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Veterans Day 2016



Today’s Doodle honors the contributions and sacrifices of Veterans and their families across the country. Doodler and veteran Diana Tran shares what this day means for her:

Veterans Day is always special for me. Every year on this day, I spend a little extra time reflecting on my service in the United States Marine Corps. I remember the moments when the task placed before me seemed impossible. Whether that task was traversing an obstacle in training or making it through a mission in Iraq, there was one constant that gave me confidence and strength. I knew that the men and women next to me had my back and together we were focused on achieving our goal. There was comfort in that camaraderie that I haven't experienced anywhere else.

The artwork for today's doodle was created by Doodler Olivia Huynh in collaboration with myself and the network of veterans at Google. She's done a wonderful job of capturing the celebratory and inclusive nature of Veterans Day. Today, I hope you'll join us in honoring our veterans who sacrificed so that we can enjoy our freedom.

To all veterans everywhere, thank you for your service.

Diana Tran, Doodle Designer
United States Marine Corps (2004-2010)

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Sir Frederick Banting’s 125th Birthday

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Elisabeth "Ellis“ Kaut's 96th Birthday



Who's that little goblin lighting the birthday cake? The impish Pumuckl, created by Elisabeth "Ellis" Kaut, has been playfully causing mischief since 1962. Pumuckl is a kobold, a kind of sprite based in German folklore. He constantly gets into trouble but never intends any real harm. Kaut, who would be 96 today, wrote more than 100 Pumuckl stories. She received several awards and honors for her work, including the prestigious Bavarian Poetentaler literary award.

Today's Doodle was created by Barbara von Johnson, who became the primary Pumuckl illustrator in Kaut's books after winning a competition at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1963.

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Karimeh Abbud’s 123rd Birthday



Born on November 18, 1893 (according to local historians), Karimeh Abbud, the self-proclaimed “Lady Photographer,” was one of the first female photographers of the 20th century and is remembered for her stunningly natural portraiture and landscapes. After receiving a camera as a gift from her father at age 17, Abbud started taking photographs of family, friends, and the surrounding landscape of Bethlehem, Palestine, where she grew up.

Abbud’s talent continued to develop, and she became the first Palestinian woman to open a photography studio. During that time, she became well-known for her style of portraiture, which differed from the carefully staged European-style portraiture of the time. Instead, Abbud photographed her subjects in their homes, letting her work reflect her subjects’ natural states.

Working in Palestine and Lebanon during the first half of the twentieth century, Abbud captured vast landscapes, many of which don’t exist today. Through her art, we’re able to experience the beauty of these regions as she saw them nearly 100 years ago.

Thank you, Karimeh, for making art that endures.

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James Welch's 76th Birthday



Today’s Doodle by artist Sophie Diao pays tribute to James Welch, the Blackfeet writer, on what would be his 76th birthday. Through his novels, documentary film, and poems, Welch gave voice to the struggles and humanity of the Native American experience in the United States.

Thirty years ago, Welch published his best known work, Fools Crow, the story of the Blackfeet people during the period of post-civil war encroachment by Europeans. In this award-winning novel, the Blackfeet seek to continue traditional ways, and to avoid both contact and conflict. As a whole, Welch’s works emphasized the humanity of native peoples and their deep attachment to their homelands. He was considered an early part of what was later dubbed the Native American Renaissance, during which native writers celebrated tribal culture and revealed its complex problems in works readily accessible to the larger American public.

Welch, who as a young man described himself as an "Indian who writes," gained an international audience. His works were appreciated universally for both their artistic appeal and ability to bring the experiences of the Native American people to life.

Here’s to James -- thank you for your contributions!

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Cecilia Grierson’s 157th Birthday



Cecilia Grierson was a physician, activist, author, inventor, reformer, prominent Freethinker, and the first woman to receive a medical degree in Argentina.

In 19th century Argentina, medical school was off limits to women—in fact, very few women enrolled in secondary education of any kind. Grierson’s perseverance earned her a degree, and the struggles she faced fueled her work as a human rights activist. As vice president of the International Council of Women, a suffragist organization, she fought tirelessly for social causes like welfare benefits, maternity leave for working women, and the end of the slave trade, to name a few. As a physician, Grierson founded the first nursing school in Argentina, furthered studies in gynecology and kinesiology, and was the first to suggest medical service vehicles have alarm bells—what we now know as the ambulance.

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

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Thanksgiving 2016



On Thanksgiving, celebrated in America on the last Thursday of November, friends and families gather around tables to feast and give thanks. This holiday has origins dating back nearly 400 years when early American settlers met the Native American Wampanoag people.

It was 1620 in Plymouth, Massachusetts when Mayflower colonists and the Wampanoag forged a partnership of necessity. Decimated by an epidemic and wary of the mightier Narragansett, their nearby enemies, the Wampanoag and the newcomers become allies. The pilgrims were unfamiliar with Massachusetts’ natural resources and ill-equipped for survival - but Tisquantum, an English-speaking Patuxet Wampanoag, taught them how to hunt, gather shellfish, and plant corn, beans, and squash. Following harvest in the fall of 1621, the settlers and the Wampanoag, celebrated what’s considered the “First Thanksgiving,” a three-day feast with wild duck, goose, turkey, deer, and barley ale.

Evocative of American folk art, with quilt-like patterning and simple shapes, today’s Doodle, rendered in a rich harvest-colored palette, is an ode to this season of togetherness.

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100th Anniversary of "Pelo Telefone"



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

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

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Drs. Suyadi's 84th Birthday



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

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

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

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Louisa May Alcott’s 184th Birthday



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

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