Google doodles

[9A]

12 November 2018
Alexander Borodin’s 185th Birthday









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

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

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

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

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

[9A]

12 November 2012
Auguste Rodin's 172nd Birthday




François Auguste René Rodin was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, and deeply pocketed surface in clay. He is known for such sculptures as The Thinker, Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell.

[9A]

12 November 2010
Dr Sun Yat-sen's Birthday





Sun Yat-sen, born Sun Deming, was a Chinese statesman, physician, and political philosopher, who served as the provisional first president of the Republic of China and the first leader of the Kuomintang [Nationalist Party of China]. He is called the "Father of the Nation" in the Republic of China, and the "Forerunner of the Revolution" in the People's Republic of China for his instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty during the Xinhai Revolution. Sun is unique among 20th-century Chinese leaders for being widely revered in both mainland China and Taiwan.

[9A]

8 Nov 2010
Discovery of X-Rays







The discovery of x-rays is a fascinating story. It’s a moment that had a sudden and profound impact, but it took place quietly, in secret and by accident, in the laboratory of one inquisitive scientist. It’s a story about a naturally curious person who was paying attention to the right things at the right time. And like any good story about curiosity, it begins with an experiment.

On November 8, 1895, physicist Wilhelm Röntgen was testing the effects of sending electrical currents through glass vacuum-filled bulbs called cathode ray tubes. During one of his tests, Röntgen noticed that a screen on the other side of his lab began to glow whenever he sent electricity through the tube, even when the tube was fully covered with an opaque piece of cardboard.

Röntgen’s theory was that the tube was emitting an unknown kind of ray. He tried blocking the ray with different materials, but it seemed to pass through solid matter untouched. Then, by accident, he moved his hand through its path, and the shadows of his own bones were projected onto the screen.
For seven weeks, he worked in secret. He x-rayed his wife’s hand, wearing her wedding ring. When his wife saw the first-ever radiographic image, she said, “I have seen my death!”

In December of 1895, he published his findings. Röntgen gave his discovery the temporary name “X-ray,” for the mathematical term for an unknown quantity [“x”]. Within weeks, the first clinical x-rays were taking place all over the world. Röntgen never patented his discovery, believing it should be freely available. In 1901, Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics.

The x-ray gave us a new way of observing the world and ourselves. We could see right down to our bones, and even now, more than a century later, those eerie black and white images are still strange and powerful.

[9A]

8 November 2017
Sitara Devi’s 97th Birthday






Today’s Doodle pays homage to Sitara Devi, the legendary Kathak dancer who was described as Nritya Samragini [“Empress of Dance”] for her vibrant energy, effortless footwork, and unparalleled ability to bring a story to life.

Her performances on and off the silver screen revived popular interest in the classical dance of Kathak. Showcases at international venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, London and Carnegie Hall, New York brought the dance form a global audience.

Her significant achievements over a career spanning six decades were recognized by several awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Shree. Her legacy continues to inspire young talent in dance.

Thanks to guest artist Ranganath Krishnamani, and happy 97th birthday to Sitara Devi, Empress of Dance!

[9A]

22 January 2018
Sergei Eisenstein’s 120th Birthday





Born this day in 1898, Sergei Eisenstein was a Soviet artist and avantgarde director of several groundbreaking films, including Battleship Potemkin, Strike, and The General Line.

Known as the father of montage — the film technique of editing a fast-paced sequence of short shots to transcend time or suggest thematic juxtapositions — Eisenstein deployed arresting images in sequences of psychological precision. His films were also revolutionary in another sense, as he often depicted the struggle of downtrodden workers against the ruling class.

Today, we celebrate his 120th birthday with a tribute to his pioneering technique. Happy birthday, Sergei Eisenstein!

[9A]

22 January 2016
Wilbur Scoville’s 151st Birthday






People have known about the tongue-burning, tear-inducing qualities of peppers long before Columbus reached the Americas. Before Wilbur Scoville, however, no one knew how to measure a pepper's “heat”. The doodle team thought his work in this field—and the development of his eponymous Scoville Scale—deserved some recognition.

Born in Bridgeport Connecticut on January 22nd, 1865, Wilbur Lincoln Scoville was a chemist, award-winning researcher, professor of pharmacology and the second vice-chairman of the American Pharmaceutical Association. His book, The Art of Compounding, makes one of the earliest mentions of milk as an antidote for pepper heat. He is perhaps best remembered for his organoleptic test, which uses human testers to measure pungency in peppers.

[9A]

12 August 2018
Mario Moreno 'Cantinflas' 107th Birthday








With a twitch of his slender mustache and a burst of witty doublespeak, Cantinflas captured the hearts of film audiences all over Mexico, where he appeared in some four dozen films beginning in1937. The rest of the world discovered his talents as David Niven’s bumbling valet in the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days. He eventually became beloved by filmgoers and people of all generations across Latin America not just for his work as a comedic actor/singer/writer/producer, but for his philanthropy as well.

Born Mario Moreno Reyes to humble beginnings on this day in 1911, he earned money in the streets of Mexico City singing and dancing. He also worked briefly as a prize fighter, discovering ways to make audiences laugh at his antics. After honing his comedic skills in circus tent shows - as well as adopting his now infamous stage name “Cantinflas” - he began making films at the age of age 26.

Cantinflas won over audiences by often portraying the role of a peladito, or underdog and destitute individual who overcame the challenges of life in urban slums. He was also admired for his comic use of language [a tactic officially recognized as “cantinfleando” by the Real Academia Española dictionary in 1992], which described his characters’ tendency to begin simple conversations and progressively complicate them so much to the point that no one understood what was being said - particularly when attempting to get out of sticky situations. His comedic genius was even recognized by the silent film legend Charlie Chaplin, who after watching one of his films hailed Cantinflas as the “greatest comedian alive.”

Despite his success, Cantinflas never forgot his roots. An avid charitable giver during his career, he also spent life after retirement organizing benefits for various charities, and at one point provided quality housing for more than 250 low-income families in Mexico City.

Today’s Doodle celebrates Cantinflas’ life and pays tribute to the beloved comedian by highlighting several of his iconic roles, including:

Mario Moreno as “Cantinflas” in Ahí está el detalle [1940]
Cantinflas as “Margarito/El Siete Machos” in El Siete Machos [1951]



Cantinflas as “Padre Sebastián” in El padrecito [1964]

Cantinflas as “Diógenes Bravo” in El patruello 777 [1978]

Cantinflas as “Napoleón” in El barrendero [1981]

Finalmente, aquí está el detalle: ¡feliz cumpleaños, Cantinflas!

[9A]

22 January 2010
Porridge Day 2010





World Porridge Day, on 10 October, is an international event related to porridge. The first of the days was held in 2009. The event is organized to raise funds for the charity Mary's Meals, based in Argyll, Scotland, to aid starving children in developing countries.

[9A]

31 Jan 2010
Tapati Rapa Nui Festival 2010





The Tapati Festival is the most important cultural and sporting event that is celebrated on Easter Island every year during the first half of February.

The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian people of Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile.

They speak both the traditional Rapa Nui language and the primary language of Chile, Spanish. At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.

As of 2011, Rapa Nui's main source of income derived from tourism, which focuses on the giant sculptures called moai.

[9A]

9 Aug 2018
Mary G. Ross’ 110th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the 110th birthday of Mary G. Ross, the first American Indian female engineer, whose major contributions to the aerospace industry include the development of concepts for interplanetary space travel, manned and unmanned earth-orbiting flights, and orbiting satellites.

Great-great granddaughter to Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation, Ross was born on this day in 1908. Her math skills were surpassed only by her passion for aviation and the sciences. After teaching in Oklahoma for 9 years, she attended the University of Northern Colorado to pursue her master’s degree and love for astronomy and rocket science.

During World War II, Ross was hired by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a mathematician. It was there that she was encouraged to earn her professional certification in aeronautical engineering from UCLA in 1949, after which she broke new ground as one of the 40 founding members of the top-secret Skunk Works team. Her work on the team included developing initial design concepts for interplanetary space travel [including flyby missions to Venus and Mars] and satellites including the Agena rocket [depicted in today’s Doodle]. "Often at night there were four of us working until 11 p.m.," she later recounted. "I was the pencil pusher, doing a lot of research. My state of the art tools were a slide rule and a Frieden computer. We were taking the theoretical and making it real."

Leading by example, Ross also opened doors for future generations of women and American Indians by participating in efforts to encourage their pursuits in STEM fields, including being a member and Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers[SWE]. In 1992 the SWE established a scholarship in Ross’s name, which aims to support future female engineers and technologists, including Aditi Jain, a current Google Maps engineer. “More than money, it gave me confidence,” says Jain who earned a degree in Math and Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University “I don’t think I considered myself an engineer until I received the scholarship.”

Here’s to Mary G. Ross, a pioneer who reached for the stars and whose legacy continues to inspire others to do the same.

[9A]

9 August 2016
Singapore National Day 2016






This year, Singapore is putting a futuristic twist on its National Day celebrations. As the country rings in 51 years of independence with the theme Building our Singapore of Tomorrow, new attractions like 3D displays, indoor fireworks, and drones will be featured alongside the holiday’s beloved parade.

Of course, the festivities wouldn’t be complete without Singapore’s favorite mascot. Serving as the centerpiece of today’s Doodle, the Merlion — part lion, part fish — is a nod to the nation’s past as its people come together to look toward the future.

[9A]

8 Aug 2018
Dilip Sardesai’s 78th Birthday





There are no Test cricket grounds approved for national matches in Goa, the former Portuguese colony on India’s western coast where Dilip Sardesai was born on August 8, 1940. Nevertheless Sardesai would go on to become a legendary batsman for India.

Considered one of the best batsmen ever to play the game, Sardesai was especially effective against spin bowling. He would play 30 Test matches for India, earning the title “Renaissance Man of Indian cricket.” Between 1961 and 1972, he scored 2,001 runs.

Sardesai's greatest feat came in 1971 when he helped defeat the mighty West Indies side in their own backyard. The Indian team had lost to Barbados and struggled against Guyana, but Sardesai became a national hero in India for his 642 runs in the series, including a score of 212 in the Test match at Kingston, Jamaica. To boost his team’s spirits, he declared the match a “Popatwadi attack”—a term he coined himself to poke fun at opponents.

“I was told he was terrific against spin,” wrote his son, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.“He wasn’t the greatest fielder but he was always someone who was ready for a fight.” Today’s animated Doodle depicts Sardesai, whom West Indian fans nicknamed "Sardee-man," showing his skill at the crease as he sends a ball flying.

Happy 78th birthday, Dilip Sardesai!

[9A]

8 August 2008
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony

[9A]

8 August 2015
Latifa al-Zayyat’s 92nd Birthday







Today we pay tribute to novelist, activist, and scholar Latifa al-Zayyat [1923-1996]. Her best-known novel, The Open Door, chronicles political unrest in midcentury Cairo through the eyes of its young protagonist, Layla. Layla is a semi-autobiographical character: Al-Zayyat, like Layla, was inspired to become an activist at a very young age. [You can see Layla's name, in Arabic, at the center of today's design.]

The Open Door was revolutionary, when it was published in 1960, not only for its narration by a female protagonist, but also for its use of natural speech and its dual challenge to political and cultural authorities. But Al-Zayyat's bravery extended beyond her fiction. She was incarcerated once in her twenties, when she was a leader in the Students' and Workers' National Committee, and again in her sixties, after she formed the Committee for Defense of National Culture. While a professor at Cairo University, Al-Zayyat advanced our understanding of how female characters function in Arabic novels, while also bringing Anglo-American literary scholarship into the Egyptian academy by translating works of New Criticism into Arabic.

Al-Zayyat, who died in 1996, wrote her memoirs while she was in prison. Her tireless work was driven by a belief that self-fulfillment comes through devotion to a broader community. "One can only find one's self," she wrote, "by initially losing it to a much wider issue than one's own subjectivity."

[9A]

12 July 2017
Eiko Ishioka’s 79th Birthday





Earning her an Oscar, a Grammy, and two Tony nominations, Eiko Ishioka’s work had a way of taking center stage no matter the medium. From print ads and album covers to costumes for film, theater, and the Olympics, the iconic Japanese designer did it all during her decades-long career — often unlike anyone before.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Ishioka pursued a career in graphic design at a time when there were few women in the industry. Despite the challenges she faced, Ishioka pushed through boundaries both socially and artistically. Her early print ads evoked many of the same themes that would later define her costume design: bold, surreal, and consistently unexpected.

Ishioka went on to earn global recognition by designing Academy Award-winning costumes for Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film Dracula, a Grammy-winning cover for Miles Davis’ 1986 album Tutu, and Tony-nominated sets and costumes for Broadway’s M. Butterfly. She worked closely with director Tarsem Singh on several films throughout her career, including 2012’s Mirror Mirror.

Showcasing some of Ishioka’s famous designs from Singh’s 2006 movie The Fall, today’s slideshow Doodle celebrates her revolutionary work on what would have been her 79th birthday.

[9A]

12 July 2009
Pablo Neruda's Birthday






Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto, better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda, was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old, and wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, overtly political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems such as the ones in his collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair [1924].

[9A]

12 July 2018
Celebrating Sarah 'Fanny' Durack






Today’s Doodle celebrates Sarah “Fanny” Durack, a titan in her sport who fought tirelessly for the right to represent her country on the world stage. In 1912 Fanny became the first Australian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming, going on to break every world record in women’s swimming from the 100-meter to the 1-mile.

Born in Sydney on October 27, 1889, Durack learned to swim with her two sisters at tidal pools near Coogee Beach. Winning her first championship at age 13, she went on to dominate the sport in Australia.

The 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm were the first to include women in swimming. Dismissing concerns about female athletes competing in front of male spectators, Durack and “Mina” Wylie petitioned the New South Wales Ladies Swimming Association to allow them to participate. Having set two world records that same year, Durack and her close runner-up Mina won the right to compete—but the Amateur Swimming Union would not pay the expenses for their trip to Sweden. They appeared at fundraisers to earn the money, letting no obstacle stop them from making a mark on the global stage.

A century later, Fanny Durack’s name lives on thanks to her commitment to the pursuit of excellence—and to gender equality in sports.

[9A]

12 July 2013
Claude Bernard's 200th Birthday







Claude Bernard was a French physiologist. Historian I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". Among many other accomplishments, he was one of the first to suggest the use of a blinded experiment to ensure the objectivity of scientific observations. He originated the term milieu intérieur, and the associated concept of homeostasis [the latter term being coined by Walter Cannon].

In his major discourse on the scientific method, An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, Bernard described what makes a scientific theory good and what makes a scientist important, a true discoverer. Unlike many scientific writers of his time, Bernard wrote about his own experiments and thoughts, and used the first person.

Known and Unknown. What makes a scientist important, he states, is how well he or she has penetrated into the unknown. In areas of science where the facts are known to everyone, all scientists are more or less equal—we cannot know who is great. But in the area of science that is still obscure and unknown the great are recognized: "They are marked by ideas which light up phenomena hitherto obscure and carry science forward."

[9A]

30 August 2018
Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky’s 155th Birthday







In today’s smartphone era, many people carry the equipment needed to create a color photograph in their pockets. But at the start of the 20th century, photography was a much more complicated process. Between 1909 and 1915 Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky traveled through Russia in a railroad car specially equipped with a mobile darkroom to document Russian life using a technique he called ”optical color projection.”

Born in Murom, Vladimir Province, Russia, on this day in 1863, Prokudin-Gorsky was a chemist who became interested in photography. He traveled to Germany to study with Adolf Miethe, a pioneer of the color separation method, and soon developed his own formulation for photographic emulsion so he could create life-like photos in natural colors. His portrait of the great Russian author Leo Tolstoy was widely reproduced, bringing Prokudin-Gorsky a measure of fame. As a result, Tsar Nicholas II agreed to sponsor his ambitious project.

Prokudin-Gorsky’s images of people, landscapes, architecture, historic sites, industry, and agriculture were created by exposing three glass plates through three different color filters—green, red and blue—and then combining them to create a composite color image-a technique displayed in today’s animated Doodle. He captured thousands of images that offer a rare glimpse of Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution and First World War.

Prokudin-Gorsky planned to use the resulting photos to educate Russian school children about their vast country. Today,his body of work is preserved on thousands of glass plates, which are prized by historians and scholars.

Happy Birthday Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky!

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Prokudin-Gorskii Collection, LC-DIG-prokc-20829

[9A]

27 Aug 2018
198th Anniversary of the First Ascent of the Zugspitze





The Zugspitze is Germany’s tallest mountain, standing at a height of 2,962 meters, and situated along the border between Germany and Austria.

The first people to ascend the Zugspitze were Lieutenant Josef Naus, a 27-year-old engineer from the Royal Bavarian Army, his mountain guide Johann Georg Tauschl, and a military orderly named Maier. Lieutenant Naus was employed by the Royal Bavarian Topographic Bureau, putting together an Atlas of Bavaria. Seeking to prove that this pinnacle was the loftiest in the Kingdom of Bavaria, they trekked across glaciers covered with melting ice— conditions ripe for avalanches.

Setting out in July they made their way across the largest glacier, proceeding to a shepherd’s hut from which they would attempt to climb the summit. After a short night’s rest, Naus’ party undertook their ascent on August 27, 1820, reaching the top seven hours and forty-five minutes later. Storms soon enfolded the mountain, hastening the men’s descent.

Today, visitors can take a cable car up the steep incline to the top, where they are rewarded with awe-inspiring views of the many jagged limestone peaks forming the border between Germany and Austria.

Some believe that local climbers—gatherers or hunters—may have beaten the Naus survey team to the summit before 1820. But Naus, Tauschl, and Maier were the first to prove their success in reaching the pinnacle. Today’s Doodle celebrates the Zugspitze immensity, beauty, and its importance to both Austria and Germany.

[9A]

27 August 2008
Tomato Festival 2008




La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the East of Spain 30 kilometres [19 mi] from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. Since 1945 it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities in Buñol. The event has been on hiatus since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.

La Tomatina Festival started the last Wednesday of August in 1945 when some young people spent time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade. The young people decided to take part in a parade with musicians, Giants and Big-Heads figures. One participant's Big-head fell off, as a result of the festivities. The participant flew into a fit of rage, and began hitting everything in their path. There was a market stall of vegetables that fell victim to the fury of the crowd, as people started to pelt each other with tomatoes until the local forces ended the fruit battle.

[9A]

27 August 2011
Faina Ranevskaya's 115th Birthday






Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya [born Faina Girschevna Feldman, 27 August 1896 - 19 July 1984), is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for her aphorisms.

She acted in plays by Anton Chekhov, Aleksandr Ostrovsky, Maxim Gorky, Ivan Krylov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and others. Unfortunately, our judgement of her theater performances must come mostly from photos as only her three final performances of Make Way for Tomorrow by Vina Delmar, Truth is Good, but Happiness is Better by Aleksandr Ostrovsky, The Curious Savage by John Patrick were filmed. Faina Ranevskaya is more known to a wide audience as a cinema actress by her performance in such films as Pyshka [Boule de Suif], The Man in a Shell, Mechta [Dream], Vesna [Springtime], Cinderella, Elephant and String and many more.

[9A]

27 August 2013
Natalia Sats' 110th Birthday





Natalya Il'inichna Sats [sometimes spelled Natalia Satz] was a Russian stage director who ran theaters for children for many years, including the Moscow Musical Theater for Children, now named after her. In 1937, she fell victim to Soviet repressions, but was rehabilitated in 1953.

[9A]

27 August 2019
Gladys Elphick’s 115th Birthday







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

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

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

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

[9A]

27 August 2015
Halet Çambel’s 99th Birthday







So much of the world’s crucial history is trapped under ground, waiting for the right person to dig it up and interpret it for the betterment of humankind. Findings from archaeologists like Turkey’s Halet Çambel help us understand how our planet’s story has unfolded so we can use history’s lessons to create a better future.

After earning her doctorate from the University of Istanbul in 1940, Çambel fought tirelessly for the advancement of archaeology. She helped preserve some of Turkey’s most important archaeological sites near the Ceyhan River and established an outdoor museum at Karatepe. There, she broke ground on one of Earth’s oldest known civilizations by discovering a Phoenician alphabet tablet that unlocked the code to Hittite hieroglyphics. Her work won her a Prince Claus Award for preserving Turkish cultural heritage.

As if her discoveries weren't inspiring enough, Çambel was also an accomplished athlete. In fact, she was the first Muslim woman to compete in the Olympics, in fencing in 1936.

Created by Doodler Kevin Laughlin, today’s Doodle depicts Çambel hard at work discovering the Phoenician tablet. Earlier drafts show her drawing the Hittite frieze and decoding the Hittite hieroglyphics. In the end, the Doodle showcasing Halet immersed in her workspace won out.

[9A]

31 Aug 2015
Malaysia Independence Day 2015







Deep within a Malaysian street market, a teamaker spins a metal cup towards the sky. In mid-air, he turns it just so, and out pours a hot mix of tea and condensed milk. The drink speeds towards the ground – until another cup swoops in, scooping it out of the air. The tea is saved, and the wide-eyed crowd bursts into cheers!

This is the ritual of “teh tarik,” the national drink of Malaysia. Brewed hot, it cools and thickens as it’s slung back and forth between the teamaker’s special mixing cups. It’s not only delicious to drink, but a delight to watch. That’s why we chose it for the Malaysian Independence Day doodle, illustrated by guest artist Alyssa Winans.

[9A]

31 August 2015
Start of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship








To usher in the 37th US Open played at Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York, we thought we’d imagine what our letters would look like playing tennis. Fortunately, Serena Williams can’t hit a through-body lob like today’s “O”, but she could be the first woman to win a Grand Slam since Poison had a number-one single. Here’s to a great tradition in American sports and the possibility of a historic moment at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

[9A]

25 August 2014
Althea Gibson's 87th Birthday



Althea Neale Gibson [August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003] was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title [the French Championships]. The following year she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals [precursor of the US Open], then won both again in 1958 and was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years. In all, she won 11 Grand Slam tournaments: five singles titles, five doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title. Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. "She is one of the greatest players who ever lived", said Bob Ryland, a tennis contemporary and former coach of Venus and Serena Williams. "Martina [Navratilova] couldn't touch her. I think she'd beat the Williams sisters." In the early 1960s she also became the first Black player to compete on the Women's Professional Golf Tour.


[I once saw her practicing tennis at Palmer Park in Detroit. She was already famous. 9A]

[9A]

25 August 2009
400th Anniversary of Galileo's Telescope





Thehistory of the telescope can be traced to before the invention of the earliest known telescope, which appeared in 1608 in the Netherlands, when a patent was submitted by Hans Lippershey, an eyeglass maker. Although Lippershey did not receive his patent, news of the invention soon spread across Europe. The design of these early refracting telescopes consisted of a convex objective lens and a concave eyepiece. Galileo improved on this design the following year and applied it to astronomy. In 1611, Johannes Kepler described how a far more useful telescope could be made with a convex objective lens and a convex eyepiece lens. By 1655, astronomers such as Christiaan Huygens were building powerful but unwieldy Keplerian telescopes with compound eyepieces.

Isaac Newton is credited with building the first reflector in 1668 with a design that incorporated a small flat diagonal mirror to reflect the light to an eyepiece mounted on the side of the telescope. Laurent Cassegrain in 1672 described the design of a reflector with a small convex secondary mirror to reflect light through a central hole in the main mirror.

The achromatic lens, which greatly reduced color aberrations in objective lenses and allowed for shorter and more functional telescopes, first appeared in a 1733 telescope made by Chester Moore Hall, who did not publicize it. John Dollond learned of Hall's invention and began producing telescopes using it in commercial quantities, starting in 1758.

[9A]

25 August 2016
Celebrating US National Parks






Today’s Doodle celebrates the parks and monuments of the U.S. national parks on the occasion of the National Park Service centennial. Designated in 1916, the National Park Service has set aside over 84 million acres of protected land for everyone to explore and enjoy.

Shelton Johnson, Park Ranger at Yosemite National Park and published author, shares his thoughts on this important milestone with us:

“There are national parks older than Yellowstone, or Yosemite, but it was in Yosemite Valley where the national park idea was first lit. It was Yellowstone that fanned that spark to a flame illuminating a world that was old, but seen anew!

No longer were rivers a force to be dammed, virgin forests a source for board-feet, or mountainsides blasted for gemstones or coal. A wild river was as alive as the fish within it. A forest became a network of plants bound to rock, soil, and sky.

Now there are national parks in over 150 nations. The idea of parks has the power to transcend culture, a currency whose value speaks of something profoundly human.

Jasper, Guilin, Serengeti, Sagarmatha, Fiordland, Torres del Paine, Kakadu, and Grand Canyon, are now just local names, out of tens of thousands, for planet Earth.”

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Doodler, Sophie Diao gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of today’s Doodle:

“When we first set about making this Doodle, we didn’t know where to begin. The topic seemed so vast that it felt disingenuous to only focus on a few places, but it would be way too hard to doodle all 59 national parks! The only thing we knew for sure was that iron-on patches are awesome and we wanted to include them somehow. Our idea evolved from there, and a research trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons inspired us even further.

After finalizing the video concept, I created storyboards using patches to transition between different scenes. We expanded the scope to include the monuments, seashores, and other sites that the National Park Service oversees. Our production process was fairly straight forward - I painted each scene and passed it to Lydia, who distilled the essence of my painting into a patch. Lydia painted the characters and animals, and I animated them. A couple of other members of the Doodle Team helped with the production. See if you can identify the place that each scene and patch represent!

The coolest thing about the national parks is that they exist for everyone. Whether you’re a hiker, climber, camper, or “glam”per – whether you travel by bicycle, foot, or chair – there’s a park for you. I hope this Doodle inspires everyone to enjoy the outdoors, which I think is one of the best things about America.

Also, to get a taste of the American wilderness no matter where you are, visit Google’s The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks. Follow park rangers on a journey to places most people never go and experience the sights, sounds, and adventures in stunning 360˚. "

[9A]

25 August 2014
Uruguay Independence Day 2014




Uruguay is most known for its “fútbol” history and its summer beaches when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Less widely known is the local dish shown in today’s doodle commemorating Uruguay’s declaration of independence. The “Chivito” is made with churrasco beef plus lots of tasty treats served either in a sandwich [called “al pan”] or without bread [called “al plato”].

[9A]

24 Aug 2014
Ukraine Independence Day 2014






This bountiful harvest scene was illustrated by Ukrainian guest artist, Vladyslav Yerko to celebrate this year's independence day.

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23 Aug 2014
25th Anniversary of the Baltic Way





On August 23, 1989, 2 million people held hands and formed a human chain that stretched 370 miles across the three Baltic states, proving that the call for independence from the Soviet Union was a matter of peace, not violence. Today, we mark the 25th anniversary of the Baltic Way on our homepages in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

[9A]

23 August 2011
Alois Jirásek's 160th Birthday





Alois Jirásek was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a high school history teacher in Litomyšl and later in Prague until his retirement in 1909. He wrote a series of historical novels imbued with faith in his nation and in progress toward freedom and justice. He was close to many important Czech personalities like M.Aleš, J.V. Sládek, K.V. Rais or Z.J. Nejedlý. He attended an art club in Union Cafe with them. He worked as a redactor in Zvon magazine and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1918, 1919, 1921 and 1930.

[9A]

23 August 2015
Mundaneum co-founder Paul Otlet's 147th Birthday






History’s most prolific thinkers had the vision to see how the world might look a year, a decade, even a century into the future. These innovators thought up today’s most advanced technology well before it was even possible to create it.

For many of us, it’s hard to imagine a world before the Internet. Belgian lawyer Paul Otlet lived in that world. In 1895, he worked with Henri La Fontaine to create the Universal Bibliography in Brussels, a repository of more than 12 million searchable index cards that came to be called the Mundaneum in the early 1900's.

Years later, Paul brought clarity and a future to the project through his vision for the Mundaneum: a universal system of written, visual, and audio information that people could access from the comfort of their own homes. The roots of that vision took hold just a few decades later when engineers planted the technological seeds that brought electronic information sharing to life.

[9A]

21 April 2018
Jennie Trout's 177th Birthday





Jennie Kidd Trout was the first woman in Canada to become a licensed medical doctor, on March 11, 1875. Trout was the only woman in Canada licensed to practice medicine until July 1880, when Emily Stowe completed the official qualifications.

Motivated by her own chronic illnesses, she decided on a medical career, passing her matriculation exam in 1871 and studying medicine at the University of Toronto. Trout and Emily Jennings Stowe were together the first women admitted to the Toronto School of Medicine, by special arrangement. Stowe, however, refused to sit her exams in protest of the school's demeaning treatment of the two women. Trout later transferred to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she earned her M.D. on March 11, 1875 and became the first licensed female physician in Canada.

^{In 1991, Canada Post issued a postage stamp in her honour to commemorate her as the first woman licensed to practise medicine in Canada.}

[9A]

21 April 2013
Sir Norman Parkinson's 100th Birthday





Norman Parkinson, was a celebrated English portrait and fashion photographer. His work revolutionised British fashion photography, as he moved the craft out of the studio and into outdoor settings. He became an official royal photographer in 1969, taking photographs for Princess Anne's 19th birthday. He continued with many other royal portraits, including official portraits of Queen Elizabeth for her 75th birthday in 1975. He received many honors during his life including the Royal Photographic Society's Progress Medal, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society of Magazine Photographers, a Google Doodle, and a British postage stamp.

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23 June 2017
Hokiichi Hanawa’s 271st Birthday







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

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

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

[9A]

1 Jul 2017
Amy Johnson’s 114th Birthday





Today we celebrate pioneering British aviator Amy Johnson. The first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, Johnson became a symbol of perseverance and a feminist inspiration around the world.

Breaking into the male-dominated field of aviation proved difficult but not impossible for Johnson.

Though she was not a naturally gifted pilot, Amy possessed an unshakable resilience that inspired future generations. In fact, before setting her first world flying record in 1930, Amy’s strong determination and drive qualified her to be the first British-trained woman ground engineer — for a brief time, she was the only woman in the world to hold that job title.

That sort of resume does not go unnoticed. To honor the homecoming of her record-breaking solo flight from England to Australia, Amy was welcomed back with the tune “Amy, Wonderful Amy” — a hit song recorded by Jack Hylton and His Orchestra.

Johnson quickly joined the ranks of other top female aviators, such as Amelia Earhart and Florence “Pancho” Barnes, by breaking several more world records — including her husband’s record for the fastest solo flight from London to Cape Town. Throughout her career, she made headlines as the “British Girl Lindbergh”and “The Long Girl Flyer.” She later shifted her solo flying adventures into a stint as First Officer in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War.

To celebrate the spirit of this fearless flyer, today’s Doodle reminds us that there is no challenge too high or too far.

Happy 114th birthday, "wonderful Amy"!

[9A]

24 November 2019
195th Anniversary of Las Piñas Bamboo Organ



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 195th anniversary of the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ, the oldest, largest, and only known bamboo pipe organ in existence. Constructed over 8 years with 1,031 pipes, 902 of which are made of native bamboo, the Bamboo Organ of St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Piñas, Manila, was completed in 1824 under the direction of Spanish missionary Fray Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmel. The organ is still operational and has been playing daily for nearly 45 years since its reconstruction.

In the 1880s, natural disasters severely damaged the instrument, silencing it until a restoration project started in 1972. The organ was moved from Las Piñas to Bonn, Germany, where it underwent a full reconstruction, returning to the island in 1975. The homecoming celebrations morphed into the International Bamboo Organ Festival, held every February. On this day in 2003, the Bamboo Organ was named a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

The Bamboo Organ Foundation oversees the annual celebrations where some of the most famous organists from around the world have come to perform. In the 44 years since the return to Las Piñas, the organ and festival in its honor have become synonymous with Filipino cultural expression.

A monument to sustainable building and technological sophistication, the Bamboo Organ stands as a symbol of what’s possible when design draws from native resources, labor, and the ingenuity of its nation’s people.

[9A]

4 July 2010
4th of July 2010 and Rube Goldberg's Birthday




Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg [July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970], known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor.

Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. The cartoons led to the expression "Rube Goldberg machines" to describe similar gadgets and processes. Goldberg received many honors in his lifetime, including a Pulitzer Prize for political cartooning in 1948, the National Cartoonists Society's Gold T-Square Award in 1955, and the Banshees' Silver Lady Award in 1959. He was a founding member and first president of the National Cartoonists Society, which hosts the annual Reuben Award, honoring the top cartoonist of the year and named after Goldberg, who won the award in 1967. He is the inspiration for international competitions known as Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, which challenge participants to create a complicated machine to perform a simple task.

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4 July 2014
Fourth of July 2014







“I was incredibly excited to be able to combine two of the greatest influences in my life into this doodle-- hand drawn animation and marching band,” she adds.


Bauer says that she knew that she wanted to make an animated short, and knew that she wanted to incorporate the song “Stars and Stripes Forever.” “Arguably, nothing is more symbolic of The US’s Independence day than John Philip Sousa’s iconic march.”


For art direction, she chose to emulate UPA’s classic 1950’s exaggerated design and animation style. This seemed appropriate because it is snappy, fun, and totally in the spirit of “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

Google would additionally like to thank "The President's Own" United States Marine Band for providing the music recording, and engineer Mark Ivey for helping this doodle launch.
Have a great July 4th!

[9A]

13 Jul 2004
Bastille Day 2004

[9A]

13 July 2011
Sir George Gilbert Scott's 200th Birthday





Sir George Gilbert Scott, known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started his career as a leading designer of workhouses. Over 800 buildings were designed or altered by him.

Scott was the architect of many iconic buildings, including the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station, the Albert Memorial, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, all in London, St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow, the main building of the University of Glasgow, St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh and King's College Chapel, London.

[9A]

6 March 2018
Gabriel García Márquez’s 91st Birthday







Today’s Doodle honors the Abbé Charles-Michel de l'Épée, a French educator who founded the first public school for the deaf. Dispelling the misconception that people with impaired hearing were incapable of learning, Épée developed a visual method that became the blueprint for the teaching of the deaf in France and that changed countless lives at a time when many deaf people were discriminated against.

"Every deaf-mute sent to us already has a language," he wrote. "He is thoroughly in the habit of using it, and understands others who do. With it he expresses his needs, desires, doubts, pains, and so on, and makes no mistakes when others express themselves likewise.”

Born in Versailles on this day in 1712, Épée was the son of an architect who studied theology and law before devoting his life to serving the poor. He began tutoring two deaf sisters who lived in the slums of Paris and who communicated through their own sign language. In 1760, he used his own inheritance to found the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets à Paris, a school for the deaf that was open to all regardless of their ability to pay.

The French National Assembly eventually recognized him as a "Benefactor of Humanity" and asserted the rights of deaf people under France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. His school went on to receive government funding and remains open to this day renamed as Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris.

Happy Birthday, Charles-Michel de l'Épée!

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6 March 2012
Ghana Independence Day 2012

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6 March 2014
Elizabeth Browning's 208th Birthday







Elizabeth Barrett Browning [née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime.

Born in County Durham, the eldest of 11 children, Elizabeth Barrett wrote poetry from the age of eleven. Her mother's collection of her poems forms one of the largest extant collections of juvenilia by any English writer. At 15 she became ill, suffering intense head and spinal pain for the rest of her life. Later in life she also developed lung problems, possibly tuberculosis. She took laudanum for the pain from an early age, which is likely to have contributed to her frail health.

In the 1840s Elizabeth was introduced to literary society through her cousin, John Kenyon. Her first adult collection of poems was published in 1838 and she wrote prolifically between 1841 and 1844, producing poetry, translation and prose. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery and her work helped influence reform in the child labour legislation. Her prolific output made her a rival to Tennyson as a candidate for poet laureate on the death of Wordsworth.

Elizabeth's volume Poems [1844] brought her great success, attracting the admiration of the writer Robert Browning. Their correspondence, courtship and marriage were carried out in secret, for fear of her father's disapproval. Following the wedding she was indeed disinherited by her father. In 1846, the couple moved to Italy, where she would live for the rest of her life. They had a son, known as "Pen" [Robert Wiedeman Barrett Browning] [1849–1912]. Pen devoted himself to painting until his eyesight began to fail later in life; he also built up a large collection of manuscripts and memorabilia of his parents, however, since he died intestate, it was sold by public auction to various bidders, and scattered upon his death. The Armstrong Browning Library has tried to recover some of his collection, and now houses the world's largest collection of Browning memorabilia. Elizabeth died in Florence in 1861. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband shortly after her death.

Elizabeth's work had a major influence on prominent writers of the day, including the American poets Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. She is remembered for such poems as "How Do I Love Thee?" [Sonnet 43, 1845] and Aurora Leigh [1856].

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6 March 2002
Piet Mondrian's 130th Birthday



Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was reduced to simple geometric elements.

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6 March 2015
Holi Festival 2015



Holi is one of the major festivals of Hindus. It is celebrated in South Asian countries, especially in India and Nepal. Hiranyanaksap wanted to kill his son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister to sit on a burning fire along with Prahlad. He thought that his sister would not be harmed by the fire of the magic robe and Prahlad would be burnt to death. But the result was the opposite to what the evil demon king planned.

People are seen with different varieties of colors on Holi. They put colors on each other, sing, dance. They worship Lord Krishna and put colors on his idol.