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Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (El Santo)’s 99th Birthday




Today we’re celebrating what would have been the 99th birthday of the man credited with popularizing wrestling in Mexico, the one and only Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta. More commonly known as “El Santo” (The Saint), this legendary, silver-masked luchador wrestled for nearly five decades and is remembered as one of the greatest sports figures in Mexican history. Through his appearance in film and as the subject of many comic books, he became a cultural icon, representing justice and the fight against evil.

Legend has it that El Santo never removed his silver mask even at home and had a special mask for eating. He went to great lengths to protect his identity, particularly when traveling. He finally removed his mask to reveal his identity on the Mexican talk show, Contrapunto. A week after his unmasking, El Santo died on February 5, 1984. His funeral was one of the biggest in Mexican history, attended by family, friends, and his many fans. Shortly thereafter, a statue of El Santo was erected in his hometown of Tulancingo.

Per his wishes, El Santo was buried wearing his iconic silver mask.

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358th Anniversary of Tea in the UK



Tea drinking is a thoroughly British pastime, whether it’s a mug of steaming builder’s tea or a delicate cup and saucer served with cucumber sandwiches. It’s not known when the first cuppa was enjoyed in the UK, but we do know that the first advert for tea in England appeared on this date in a publication from 1658 describing it simply as a “China Drink.” A couple of years later, English Naval Administrator Samuel Pepys wrote about drinking tea in his diary entry from 1660.

Chinese tea was reportedly drunk by Europeans as early as the 16th century, a trend spearheaded by Dutch and Portuguese traders. British coffee shops were selling tea in the 17th century, though drinking it was considered an expensive, upper-class privilege. By the 19th century, The East India Company was using fast ships called tea clippers to transport leaves from India and China to England’s docks. The Cutty Sark is the only surviving clipper of its kind and can still be visited in Greenwich.

As tea became more readily available, dedicated tea shops began popping up throughout the UK, becoming favorite spots for daytime socialising. Tea was well on its way to becoming a British tradition.

As today’s animated Doodle illustrates, tea cups come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Whatever your favorite vessel may be, we hope you enjoy a cuppa or two of this enduring drink today.

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Ladislao José Biro’s 117th birthday



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

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

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

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

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Andrejs Jurjans’s 160th Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates a man who, in many ways, carried Latvian music forward into the 20th century.

As the country’s first professional composer and musicologist, Andrejs Jurjāns delved into the Latvian folk music of the past while taking the sounds of his homeland to new heights. Throughout his lifetime, he collected and analyzed thousands of folk melodies, organizing them into an anthology that was published across six volumes. He also composed the first-ever Latvian symphonic works, including an instrumental concerto and a cantata, and was well-known for his choir arrangements.

When Jurjāns wasn’t crafting original pieces, he spent much of his time teaching. From 1882 — the year he finished his own schooling at the St. Petersburg Conservatory — to 1916, he shared his knowledge of music theory and more with students. Through his instruction, research, and composition, Jurjāns inspired many of the Latvian musicians who came after him. Today we pay tribute to that legacy on what would have been the composer’s 160th birthday.

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German Reunification Day 2016



On this day in 1990, East Germany and West Germany officially joined together as one for the first time since 1945. Though the Berlin Wall separating the two countries fell in 1989, it wasn't until 1990 that East and West Germany signed a treaty to re-unify and on October 3, East Germany formally joined West Germany.

To celebrate the Day of German Unity, festivals are held all over the country, with traditional food, drink, concerts, and horse racing. In addition to a large celebration at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the headquarters of German Unity Day change every year. The headquarters of the celebration always takes place in the state home of the current president of the Bundesrat, the legislative body of Germany. This year, Saxony hosts the celebration.

The artist collective WRK collaborated with the Doodle Team today to celebrate the union of East and West Germany. The colors of the German flag come together today, as the country comes together to commemorate this unity.

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German Reunification Day 2016



On this day in 1990, East Germany and West Germany officially joined together as one for the first time since 1945. Though the Berlin Wall separating the two countries fell in 1989, it wasn't until 1990 that East and West Germany signed a treaty to re-unify and on October 3, East Germany formally joined West Germany.

To celebrate the Day of German Unity, festivals are held all over the country, with traditional food, drink, concerts, and horse racing. In addition to a large celebration at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the headquarters of German Unity Day change every year. The headquarters of the celebration always takes place in the state home of the current president of the Bundesrat, the legislative body of Germany. This year, Saxony hosts the celebration.

The artist collective WRK collaborated with the Doodle Team today to celebrate the union of East and West Germany. The colors of the German flag come together today, as the country comes together to commemorate this unity.

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434th Anniversary of the Introduction of the Gregorian Calendar



From October 5–October 14, 1582, time was erased. Not literally, of course; just on the calendar. These ten days were declared non-existent by then-pope Gregory XIII as part of a realignment of the Julian calendar, implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. In the mid-1570s, it was discovered that the Julian calendar was actually 10 days behind the seasons of the year. For example, Easter began falling later in the spring than it should have and eventually would have drifted into summer. The calendar creep was the result of the solar year (the time it takes Earth to make one revolution around the sun) being around 11 minutes shy of the full Julian calendar. To be precise, the solar year is actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds.

Pope Gregory saved the day (and season) by appointing a commission to solve the problem. It took five years, but eventually the group, led by physician Aloysius Lilius and astronomer Christopher Clavius, proposed eliminating three leap years every 400 years to keep the calendar on track. To transition to the Gregorian calendar, ten days were declared officially non-existent, with the day after October 4, 1582 declared October 15th. First implemented by Italy, Spain, and Portugal, the Gregorian calendar is today’s most widely used system.

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100th Anniversary of completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zik9bc9A-Es

From the country’s small villages to its big cities, Russia depends on the mighty Trans-Siberian Railway to traverse more than 6,000 miles and seven time zones between Moscow and Vladivostok.

In just seven days, the railway transports travelers and cargo from western Russia, across rocky tundra and frequently impassable countryside, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Built over 26 years and completed a century ago, it remains a critical facet of Russian trade with Europe and China, and is a stalwart example of Russian engineering.

Today’s Doodle celebrates the railway that helped link a nation with the world. Doodler Matt Cruickshank relied on his first-hand experience traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway in April 2015 to bring the Doodle to life.

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50th Anniversary of Health and Sports Day



On Japan’s annual Health and Sports Day, everyone wins! That spirit inspired today’s Doodle, which shows Google-hued characters of all ages crossing the finish line together. First celebrated 50 years ago today, the holiday commemorates the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Since the occasion is all about promoting an active lifestyle, Japanese people both young and old celebrate by going for the gold. Many schools host field days that resemble mini Olympics, featuring events like the relay, long jump, and shot put, along with obstacle courses and tug of war.

For decades, Health and Sports Day was held on October 10th, but it was officially moved to the second Monday in October back in 2000. This year, the holiday happens to fall on its original date — just in time for its 50th birthday.

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Edgar Negret’s 96th birthday



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

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

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