book on the author, to develop concepts for this doodle. His blog post, over on the Google Books blog, has many more interesting facts on Borges and how he relates to the modern age of information technology. Borges's uncanny foreknowledge of the internet has also been addressed by Douglas Wolk in a Salon.com article. Though Borges's work seems steeped in mythology and tradition, it continues to have a profound relevance to modern civilization.

It was a great honor to have the chance to celebrate Borges, and it's my deepest hope that this doodle has inspired you to experience his work for yours

[9A]

27 Aug 2011
Faina Ranevskaya's 115th Birthday





Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya, is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for her aphorisms.

[9A]

1 Sept 2011
First Day of School 2011 - Estonia, Poland, Russia

[9A]

1 Sept 2011
Tarsila do Amaral's 125th Birthday







Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral was a Brazilian painter, draftswoman, and translator. She is considered one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, and is regarded as the painter who best achieved Brazilian aspirations for nationalistic expression in a modern style. As a member of the Grupo dos Cinco, Tarsila is also considered a major influence in the modern art movement in Brazil, alongside Anita Malfatti, Menotti Del Picchia, Mário de Andrade, and Oswald de Andrade. She was instrumental in the formation of the aesthetic movement, Antropofagia [1928–1929]; in fact, Tarsila was the one with her celebrated painting, Abaporu, who inspired Oswald de Andrade's famous Manifesto Antropófago.

[9A]

1 September 2016
34th Anniversary of Similan Islands National Park







Today’s Doodle takes you under the stunning waters of Thailand’s Similan Islands. Located northwest of Phuket in the Andaman Sea, the archipelago of 11 islands is famous for its breathtaking dives. Sea turtles, zebra sharks, and blue-spotted stingrays are just a few of the species an underwater adventurer might encounter.

Equally as inviting as the coral reefs are the park’s white sandy beaches. From there, long-tail boats can be spotted navigating the waters against a backdrop of ironwood and gum trees. Also fluttering above sea level, a number of feathered species call the islands home — everything from white-bellied eagles to yellow-browed warblers.

Rich in both wildlife and natural beauty, the Similan Islands were named a national park 34 years ago today. Now it’s time to dive in and celebrate!

[9A]

3 Sept 2016
Sybil Kathigasu’s 117th birthday







Sybil Kathigasu was never one to back down. A freedom fighter and nurse, Kathigasu and her husband supported the resistance forces during the Japanese occupation of Malaya until their arrest in 1943. For several years leading up to their capture, the Kathigasus secretly supplied medicine, provided medical services, and shared information obtained by listening to BCC on their shortwave radio.

After her release from prison, Kathigasu was awarded the George Medal for bravery. To this day, she’s the only Malayan woman to have received the award.

Today’s Doodle shows Kathigasu in her nurse’s uniform outside her former residence in Papan, Perak. The patterned ribbon of the George Medal surrounds the Doodle, a tribute to Kathigasu’s courageous contributions to the anti-occupation movement.

On the 117th anniversary of Kathigasu’s birth, we remember and celebrate her tireless dedication to freedom. Thank you, Kathigasu, for your courage and the powerful legacy you’ve left behind.

[9A]

3 Sept 2016
Asep Sunandar's 61st Birthday





Today we celebrate what would be the 61st birthday of Asep Sunandar, one of the world’s most famous wayang golek masters. Wayang golek is a style of puppet theater that hails from Sunda, in the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. It’s an art form that takes years to master, and is an important piece of Sunda’s culture.

Wayang golek puppets are made of wood, and are controlled by rods that are connected to their hands and head. The wayang golek master is responsible for the entire show - he or she decides which story they will tell, most often an Indian epic story, and manages all of the wooden puppets’ movements and voices. Well over 10 characters can appear in each show!

Sunandar delighted audiences for years with his performances, which could last from dusk ‘til dawn. Our Google doodle features Sunandar performing with two wayang golek puppets.

[9A]

6 Sept 2016
Fouad el-Mohandes’ 92nd birthday







Today marks the 92nd birthday of legendary Egyptian actor and comedian Fouad el-Mohandes [[1924–2006). The son of esteemed Egyptian linguist Zaki Mohandes, el-Mohandes got an early start performing on stage as a child. He later decided to leave business school to follow in the footsteps of his idol, actor Naguib el-Rihani, launching his professional career on the radio program “Sa’a li-Qalbak.”

Over the next five decades, el-Mohandes performed in dozens of plays, TV shows, and motion pictures. He co-starred with then-wife Shwikar in many of his most popular films, and gained fame for his role as “Mr. X” in two movies about “the most dangerous man in the world.” El-Mohandes was also famous for his trademark blac

[9A]

7 Sept 2016
Paralympics 2016







What started as a small gathering of British WWII veterans in 1948 has bloomed into the world’s largest sporting event for athletes with physical disabilities, drawing 4,500 athletes from 176 countries worldwide.

Today’s Doodle celebrates the opening of the 2016 Summer Paralympics and highlights the incredible feats of athleticism the participants will demonstrate in Rio. They’ll go for gold during a year of firsts: Rio, the first Latin American city to host the Paralympics, will debut canoeing and paratriathlon among the more than 500 existing events.

[9A]

12 Sept 2016
Takizo Iwasaki’s 121st birthday




Most of us are familiar with the wax and plastic replica foods that help you decide what to order at a restaurant, but did you know that the practice dates back to the 1920s?

Takizo Iwasaki re-invented a practice that had been around for over a decade, of creating sampuru [or samples] of food served by restaurants. He started with a perfectly 'cooked' omelet made of wax. Reportedly, upon showing it to his wife, she couldn't even tell the difference between the sampuru and the real thing! The omelet was once open for public viewing in his home prefecture of Gifu, where most of the world's replica food is still made.

Although replica foods are now more often made of plastic than wax, the practice is still done by hand and rarely mass-produced. This is to maintain the quality of the sampuru and the unique dishes that each restaurant requests.

Today's doodle celebrates Takizo Iwasaki on what would be his 121st birthday, with an homage to that original omelet that changed the landscape of sampuru forever.

[9A]

15 Sept 2016
Jean Batten’s 107th birthday






In the 1930s, female aviator Jean Batten took the skies by storm and brought the winds of change with her. After two failed attempts to fly from England to Australia, Jean made her comeback with a record-breaking return journey in 1934.

Her success elevated in 1935 when she became the first woman to ever fly solo across the south Atlantic, and then it soared in 1936 when Jean and her lucky black cat, Buddy, made the first-ever direct flight from England to New Zealand. She described the moment the wheels hit the turf as “the very greatest moment of my life,” proving to the world that the sky’s only the limit if you let it.

Today we celebrate what would have been this pioneering pilot’s 107th birthday with a reminder to fly fiercely towards our boldest dreams.

[9A]

15 Sept 2016
Chuseok 2016






Today, it’s all fun and games for the Google letters. Celebrating Chuseok in traditional fashion, the “G” and the “o” are seesawing in a game of Neolttwigi, while their neighbors with the same initials are playing the board game Yut Nori. The “l” and the “e”? They’re ringing in this year’s harvest with a friendly Korean wrestling match, also known as Ssireum.

The holiday, which takes place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, brings families together to give thanks and to honor their ancestors. The festivities often kick off with Charye, a memorial service where a special feast is offered to the spirits of past generations. As they pay homage to their roots, families usually enjoy songpyeon, which are small, crescent-shaped rice cakes steamed over pine needles.

The revelry can also include rice wines, live music, folk dances, and, of course, traditional Korean games. So, let’s take a cue from the Doodle and let the celebration begin!

[9A]

15 Sept 2016
Silpa Bhirasri’s 124th birthday






Born in Italy on 15th September, 1892, sculptor Corrado Feroci is remembered today by his adopted Thai name, Silpa Bhirasri.

His move to Thailand in 1923 was by royal invitation of King Rama VI, who sought an artist of high reputation to share his skills with Bangkok’s burgeoning artistic talent. A devoted mentor, Bhirasri helped set up an art school that later became Silpakorn University.

Considered the father of modern art in Thailand, Silpa’s sculptural works included several statues of Thai kings, and most famously, Bangkok’s national monuments devoted to Democracy and Victory.
This revered sculptor is celebrated throughout Thailand for his contributions to Thai art and education. His birthday is a nationally observed date.

[9A]

16 Sept 2016
Mexico National Day 2016





From the greens of the ahuejote to the browns and golds of the axolotl, the canals of Xochimilco are known for their cast of colorful flora and fauna. None are quite so colorful as the trajineras, handpainted canoes that carry tourists all around the World Heritage Site via the canals.

These canals used to connect Xochimilco to the heart of Mexico City, where the trajineras were used to transport goods back and forth. Today, tourists floating in the these vibrant boats can flag down food vendors or listen to the upbeat melodies of mariachis while they enjoy the natural beauty around them.

Today’s Doodle depicts a trajinera of Xochimilco, a reminder of the colorful traditions that make Mexican culture so unique.

[9A]

17 Sept 2016
Irena Kwiatkowska’s 104th birthday






Beloved Polish actress Irena Kwiatkowska was born today in 1912. A household name in Poland, Kwiatkowska was celebrated for her work in cabaret, comedy, film, theater, radio, and television. She is best known for the television character "Working Woman," who did many different [[and often wacky) jobs, to great humorous effect.

When Kwiatkowska was born, Poland was part of the Russian Empire. She witnessed dramatic changes in Poland's culture and politics during her lifetime. Whether she was advocating for Polish independence, teaching at the Warsaw Theatre Academy, performing a comedic monologue, or singing in a movie musical, Irena Kwiatkowska sought the best for her country -- and brought her best to her audiences.

[9A]

20 Sept 2016
Rachel Bluwstein's 126th Birthday





Rachel Bluwstein Sela was a Hebrew-language poet who immigrated to Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1909. She is known by her first name, Rachel.

Rachel was the first Jewish woman poet in Palestine to receive recognition in a genre that was practiced solely by men. Anthologies of her poetry remain bestsellers to this day.

Many of her poems were set to music, both during her lifetime and afterwards, and are widely sung by Israeli singers. Her poems are included in the mandatory curriculum in Israeli schools. A selection of her poetry was translated to English and published under the title Flowers of Perhaps: Selected Poems of Ra'hel, by the London publisher Menard. Poems by Rachel have been translated to English, German, Czech, Polish, Esperanto, Italian, Serbo-Croatian, Hungarian, Basque and Slovak.

In 2011, Rachel was chosen as one of four great poets whose portraits would be on Israeli currency.

[9A]

21 Sept 2016
43rd Anniversary of the Film "Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future"






The past, present, and future combine in real time for the 43rd anniversary of the Russian film Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future by director Leonid Gaidai and Mosfilm, the oldest film studio in Europe.

The picture hit the scene with more than 60 million tickets sold—making it one of the most attended movies ever in the Soviet Union. Based on the original 1930s play by Michail Bulgakov, the technology was updated for the 1970s film to include more modern touches—a tape recorder replaced the original phonograph and a more advanced time machine used transistors to transcend time and space.

Russian viewers young and old know the plot very well: commotion involving a time machine, Shurik the inventor, the superintendent, members of the elite, the secret police, foreign ambassadors and Tsar Ivan the Terrible, himself.

Doodler Nate Swinehart, chose to feature the most iconic moment in the film: “This shot was a lot of fun to re-create and paint, I even hand drew the type to match the kooky ‘60s aesthetic of the film. Getting to make silly content that makes people smile is one of my favorite things to do.”

All these years later, one question still remains—was the whole thing just a dream?

[9A]

21 Sept 2016
25th Anniversary of Armenia's Independence




Today’s Doodle marks the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s Independence from Soviet rule with an illustration of the Yerevan Opera Theatre [The Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet]. Opened in 1933, this architectural treasure is emblematic of the country’s deep cultural roots, and a must-see attraction in the vibrant capital.

On Independence Day, Yerevan comes alive with festivities galore, from fireworks to festivals. Tricolor red, blue and orange flags wave in the breeze, traditional culinary treats abound, and Armenian pop stars and dance ensembles perform in the open air on Republic Square.

Amid the festivities, Armenians also mark the milestone by commemorating their countrymen who crusaded for freedom. On September 21st, 1991, Armenia carried out a referendum on independence from the USSR after 70 years of Soviet rule. The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic henceforth became known as the free, self-governing Republic of Armenia. Happy Independence Day, Armenia!

[9A]

29 Sept 2016
Ladislao José Biro’s 117th birthday




You may not know the name Ladislao José Bíro, but you certainly know his most famous invention: the ballpoint pen.

Bíro was born in Budapest, Hungary, into a Jewish family. A journalist by trade, Bíro noticed how efficiently newspapers were printed and how quickly the ink dried – in stark contrast to his fountain pen. He worked with his brother, György Bíro, a chemist, to develop a new type of pen made up of a ball that turned in a socket. As the ball turned, it picked up ink from a cartridge and rolled to deposit it on paper, much like a newsprint roller transfers an inked image to paper.

Bíro presented the first prototype of the ballpoint pen at the Budapest International Fair in 1931, later patenting his invention in 1938. To this day, the ballpoint pen is still referred to as the “Biro” in several countries.

Today we celebrate Bíro and his relentless, forward-thinking spirit on the 117th anniversary of his birth.

[9A]

29 September 2008
Miguel de Cervantes' Birthday




Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his novel Don Quixote, a work often cited as both the first modern novel and one of the pinnacles of world literature.

The tricentennial of Don Quixote's publication in 1905 was marked with celebrations in Spain; the 400th anniversary of his death in 2016, saw the production of Cervantina, a celebration of his plays by the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico in Madrid. The Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library, the largest digital archive of Spanish-language historical and literary works in the world, is named after the author.

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. A founding work of Western literature, it is often labeled as the first modern novel and is considered one of the greatest works ever written. Don Quixote also holds the distinction of being one of the most-translated books in the world.