Google doodles

[9A]

6 March 2011
Will Eisner's 94th Birthday






From time to time we invite guests to post about topics of interest and we’re pleased to have
Scott McCloud join us here. Scott is a comics artist with special ties to Google—he illustrated the Chrome comic book and is a 2011 U.S. Doodle 4 Google judge. He also helped conceptualize the design of today’s doodle in honor of Will Eisner [the artwork itself is by doodler, Mike Dutton], which is running in many countries including the U.S. In this post, Scott shares his thoughts on Will Eisner’s legacy. -Ed.

Will Eisner, American comics pioneer and creator of The Spirit, was born on March 6, 1917. He would have been 94 today.

Many of us who knew him still find it hard to believe he’s gone. He died in 2005, but for six decades, Eisner was a participant in, and inspiration for, much of the best in American comics, as well as a friend and mentor to multiple generations of comics artists.

Eisner influenced comics in dozens of ways. In the ‘40s, Eisner’s The Spirit—a seven-page newspaper feature—introduced an arsenal of visual storytelling techniques still used generations later, and provided an early testing ground for future comics stars including Jack Kirby and Jules Feiffer. [[The Spirit also began a tradition of pictorially-integrated logos—inspiring today's snazzy rooftop doodle!)

Eisner was one of the first cartoonists to understand the power of visual education, and wrote eloquently about the process of making comics in Comics and Sequential Art [[1985) andGraphic Storytelling [1996]. As early as 1941, he publicly advocated treating comics as a distinct literary and artistic form, and—nearly four decades later—was instrumental in the rise of the graphic novel in America, beginning with A Contract with God in 1978.

For most of his career, Eisner was years, even decades, ahead of the curve. I saw him debating artists and editors half his age, and there was rarely any question who the youngest man in the room was. It helped that he never stood on ceremony. Everyone was his peer, regardless of age or status. None of us called him “Mr. Eisner.” He was just “Will.”

Eisner lived well into his eighties; long enough to see an industry award named after him. Inevitably, the prospect loomed that Will Eisner himself might win an “Eisner Award” leading to some awkward choices; Hall of Fame, maybe? Lifetime Achievement?

His only suggestion was “Most Promising Young Cartoonist.”

And so he was.

[9A]

19 July 2019
50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing






Fifty years ago, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission changed our world and ideas of what is possible by successfully landing humans on the surface of the moon⁠—and bringing them home safely⁠—for the first time in history. Today’s video Doodle celebrates this moment of human achievement by taking us through the journey to the moon and back, narrated by someone with firsthand knowledge of the epic event: former astronaut and Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins.

A team of some 400,000 people from around the world worked on Project Apollo—mostly factory workers, scientists, and engineers who never left the ground. Within those 400,000 were the mission’s astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Their historic journey began when a Saturn V rocket blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. After achieving orbit around the moon, the lunar module, known as “the Eagle,” separated for a 13-minute journey to the surface. Meanwhile, astronaut Michael Collins stayed behind in the command module, which would eventually bring all three astronauts back home to Earth.

Along the way to the moon’s surface, Armstrong and Aldrin lost radio contact with Earth, the onboard computer showed unfamiliar error codes, and fuel ran short. As millions watched on television with anxious anticipation, they successfully steered the module to a safe landing on the crater dubbed the “Sea of Tranquility” on July 20, 1969.

Not long after, Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the moon, stating the now infamous words “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Returning safely to Earth on July 25, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew were followed by 10 more astronauts, with the final mission taking place in 1972. Countless scientific breakthroughs—from CAT scans to freeze-dried food—took place thanks to the mission to the moon.

Space exploration continues to this day, with milestones such as the International Space Station and plans for a mission to Mars. Most recently, NASA’s Artemis program—named for Apollo’s sister in Greek mythology—aims to bring the first woman to the moon.

[9A]

4 July 2007
4th of July 2007

[9A]

8 Jul 2007
National Aborigines & Islander Day Observance Committee Week









NAIDOC Week is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. It has its roots in the 1938 Day of Mourning, becoming a week-long event in 1975.

[9A]

1 Aug 2007
Swiss National Day 2007

[9A]

8 January 2018
Fearless Nadia’s 110th Birthday







Born Mary Ann Evans on this day in 1908 in Perth, Australia, the blue-eyed blonde actress “Fearless Nadia” earned her nickname as the original Bollywood stuntwoman in the 1930s and 1940s.

After learning the ropes of outdoor living in Peshawar, she first joined a touring dance troupe in Bombay, then the Zarco Circus. After changing her name to Nadia on the advice of a fortune teller, she was cast in cameos before striking upon the winning film formula: Fearless Nadia, action heroine.

In her first lead role, JBH Wadia’s 1935 film Hunterwali [The Lady of the Whip], Fearless Nadia blazed onto the screen in leather shorts, a mask, and cape, performing all of her own stunts. Over the years, she swung from chandeliers, sprang from speeding trains, and even tamed lions. After leaving the cameras behind in the early 60’s, Riyad Wadia’s 1993 documentary Fearless: The Hunterwali Story brought the passionate trailblazer back to the limelight once again.

Gutsy stunt star Fearless Nadia is ready to rumble in today’s Doodle, which was created by Bangalore-based comic illustrator Devaki Neogi. The illustration draws inspiration from the action movie posters of old-time Hindi cinema.

Happy Birthday, Fearless Nadia!

[9A]

27 November 2018
Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita’s 132nd Birthday







“The reason why I so much enjoy being friends with cats is that they have two different characters: a wild side and a domestic side. This is what makes them interesting,” said Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita. “A cat’s a wild animal, and I like that.”

Born in Tokyo on this day in 1886, Foujita, the son of a Japanese army general,dreamed of becoming a painter in Europe. After graduating from art school in Japan, he relocated to France in 1913, where he befriended various School of Paris luminaries such as Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, and even studied dance with Isadora Duncan.

Foujita’s first solo exhibition at the prestigious Gallery Chéron in June 1917 sold out quickly. The exhibition consisted of watercolors painted with a fine brush in a distinctive style that blended Eastern and Western influences and finished with a silvery wash.

Celebrated during his lifetime, Foujita received international awards and prominent commissions. His 1930 Book of Cats, featuring 20 etched plate drawings, became one of the most popular cat books ever published. Today, his work can be seen in Kyoto’s National Museum of Modern Art before rotating to the Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris in early 2019.

In 2011 his estate established the Foujita Foundation which carries on his legacy by the supporting artistic projects of young people experiencing difficulties from an interdisciplinary approach while encouraging educational development, cultural openness, and personal fulfillment.

Happy Birthday, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita!

[9A]

27 Nov 2018
Fe del Mundo’s 107th Birthday





“I’m glad that I have been very much involved in the care of children, and that I have been relevant to them,” says Filipina physician Fe del Mundo. “They are the most outstanding feature in my life.”

Born in Manilla on this day in 1911, del Mundo was inspired to study medicine by her older sister who did not herself live to realize her dream of becoming a doctor. Also known as “The Angel of Santo Tomas,” del Mundo devoted her life to child healthcare and revolutionized pediatric medicine in the process.

A gifted student who became the first woman admitted to Harvard Medical School, del Mundo returned home after completing her studies in the U.S. During World War II, she set up a hospice where she treated more than 400 children and later became director of a government hospital. Frustrated with the bureaucracy, she eventually sold her house and belongings to finance the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines. Del Mundo lived on the second floor of the Children's Medical Center in Quezon City, making early morning rounds until she was 99 years old, even in a wheelchair.

When she wasn’t treating patients she was teaching students, publishing important research in medical journals, and authoring a definitive ‘Textbook of Pediatrics.’ She established the Institute of Maternal and Child Health to train doctors and nurses, and became the first woman to be conferred the title National Scientist of the Philippines and received many awards for her outstanding service to humankind.

Happy Birthday, Fe del Mundo!

[9A]

24 Nov 2018
Charles-Michel de l'Épée’s 306th 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!

[9A]

23 Nov 2018
Mestre Bimba’s 119th Birthday




A blend of martial arts, acrobatics, dance, and music, Capoeira has been practiced in Brazil for hundreds of years. Today’s Doodle celebrates Manuel dos Reis Machado, or Mestre Bimba, the master who legitimized capoeira and founded the world’s first school to promote this Afro-Brazilian martial arts style.

Mestre Bimba was born in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, on this day in 1899 as the youngest of 25 children and son of a batuque champion, another Brazilian fighting game. His parents named him Manuel dos Reis Machado, but everyone called him Bimba. He worked various odd jobs – longshoreman, carpenter, and coal miner – before dedicating his life to his real passion of capoeira.

Developed by former slaves, Capoeira was outlawed by the Brazilian government for many years. “In those days, when capoeira was spoken of, it was in whispers,” Bimba recalled. “Those who learned capoeira only thought about becoming criminals.”

As studying martial arts was forbidden by law, music was added to disguise the powerful fighting techniques as dance moves. Developing his own style, known as capoeira regional, Mestre Bimba instituted a strict set of rules and a dress code. In 1928 he was invited to demonstrate his style of capoeira for Getulio Vargas, then president of Brazil. The President was so impressed that he gave Mestre Bimba the go-ahead to open the first capoeira school in his hometown of Salvador, giving this unique martial art a new sense of legitimacy. In 2014 capoeira was recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, which hailed it as one of the most expressive popular manifestations of the Brazilian culture.

Happy Birthday, Mestre Bimba!

[9A]

23 Nov 2018
Nikolai Nosov’s 110th Birthday





Blending fairy tales, fantasy, and science fiction, Nikolai Nosov wrote children’s literature whose playful prose delivered powerful insights into human nature. His short stories like “Alive Hat,” “Cucumbers,” and “Miraculous Trousers,” and a humorous trilogy of novels about the misadventures of a very small boy named Neznaika [whose name translates as “Know-Nothing” in English] made Nosov a favorite of young readers all over Russia and beyond.

Born on this day in 1908 in Kiev, Ukraine, Nosov attended the Moscow Institute of Cinematography and worked as a producer of animated educational films before he began publishing fiction, often in popular children’s magazines like Murzilka. In 1952 his endearing novel Vitya Maleev at School and at Home was awarded the Stalin Prize, the Soviet Union’s state award, elevating his profile as a writer considerably. The book was later adapted into a comic film called Two Friends.

In 1954 he published the first volume of the Neznaika trilogy—in both Russian and Ukrainian—with two subsequent novels in the series appearing in 1958 and 1967. Set within a town in fairyland populated by tiny people called “Mites” who are “no bigger than a pine cone,” the action centers around an impulsive and easily distracted boy whose belief that he knows everything is always getting him into trouble. In 1969, Nosov won a new literary prize for his trilogy, which has since been adapted into numerous film versions, endearing his characters to countless generations of readers as parents who grew up on Neznaika grow up and the books to their own children.

Happy Birthday, Nikolai Nosov!

[9A]

23 Nov 2018
Valdemar Poulsen’s 148th Birthday







Today’s Doodle celebrates Valdemar Poulsen, a Danish engineer whose innovations made magnetic sound recording and long-range radio transmission possible. Many modern conveniences, from telephone answering machines to cassettes, even VHS tapes and floppy disks, used the basic technology that he developed by stringing a steel piano wire at a slight angle between two walls. By sliding an electromagnet down the wire he was able to record sound using a microphone and play it back through a telephone earpiece.

Born in Copenhagen on this day in 1869, Poulsen studied medicine for a time before joining the Copenhagen Telephone Company as a technician. During his time he invented the telegraphone—or telegrafon in Danish–– and was awarded a patent. The cylindrical electromagnetic phonograph was capable of recording up to thirty minutes of speech. In 1900 he showed off his device at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where he recorded the voice of Austrian emperor Francis Joseph—still the earliest surviving magnetic recording. After winning a Grand Prix in Paris, he founded the American Telegraphone Company, but sales were sluggish as the device was truly ahead of its time.

That same year brought another breakthrough, a “singing arc” radio that would transmit up to 150 miles. Subsequent improvements of this design, capable of reaching 2,500 miles, were eventually used by the U.S. Navy.

Although he dropped out of medical school, Poulsen was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leipzig. He was also a Fellow of the Danish Academy of Technical Science and the Swedish Institute for Engineering Research, and won the Gold Medal of the Royal Danish Society of Science and the Danish Government Medal of Merit. A stamp was issued in his honor and the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences established an annual award in his name.

Happy Birthday, Valdemar Poulsen!

[9A]

18 March 2018
Isidro Baldenegro López’s 52nd Birthday






The forest is lush and dense. The mountains are jagged and snow-topped, depending on the time of year. The canyons are vast and deep. Sierra Tarahumara, also known as the Sierra Madre Occidental, is the land to which Isidro Baldenegro López dedicated his life.

Baldenegro, born in 1966 in the village of Coloradas de la Virgen in those same mountains, watched his father take a stand against illegal logging activities in their home region — a courageous position that cost his father his life. Young Isidro decided to carry on with defending what he believed to be the sacred hills for his community. He organized peaceful sit-ins and non-violent resistance in the face of illegal logging and organized crime. In 2003, he was arrested and jailed on false charges of arms and drug possession. Released after 15 months, Baldenegro went on to win the Goldman Prize in 2005 for his environmental activism.

Today’s Doodle, on what would have been his 52nd birthday, celebrates Baldenegro’s fearless commitment to protecting the people and environment of his homeland through peaceful resistance.

[9A]

20 March 2021
David Warren's 96th birthday







Today’s Doodle honors Australian research scientist Dr. David Warren, the inventor of the flight data and voice recording technology commonly known as “the black box”: a virtually indestructible device that has helped save the lives of countless travelers around the globe.

Born on this day on remote Groote Eylandt off the northern coast of Australia, David Warren went on to receive his doctorate in fuels and energy research from London’s Imperial College. After returning to Australia, he embarked on a 31-year career with the Commonwealth’s Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne.

In 1953, the ARL was tasked with investigating a mysterious crash of the world’s first jet-powered commercial aircraft. Confronted with the difficult task of reconstructing what went wrong, Dr. Warren had an ingenious idea. He envisioned a voice recording device that could capture cockpit conversations in real-time, providing critical insight into what happened before a crash to help prevent the same problems in the future. Facing initial skepticism, Dr. Warren developed an experimental prototype on his own, creating the world’s first “black box” [though his model was actually painted red]. The rudimentary device became the first with the capability to store audio in combination with flight instrument data, a monumental breakthrough in aviation technology.

Today, a modern equivalent of Dr. Warren’s invention is mandatory in cockpits worldwide, playing an integral role in the constant improvement of aviation safety standards.

Thank you, Dr. David Warren, for your selfless dedication to making air travel safer for people everywhere!

[9A]

22 Mar 2021
Elena Lacková's 100th birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Czech guest artist Filip Posivac, celebrates the centennial birthday of Slovakian-Romani writer and dramatist Elena Lacková, who is widely considered the first author in post-war Czechoslovakia to tell the story of the Romani people and the persecution they faced throughout World War II.

Born on this day in 1921 in Veľký Šariš, Czechoslovakia [modern-day Slovakia], Elena Lacková was raised in a settlement of Romani people—a historically oppressed European ethnic group of Indian origin. Although she was unable to pursue higher education due to anti-Romani laws, Lacková became a talented writer of her own accord, penning poems by moonlight as the only girl out of the 600 children in her settlement with the ability to read.

In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and persecuted its Romani settlements as part of the regime’s Roma Holocaust. Lacková survived these atrocities and became determined to reinvigorate Roma pride through theatre. Her first published work of literature—a play entitled “Horiaci cigánsky tabor” [“The Gypsy Camp Is Burning,” 1947]—depicted the collective hardships of the Romani people during the Holocaust, while providing a new perspective into their culture.

Lacková’s work continually uplifted the Romani community through literary mediums such as short stories, fairy tales, and radio plays. In 1970, she achieved yet another milestone as the first Romani woman in Czechoslovakia to graduate from university. A pioneer who received countless accolades, Lacková became the first Romani woman to receive one of Slovakia’s highest honors, the Order of Ľudovít Štúr III, awarded in 2001.

Happy birthday, Elena Lacková!

[9A]

27 Mar 2021
Celebrating Tawhida Ben Cheikh







Today’s Doodle celebrates the Tunisian physician, magazine editor, and social activist Tawhida Ben Cheikh, widely credited as the first female physician in Tunisia. A feminist pioneer both in and out of the medical field, Ben Cheikh helped transform Tunisian medicine by providing women better access to contemporary healthcare. On this day in 2020, the Tunisian government issued a new 10-dinar note emblazoned with Ben Cheikh’s portrait—the world’s first ever banknote to feature a female doctor.

Tawhida Ben Cheikh was born on January 2, 1909 in Tunis, the present-day capital of Tunisia, at the time a French protectorate. Supported by her mother, in 1928 she became the first Tunisian female to graduate secondary school, but she didn’t stop there. In a break from traditional expectations of women, she went on to earn her medical degree in Paris in 1936 at the age of 27.

Upon her return to Tunis that year, Ben Cheikh made history when she opened her own free medical practice. With primary specialties in gynecology and obstetrics, she went on to become the head of the maternity department of the city’s Charles-Nicolle hospital in 1955. Then in the ‘70s, she founded Tunisia’s first family planning clinic. Ben Cheikh also contributed to numerous women’s organizations and founded Leïla, the country’s first French-language women’s magazine.

Here’s to a medical trailblazer who made huge strides for gender equality in Tunisia and beyond.

[9A]

5 Apr 2021
Sadri Alışık's 96th birthday







Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Istanbul, Turkey-based guest artist Sedat Girgin, celebrates the 96th birthday of prolific Turkish comedian and actor Sadri Alışık.

Born in Istanbul on this day 1925, Mehmet Sadrettin “Sadri” Alışık fell in love with the performing arts at 7 years old after attending a local play. To hide his dramatic ambitions from his father, who disapproved of acting as a career, Alışık enrolled in a university painting program post-high school to disguise the time he spent acting in various Istanbul theatres.

Alışık’s clandestine devotion soon paid off, debuting on the silver screen in the 1944 film “Günahsizlar” [“The Innocent Ones”]. His film success led to decades of serious performances in historical and crime dramas before he showcased his dynamic acting skills in comedy. In 1963, he brought Tourist Ömer to life. A comedic and relatable portrayal of an everyday Turkish gentleman, Tourist Ömer was a smash hit that starred in eight movies, an iconic run that came to a sci-fi end in 1974 with “Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek.”

Outside of his more than 200 film and television appearances, Alışık loved to paint, sing Turkish classical music, and write poetry. He bid farewell to entertainment with his role in “Yengeç Sepeti” [“Crab Basket”], his 1994 cinematic swan song for which the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival awarded him Best Actor. Today, his legacy lives on in acting studios founded in Istanbul and Ankara, both named in his honor.

Happy birthday, Sadri Alışık! Thank you for setting the stage for the future of Turkish performing arts.

[9A]

9 Apr 2021
Amácio Mazzaropi's 109th birthday







Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Brazilian guest artist Arthur Vergani, celebrates Brazilian actor, screenwriter, producer, and director Amácio Mazzaropi on his 109th birthday. Through his signature role as the beloved character “Jeca Tatu,” Mazzaropi used humor to address serious topics and became a fixture of Brazilian cinema.

Born on this day in São Paulo in 1912, Mazzaropi spent time as a child visiting his grandfather’s country home, which influenced the on-screen persona he later developed. As a teenager, the future icon of Brazilian comedy left home to work for Circo La Paz, a traveling circus. There he came up with the idea to perform as a hillbilly, embodied in Marazzaropi’s future performance as Monteiro Lobato’s character Jeca Tatu.

Mazzaropi produced content for radio and television for many years before appearing in his first film, “Sai da Frente” [“Get Out of the Way,” 1952]. With his film career off the ground, and after several other roles, Mazzaropi bought Fazenda Santa, a farm turned studio that also served as the location for many of his films. It was here that Mazzaropi opened his own production company in 1958.

Mazzaropi wove social commentary into simple language and covered important subjects to great effect, which caused audiences to flock to his productions for over 20 years.

Interestingly, while Mazzaropi became one of Brazil’s most acclaimed comedic actors, he was also a major supplier of milk to Leites Paulista. Today, Fazenda Santa is Hotel Fazenda Mazzaropi, home to the Mazzaropi Museum, which has a collection of over 20,000 items.

Happy birthday, Amácio Mazzaropi!

[9A]

9 April 2010
Vlasta Burian's Birthday





Josef Vlastimil Burian, better known as Vlasta Burian, was a Czech stage and film actor, singer, comedian, footballer and film director. In the Czech Republic, he is known as Král komiků [King of Comedians].

[9A]

15 Apr 2010
Children's Day 2010 - Multiple Countries on Various Dates

[9A]

15 April 2012
Wilhelm Busch's 180th Birthday







Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch [15 April 1832 – 9 January 1908] was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day.

Busch drew on the tropes of folk humour as well as a profound knowledge of German literature and art to satirize contemporary life, any kind of piety, Catholicism, Philistinism, religious morality, bigotry, and moral uplift.

His mastery of drawing and verse became deeply influential for future generations of comic artists and vernacular poets. Among many notable influences, The Katzenjammer Kids was inspired by Busch's Max and Moritz. Today, the Wilhelm Busch Prize and the Wilhelm Busch Museum help maintain his legacy. The 175th anniversary of his birth in 2007 was celebrated throughout Germany. Busch remains one of the most influential poets and artists in Western Europe.

[9A]

27 Apr 2012
Theo Angelopoulos' 77th Birthday






Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer.
He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely respected filmmakers in the world. He started making films in 1967. In the 1970s he made a series of political films about modern Greece.

Angelopoulos' films, described by Martin Scorsese as that of "a masterful filmmaker", are characterized by the slightest movement, slightest change in distance, long takes, and complex, carefully composed scenes. His cinematic method is often described as "sweeping" and "hypnotic."

In 1998 his film Eternity and a Day went on to win the Palme d'Or at the 51st edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and his films have been shown at many of the world's esteemed film festivals.

[9A]

4 May 2000
Google Aliens 2000 - 4

[9A]

4 May 2012
Keith Haring's 54th Birthday





In the early 1980s, as a native Manhattanite raised by and among artists, I was aware of Keith Haring and his work, but my 1984 job interview would be the first time we would meet. After some awkward small talk, we quickly realized that we had many friends and social activities in common. At that age [we were both just 25], such things meant a great deal. He hired me as his personal assistant and studio manager, and I worked alongside him until his premature death from AIDS-related illnesses in 1990. We shared many interests, worked well together, and established a deep, reciprocal trust. When he became ill and decided to create the Keith Haring Foundation, I was honored to accept his offer to be its executive director. I have now held that position for 23 years, and my responsibility and privilege is to promote and manage a legacy: respecting past connections and relationships, cultivating and nurturing new ones, staying true to Keith's artistic and philanthropic goals, and doing whatever is needed to ensure his place in history.

Keith tapped into the collective unconscious and expanded upon a universal language of symbols and messages – executed in simple lines, energized by the spirit [and for a time, context] of graffiti and fueled by his intense commitment to make his work as accessible as possible. Although he first came to the public’s attention through his chalk drawings in the New York City subway stations, he utilized the same graphically compelling visual vocabulary in thousands of works on paper, canvas, limited edition prints and multiples, sculpture, public murals and, eventually, merchandise – avenues of dissemination that to him were all of equal importance. This ambitious, populist spirit and prolific output brought his work to the widest audience imaginable.

Curious and cautious about the role technology was beginning to play in our society, Keith often included images of computers in his work. He was both excited by and nervous about the impact of the personal computer on our daily lives. Using his art to convey these and other social concerns was at the root of his ever-increasing popularity. Over the past 30 years, images he created that speak about racism, drug addiction, AIDS and tolerance have become iconic.

Keith once expressed his fantasy that in the future, his images might be "beamed" around the world in seconds. That future is now, and I firmly believe that for Keith, the Internet would have been a realization of that excitement and cautious curiosity. That the world’s largest search engine is honoring Keith's birthday is nevertheless a perfect, 21st century, tribute to his art and ambitions. As Keith himself said in 1984, "Art lives through the imaginations of the people who are seeing it. Without that contact, there is no art. I have made myself a role as an image-maker of the twentieth century and I daily try to understand the responsibilities and implications of that position. It has become increasingly clear to me that art is not an elitist activity reserved for the appreciation of a few, but for everyone, and that is the end toward which I will continue to work."

[9A]

4 May 2019
Eddie Aikau’s 73rd Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Eddie Aikau, big wave surfer, lifeguard, and enduring symbol of Hawaiian heritage. Born on the island of Maui on this day in 1946, Eddie moved to Oahu with his family in 1959 and went on to become the first lifeguard hired by Honolulu officials to work on the North Shore of the island.

Not a single life was lost while he served as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay, making some 500 rescues without the assistance of a jet ski or any modern equipment. Eddie was famous for making rescues even in surf that reached 30 feet high. His fearlessness went on to inspire the slogan “Eddie would go.”

Hailing from a surfing family, Eddie was one of the first native Hawaiians to win the prestigious Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship in 1977, just four years after his older brother Clyde, who was the very first. Aside from his distinguished surfing career, Eddie found other ways to represent the culture of his native island. In 1978, Eddie joined the crew of the Hokule'a, a historically accurate double-hulled canoe retracing the ancient Polynesian migration route to Hawaii. The vessel sprung a leak and capsized in rough waters. Eddie was last seen heroically paddling off on his surfboard towards the nearest island to seek help for the crew, who were later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Today, Eddie’s legacy lives on through the Eddie Aikau Foundation as well as the prestigious Eddie Aikau Invitational, which has seen some of big-wave surfing’s greatest names competing with maximum respect for the authenticity of surf culture.

Here’s to you, Eddie.

[9A]

9 May 2017
Ferdinand Monoyer’s 181st birthday




Ferdinand Monoyer, born on this date in 1836, rose to prominence as one of France's most famous ophthalmologists. He developed the diopter, the unit of measurement for vision that's still used today. The diopter measures the distance you'd have to be from text to read it. Most notably, Monoyer devised an eye chart where every row represents a different diopter, from smallest to largest.

Monoyer was known to change the font of a particular letter if it didn't suit him; after all, if you're going to judge a person's vision by it, that letter had better be as legible as possible! If you look closely at today's Doodle, you might be able to spot a tribute to another of Monoyer's signatures: his name, hidden in the chart.

[9A]

4 July 2018
Hubert Cecil Booth’s 147th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates British engineer Hubert Cecil Booth, inventor and designer or many products we use to this day, most notably the first powered vacuum cleaner!

At the top of the 20th century, cutting-edge floor-cleaning technology involved blowing air to push debris away. Booth, however, was intrigued by the inverse idea: cleaning by suction. After seeing a demonstration of the “pneumatic carpet renovator” blowing dirt out of railway cars, Booth tried an experiment. Laying his handkerchief on a restaurant chair, he put his mouth on the table cloth and sucked air through it. Inspired by the results, he set to work on his first design—nicknamed “Puffing Billy”—which was powered by an engine so big it had to be housed outside and pulled around by horses!

Booth started the British Vacuum Cleaner Company in 1903, and his flagship product—a somewhat smaller electric device—was soon embraced by fashionable households, including the British royal family. Watching the “Puffing Billy” suck dust out the window of your home even became a fun afternoon activity, lending housework a certain social cachet.

Although the vacuum cleaner is a critical component of Booth’s legacy, it didn’t stop there. He o built bridges,designed engines for Royal Navy battleships, and also contributed to the design of ferris wheels across England, France, and Austria - which you can also spot in today’s Doodle .

Happy 147th birthday Hubert Cecil Booth!

[9A]

11 December 2019
Noel Rosa’s 109th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 109th birthday of the beloved Brazilian singer and songwriter Noel Rosa. Known as the “Poeta da Vila” [Poet from Vila], his observational and comedic style earned him a special place in the history of samba, the popular music of the Brazilian people.

Born in the Vila Isabel neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro on this day in 1910, Rosa grew up in a musical family. He started playing the mandolin at age 13 and soon learned the guitar as well.

A gifted student, he entered medical school in 1931. However, when he had to choose between medicine and music, Rosa’s choice became clear. Rosa devoted his energy to writing music and created his own style of samba by mixing witty lyrics with unpredictable twists and turns of melody and bridging the gap between rural Afro-Brazilian traditions and the sound of urban nightlife.

He had his breakthrough with "Com que roupa?," which became one of the biggest hits in 1931 in Brazil and the first of many memorable songs. With his songwriting partner Vadico, he also wrote a series of popular compositions such as "Feitiço da Vila" ["Witchcraft of the Villa"] and "Feitio de Oração" ["In the Form of a Prayer"].

Composing around 260 songs over a period of eight years, Rosa established a body of work that has remained popular to this day. His legacy lives on in the hearts of cariocas [residents of Rio de Janeiro] and samba lovers around the world.

Parabéns, Noel Rosa!

[9A]

11 December 2010
Carlos Gardel's Birthday





Carlos Gardel [born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935] was a French-Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential interpreters of world popular music in the first half of the 20th century. Gardel is the most famous popular tango singer of all time and is recognized throughout the world He was notable for his baritone voice and the dramatic phrasing of his lyrics. Together with lyricist and long-time collaborator Alfredo Le Pera, Gardel wrote several classic tangos.

Gardel died in an airplane crash at the height of his career, becoming an archetypal tragic hero mourned throughout Latin America. For many, Gardel embodies the soul of the tango style. He is commonly referred to as "Carlitos", "El Zorzal" ["The Song thrush"], "The King of Tango", "El Mago" [The Wizard], "El Morocho del Abasto" [The Brunette boy from Abasto], and ironically "El Mudo" [The Mute].

[9A]

11 December 2009
Naguib Mahfouz's Birthday




Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature.

He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Taha Hussein, to explore themes of existentialism. He published 34 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie scripts, hundreds of op-ed columns for Egyptian newspapers, and five plays over a 70-year career. Many of his works have been made into Egyptian and foreign films.

[9A]

21 May 2020
Celebrating the embroidered shirt





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Kyiv-based guest artist Tania Yakunova, honors the Ukrainian embroidered shirt [known as vyshyvanka] in commemoration of International Vyshyvanka Day. Held each year on the third Thursday of May, this holiday is dedicated to the preservation and revival of Ukraine’s folk tradition of crafting and wearing embroidered clothing. What began in 2006 has since exploded into a global phenomenon with participation in over 50 countries around the world.

Embroidery has been a part of Ukrainian culture since long before the country itself was established. According to archaeological evidence and the accounts of the Greek historian Herodotus, the Scythians who inhabited Ukrainian territories as early as the 9th-century B.C. often wore embroidered clothing.

Over 250 distinct embroidery stitches can be used to form the vyshyvanka’s signature coded symbols. These typically fall into three categories: floral ornamentation, zoomorphic figures, and geometric shapes, all of which can be found in today’s Doodle artwork. No pattern comes without a detailed meaning, and Ukraine’s varied cultures and natural landscapes are reflected in the unique iconography employed within each region.

Centuries later, the vyshyvanka today is recognized as an integral component of Ukraine’s national costume and an expression of patriotism and cultural pride. So throw on your finest embroidered shirt, and join in this celebration of Ukrainian culture!

Happy International Vyshyvanka Day!

[9A]

21 May 2014
Mary Anning's 215th Birthday






Mary Anning [21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847] was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for finds she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England. Anning's findings contributed to changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth.

[9A]

21 May 2019
Willem Einthoven’s 159th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates the birth of Willem Einthoven, the Nobel Prize-winning Dutch physiologist who pioneered electrocardiography—a quick, painless, and effective method of studying the rhythms of the heart and diagnosing cardiovascular disease.

Born on the island of Java [now Indonesia] on this day in 1860, Einthoven grew up aspiring to follow in the footsteps of his father who had been both a doctor and military medical officer. By 1886 he had become a professor of physiology at the University of Leiden, focusing on optics, respiration, and the heart.

In 1889, Einthoven attended the First International Congress of Physiologists, where he watched a demonstration of a device known as the “Lippmann capillary electrometer” recording the electrical activity of the human heart. After analyzing the results, Einthoven recognized the need for a more accurate device, and began work on his string galvanometer, based on the technology used to amplify signals along underwater cables.

Balancing a fine string of quartz coated in silver between the two poles of a magnet, Einthoven’s invention precisely measured variations in electrical current. In 1901 he announced the first version of the string galvanometer, and soon published the world’s first electrocardiogram or ECG, a printed record of a human heartbeat. Einthoven studied the ECG patterns, identifying five “deflections” of normal heart function, learning how to interpret deviations that signal circulatory problems and heart disease.

Einthoven’s groundbreaking research won him the 1924 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Today, ECG machines are still used in hospitals all over the world, and while the technology has evolved greatly, they still work according to the same basic principles and techniques developed by Einthoven, who is now remembered as the father of modern electrocardiography.

[9A]

20 May 2002
Dilbert Google Doodle 2002 - 1

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21 May 2002
Dilbert Google Doodle 2002 - 2

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22 May 2002
Dilbert Google Doodle 2002 - 3

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23 May 2002
Dilbert Google Doodle 2002 - 4

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24 May 2002
Dilbert Google Doodle 2002 - 5

[9A]

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






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

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

[9A]

26 May 2012
Rafael Escalona's 85th Birthday






Rafael Calixto Escalona Martinez [May 26, 1926 – May 13, 2009] was a Colombian composer and troubadour. He was known for being one of the most prominent vallenato music composers and troubadours of the genre and for being the co-founder of the Vallenato Legend Festival, along with Consuelo Araújo and Alfonso López Michelsen.

He was also a long-time friend of Gabriel García Márquez, who included him in his stories and once told him that his own masterpiece novel, 100 years of solitude, was just a 350-page Vallenato.

Escalona's songs compile the history and stories of the Magdalena Department of the past 20th century. Escalona was an atypical music composer: he does not play any instruments or sing so his songs can in some ways be difficult to analyze. His songs constitute a legacy of a past generation of Colombians in his memory, a pictorial collage, full of grace, that narrates stories, customs and gossips from his region. He also left a legacy of his loves and pains, humour and poetry. In 1991, Caracol TV produced a television series named Escalona, after him.

[9A]

26 May 2016
Frankie Manning’s 102nd birthday

[PLEASE SEE THREAD in ¨Clubhouse¨ entitled ¨Celebrating Swing Dancing And The Savoy Ballroom!¨ 26 May 2021]







One morning in 1929, Frankie Manning--then only fifteen--was walking through Harlem on his way to Sunday school. Passing the Alhambra Ballroom, he made a decision to take dance classes that would change swing forever. Known as the Ambassador of the Lindy Hop--the exuberant style born in Harlem--Frankie Manning is remembered as the first person to take swing from the dancefloor to the air above it. Today’s doodle by Nate Swinehart celebrates Frankie Manning’s acrobatic, powerful style, in which his partners were flipped and spun to the emphatic horns of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and others.

The Lindy Hop and Manning’s aerial flourishes became wildly popular, and Manning himself performed the dance in several 40’s era movies. He also served in WWII, toured South America and the UK with his troupe, The Congaroos, performed the Lindy for King George VI, and won a Tony Award for his choreographic work on the Broadway musical Black and Blue.

Frankie Manning often described the dance as a “series of three-minute romances.” Here’s to the Ambassador on what would have been his 102nd birthday, and his role in creating for countless people--even if it lasted only three minutes--a moment that transcended the world around them.

[9A]

27 May 2012
75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge







The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide [1.6 km] strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California. It was initially designed by engineer Joseph Strauss in 1917. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Frommer's travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 4,200 feet [1,280 m] and a total height of 746 feet [227 m].

[9A]

8 December 2019
Camille Claudel’s 155th Birthday





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Paris-based artists Icinori, celebrates French sculptor Camille Claudel on her 155th birthday. Facing many challenges as a woman in art, Claudel’s determination pushed her to continually break gender molds and create even in the face of adversity.

Born in Fère-en-Tardenois, Claudel began experimenting with clay as a child. At age 12, her father organized a visit from established sculptor Alfred Boucher, who took notice of Claudel’s burgeoning skills and advised Claudel to move to Paris to study art. Enrolling at the Académie Colarossi, Claudel worked on honing her craft before a fateful 1882 meeting with Boucher’s friend, renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Claudel began training under Rodin in 1884, learning about his method of observing profiles and the importance of capturing expressions. Her sculptures, however, also had an impact on Rodin. For instance, her 1886 piece, “Jeune fille à la gerbe,” is widely considered to have inspired Rodin’s “Galatea,” completed a few years later.

Claudel and Rodin became romantically involved, resulting in two personally revealing sculptures, Persée et la Gorgone [Perseus and the Gorgon] and L'Âge mûr [The Age of Maturity]. The former features a self-portrait of Claudel as the Gorgon Medusa and has often been interpreted as a contemplation of the uphill battle for recognition that she faced in her artistic career. Both pieces coincided with the end of their relationship in 1893.

Much of Claudel’s work resides in Musée Camille Claudel in Nogent-sur-Seine, which opened in 2017. Here, art lovers from around the world continue to appreciate Claudel’s oeuvre.

Happy birthday, Camille Claudel!

[9A]

11 December 2017
Max Born’s 135th Birthday






An atom is the smallest unit of matter. Quantum mechanics is a chapter of physics that studies matter at this incredibly granular level, leading to the invention of personal computers, lasers, and medical imaging devices [MRI], among other game-changing technologies.

Today's Doodle celebrates the 135th birthday of Max Born, German physicist and mathematician who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution to the field of quantum mechanics.

An outstanding student, Born earned his Ph.D. at Göttingen University where he later became a professor of theoretical physics, collaborating with and mentoring some of the most famous scientists of the time. In 1933 he was forced to flee Germany for England, where he served as the Tait Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh for nearly two decades until his retirement in 1954 when he returned home to Göttingen.

Born was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954 for the Born Rule — a quantum theory that uses mathematical probability to predict the location of wave particles in a quantum system. Previous theories proposed that wave equations were exact measurements, involving cumbersome physical measurement experiments. A gifted mathematician, Born discovered that matrices or “arrays of numbers by rows and columns” could yield a similar result, relying on predictions of probability. This revolutionary theory now provides the basis for practically all quantum physics predictions.

Try to spot the wave function in today’s Doodle, created by guest artist Kati Szilagyi, to honor this pioneering physicist.

[9A]

8 December 2012
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson´s 180th Birthday




Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit", becoming the first Norwegian Nobel laureate. He was a prolific polemicist and extremely influential in Norwegian public life and Scandinavian cultural debate.

Bjørnson is considered to be one of The Four Greats [De Fire Store] among Norwegian writers, the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland. Bjørnson is also celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet". Composer Fredrikke Waaler based a composition for voice and piano [Spinnersken] on text by Bjørnson.

[9A]

8 December 2011
Diego Rivera's 125th Birthday




Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera, was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and international art.

Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted murals in, among other places, Mexico City, Chapingo, and Cuernavaca, Mexico; and San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City, United States. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; this was before he completed his 27-mural series known as Detroit Industry Murals.

The Detroit Industry Murals are a series of frescoes by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, consisting of twenty-seven panels depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company and in Detroit. Together they surround the interior Rivera Court in the Detroit Institute of Arts. Painted between 1932 and 1933, they were considered by Rivera to be his most successful work. On 23 April 2014, the Detroit Industry Murals were designated by the Department of Interior as a National Historic Landmark.

[9A]

10 Dec 2017
Celebrating Grazia Deledda






When Grazia Deledda submitted a short story to a fashion magazine at the age of 13, she could not have known she was setting the stage for a decades-long career and a Nobel Prize. Today’s Doodle celebrates her accomplishments as one of Italy’s great authors.

Deledda was born in 1871 in the village of Nuoro on the island of Sardinia, which is off the western coast of Italy. Her family and surroundings were instrumental in shaping her future as a writer. Her father was a sociable man with many friends in the surrounding towns, and his visitors became the basis for many of the characters in her novels. She was also inspired by her island home, often using Sardinia’s landscape as a metaphor for the challenges her characters faced.

As a female writer in the late 19th century, Deledda faced her own challenges as well. Her formal education ended at age 11, and she relied on private lessons and self-study in order to further her craft. Her work — which often touched on themes like temptation and sin — was often criticized by those in her traditional hometown, despite the inspiration she drew from the region.

These obstacles didn’t sway her though, and Deledda continued to produce many highly praised works. In 1926, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, making her the first Italian woman and the fourth woman ever to receive a Nobel Prize.

[9A]

3 April 2011
Anniversary of the Ice Cream Sundae






When the doodle team heard that the 119th anniversary of the first ever documented ice cream sundae was fast approaching, we couldn't resist the indulgence. The ice cream sundae is a dessert that's rife with opportunities for reinterpretation and restyling, but the prototypical setup – with ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, strawberries, nuts, and cherries all piled into an elegant glass – is still a classic.

Even though the first documented sundae was made in 1892, for this doodle I drew inspiration from vintage 1950s soda shoppe decor and magazine advertisements. I also did a fair amount of research at my local ice cream parlor!

posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino

[9A]

3 April 2018
John Harrison’s 325th Birthday







It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention, and without a doubt, British horologist John Harrison brought that age-old proverb to life.

Born on this day in 1693, in Foulby, Yorkshire, England, Harrison was a self-educated clockmaker and carpenter who came to the rescue of countless sailors by creating the first marine chronometer to calculate longitude at sea.

Seeking to remedy naval disasters, the British government created the Board of Longitude in 1714, which offered a reward of £20,000 to anyone who could devise a navigational instrument that could find the longitude within 30 miles of a sea voyage.

Harrison took on the challenge. He set to work on his chronometer in 1728 and completed it in 1735, following up this feat with three watches that were even smaller and more on the money than his first.
Harrison’s extraordinary invention brought him much acclaim. Thanks to him, seamen could determine not only gauge latitude but longitude, making their excursions far safer.
Our colorful Doodle shows the inventor hard at work, surrounded by the tools of his trade. Today, time is on his side.

Happy 325th birthday, John Harrison!

[9A]

3 April 2013
Henry van de Velde's 150th Birthday




Henry Clemens van de Velde was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium. He worked in Paris with Samuel Bing, the founder of the first gallery of Art Nouveau in Paris. Van de Velde spent the most important part of his career in Germany and became a major figure in the German Jugendstil. He had a decisive influence on German architecture and design at the beginning of the 20th century.