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Vladimir Dal’s 216th Birthday



Vladimir Dal's life's work is known throughout Russia, though his name may not always be. The writer and lexicographer (scholar of words) traveled the country to catalog the stories and phrases that defined Russian culture.

When Dal began his journey to capture Russia's rich culture and language, he had already accomplished much in his life: first in the Russian Navy, then as a doctor and a war hero, and finally as a writer and publisher of natural sciences textbooks.

While traveling in the countryside studying plants and animals, Dal discovered his passion for writing and documenting the many facets of Russia. He spoke to many people, gathered their verbal history and turns of phrases, and soon published his first book of fairytales. He continued to visit people in their homes and recorded everything they could tell him about Russian tradition. Folklore, music, and crafts formed the base of this knowledge, but the thread tying it all together was the richness of the Russian language and its dialects.

Dal eventually compiled his work into the ambitious Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, containing 200,000 Russian words and 30,000 Russian sayings. The work was reprinted in new editions several times over the next century, a testament to its status as a foundational and accessible book for all of Russia.

Today's slideshow Doodle celebrates Dal’s tireless efforts roaming the countryside and interviewing hundreds to discover the thread of language that binds Russia together. In the first slide, we travel with Dal as he leaves the city on his journey to explore Russia's traditions firsthand. We visit a family with Dal in the second slide -- can you spot the fairytale fox in the house? Slide 3 brings us with Dal to a marketplace along with singers and puppets, a sample of what he saw during his time on the road. The dictionary Dal put together, illustrated in Slide 4, housed the many details Dal learned about in his travels.

Happy 216th birthday, Vladimir Dal!

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José Clemente Orozco’s 134th Birthday



Celebrated Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco was born in Ciudad Guzmán in central Mexico 134 years ago today.

After his family moved to Mexico City, the young Orozco would often cross paths with satirical caricaturist José Guadalupe Posada on his way to school. These meetings awakened in the young boy a keen political consciousness and a deep love for art, a powerful medium in the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution. Orozco would later document the social and political change of the era as one of Los Tres Grandes (The Three Greats) of Mexican mural art.

His sprawling, emotive frescos were initially often commissioned by the government. Dissatisfied with the condition of ordinary Mexicans however, he started to contradict his own sponsors - sometimes subtly (Maternidad (Maternity), 1924) and sometimes visibly (La Trinchera (The Trench), 1926). This paradoxical relationship caused him to leave the country for seven long years, living in the US and earning international renown for works such as Prometeo (Prometheus) (1930) and The Epic of American Civilization (1934). When he returned to Mexico, Orozco began work on the frescos of Hospicio Cabañas, murals sketching the span of Mexican history from indigenous civilizations to the Revolution.

Today’s Doodle—by Mexico City-based artist Santiago Solis—depicts Orozco in front of the jaguar featured in Las Riquezas Nacionales (The National Riches), his mural at La Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación in downtown Mexico City.

Feliz cumpleaños, Señor Orozco!

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Thanksgiving 2017



Unlike his domesticated brethren, the Turkey in today’s Doodle is taking flight…from the Thanksgiving table.

Three hundred ninety-six years ago, the Pilgrims celebrated their first successful harvest with Native Americans of the Wampanoag tribe. As time flew by, feasts like these became beloved traditions that flocked through the colonies, and in 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.

Though the pardoning of turkeys has been a presidential privilege since 1989, the Turkey in this Doodle has decided to pardon itself. Luckily, there are plenty of mashed potatoes to go around.

Happy Thanksgiving 2017!

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Celebrating Mensch ärgere dich nicht



Mensch ärgere dich nicht, or “Do not get angry,” is a game whose very title tackles the ire that board games can provoke. The premise is simple: the first player to move all of their pieces to the other side of the board wins. But don’t trust the dice — they’ll inevitably force soon-to-be winners back to square one.

The game was invented between 1907 and 1908 by Josef Friedrich Schmidt. Born on this day in 1871, Schmidt was a Munich resident who worked in the city. Inspiration struck when he decided to create an engaging pastime for his three young children. He devised a game similar to others across the globe, including the Indian game Pachisi and the English game Ludo. Today's Doodle, featuring game piece characters made of clay playing the game, was created by stop-motion animator Max Mörtl, with assistance from 2D animator Robert Loebel.

The timelessness of this game is a huge part of what lends it its status as one of the most beloved forms of entertainment in Germany. If today’s Doodle inspires you to give Mensch ärgere dich nicht a shot and your opponent snatches away your victory at the eleventh hour, don’t get angry with us!

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Lope de Vega's 455th Birthday



“Con algunas flores en mi jardín, media docena de fotos y algunos libros; vivo sin envidia.”

(“With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy.”)

Born in Madrid in 1562, prolific dramatist Lope de Vega’s talent was noticed while he was a student by the bishop of Ávila, who attempted but ultimately failed to convince him to join the priesthood. A romance prompted de Vega to abandon this religious path, and he continued to educate himself with anthological readings while establishing a career as a writer in Madrid.

De Vega’s love life, which often inspired his plays and poetry, was defined by intense passion and marked with fierce ups and downs — including one that landed him in exile. During this time, he spent several years in Valencia focusing on further honing his craft and establishing a reputation as a talented playwright and poet. Service to dukes, romances and marriages, and a handful of heartbreaking deaths characterized the bulk of the playwright’s life during his most productive period. Today, some 3,000 sonnets, 3 novels, 4 novellas, 9 epic poems, and 500 plays are attributed to him.

Despite the chaos that surrounded him, de Vega remained a prolific and significant writer, majorly influencing the art and direction of Spanish theatre and poetry. Today, we celebrate the vast contributions of the Fénix de los Ingenios (Pheonix of Spanish Wits) on what would be his 455th birthday.

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Christian Doppler’s 214th Birthday



When a fire engine approaches, the siren gets louder as it comes closer, taxing your eardrums as it whizzes past, and fades into the distance. What causes this difference in volume?

The answer was proposed by Austrian mathematician and physicist Christian Doppler in 1842 in a phenomenon since documented as the Doppler Effect, a concept that applies to both sound and light, in addition to other phenomena.

Simply put, sound is generated in ‘waves.’ As the source of such waves moves closer, the waves themselves take less time to reach you. They hit you with increasing frequency, making the sound more intense. As the source moves away, the waves start to spread out, and the sound becomes weaker.

The Doppler effect also explains why stars in the sky appear to be of different colors. As a star approaches the earth, wavelengths compress and the star appears to be bluer in color. If the converse happens and a star is moving away from us, it appears redder.

Though the Doppler Effect is his most famous contribution to scientific literature, Christian Doppler authored over fifty works in mathematics, physics, and astronomy over the course of a twenty year teaching career that spanned modern day Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Today’s Doodle by guest artist Max Löffler celebrates Christian Doppler’s 214th birthday. It shows Doppler in Salzburg, his native city, holding an airplane as it creates a Doppler effect.

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Herr Doppler!

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Gertrude Jekyll’s 174th Birthday



If not for legendary horticulturist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, the world might be a much drabber place. Born in London on this day in 1843, Jekyll spent most of her life in Surrey, England, on her family’s estate, Munstead House. Later, she moved into her own house, Munstead Wood, where she planted one of her most enchanting gardens.

A woman of innumerable talents, Jekyll was also an accomplished musician, composer, woodworker, metalworker, and botanist. Her foundation as a budding artist greatly influenced her breathtaking creations. As a student, she took inspiration from the landscapes of English Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner, capturing the seasons, the light, the textures, and the hues of every growing thing on her canvases. Jekyll brought that painterly sensibility to her life’s work, designing about 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the U.S., which were documented in photographs, over a dozen books, and thousands of magazine articles.

Today’s Doodle was created by British artist Ben Giles. Giles unites the hot and cool colors the horticulturist favored to create a lush and brilliant garden collage. From the corner of the illustration, Jekyll watches her garden grow.

Happy 174th birthday, Gertrude Jekyll!

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St. Andrew's Day 2017



November 30 is St. Andrew’s Day in Scotland, a national holiday and cultural celebration that involves traditional food, ceilidh dancing, storytelling, and fireworks - with lots of talk and laughter.

Today’s very special coloring-in Doodle by Scottish artist Johanna Basford is a procession of beloved Scottish symbols, each with a special link to the country’s rich heritage and mythology. Wreathed in the prickly-leaved purple thistle, the unicorn (Scotland’s national animal) leads the parade, symbolizing innocence, purity, power, and joy.

The highlands and the lochs form the perfect backdrop to the country’s favorite mythical monster — Nessie, otherwise known as the Loch Ness monster. Trailing her is a majestic red deer, Scotland’s largest native land mammal, exploring the country’s much-celebrated bluebell woods.

The Saltire, the blue Scottish flag emblazoned with a white diagonal cross, heralds the procession. It is believed to be the oldest flag in Europe, and every building in Scotland is required by law to display it on this day.

Happy St. Andrew’s Day, everyone!

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Ratiba El-Hefny’s 86th Birthday



In the year 1961, for an admission price of six piaster, Cairo’s Khedivial Opera House opened its doors to the general public for a very special performance — Franz Lehár’s ‘The Merry Widow,’ translated into Arabic and performed by famed Arab soprano, Ratiba El-Hefny. It was the first time that the world of opera opened up to every Egyptian. The performance also propelled Ratiba El-Hefny to a career that spanned more than 500 operatic performances, winning her fame and recognition at home and abroad.

El-Hefny learned to play piano at a very young age, achieving professional proficiency. She was also adept at traditional instruments such as the qanun and the oud. Her fluency in classical and Arabic music led to operatic performances in Egypt and across Europe. German lieds were another speciality.

El-Hefny held several senior influential positions, including the Dean of the Higher Institute of Arabic Music for almost a decade. Her special passion was opening up the world of music to children, and to this end she encouraged the Cairo Opera Children’s Choir and Oum Koulthum Ensemble for Arabic Music.

On what would have been El-Hefny’s 86th birthday, today’s Doodle showcases her love for the piano, her encouragement of young musical talent, and her excellence in Arabic and classical music.

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Celebrating 50 years of Kids Coding



Today, during Computer Science Education Week, we celebrate 50 years since kids programming languages were first introduced to the world with a very special creation (and furry friend): our first ever kids focused coding Google Doodle! Today’s Doodle was developed through the close teamwork of not one or two but THREE teams: the Google Doodle team, Google Blockly team, and researchers from MIT Scratch!

To learn more about the history and importance of kids coding languages, we invited Champika Fernando, one of the project’s most passionate collaborators at MIT, to share her thoughts:

My first experience with coding was in a free after-school program back in the eighties when I was nine years old. We programmed a little green turtle to move around and draw lines on a black screen. That programming language was called Logo.

In the 1960’s, long before personal computers, Seymour Papert and researchers at MIT developed Logo - the first coding language designed for kids. With Logo, children could program the movements of a turtle, giving them the opportunity to explore ideas in math and science. Papert and his colleagues envisioned that computers could eventually be used by all children as a powerful tool for learning. They saw coding as a way for kids to develop confidence and fluency with a piece of powerful, modern, and one-day ubiquitous technology.

With today’s Doodle -- the first coding Doodle ever -- we celebrate fifty years of coding languages for kids by “Coding for Carrots.” In the interactive Doodle, you program and help a furry friend across 6 levels in a quest to gather its favorite food by snapping together coding blocks based on the Scratch programming language for kids.

Like Logo, Scratch was developed at MIT and builds on Papert’s early ideas about kids and computers. It’s designed to be less intimidating than typical programming languages, but just as powerful and expressive.

Kids programming on computers must have sounded futuristic and impractical in the 1960’s when Logo was first created. In fact, even in the 1980’s when I wrote my first lines of code, my working-class parents questioned how coding would ever benefit their nine-year-old daughter.

Today, computers are used in almost every aspect of our lives. We have them in our homes, at work, and in our pockets. My early experiences with computers gave me confidence that I could create with new technologies, not just interact with them. Those early experiences not only influenced my career path, but provided me with new ways to express my ideas and influence the world around me.

After working as an engineer at Google for some time, I now work on the Scratch Team at MIT, where we’re focused on developing new ways for kids to express themselves creatively through coding. With Scratch, kids can create their own interactive stories, games, and animations, using coding blocks just like the ones in today’s Doodle. They can also share their projects in an online community with millions of other kids around the world. We believe all kids should have the opportunity to develop their confidence with the technology that surrounds us.

This week, millions of people around the world can and will have their first experience with coding. It makes me happy to think of all of the nine-year-olds who will get their first coding experience playing with today’s Doodle. My hope is that people will find this first experience appealing and engaging, and they’ll be encouraged to go further. In some ways, it’s very different from my first coding experience many years ago, but I hope it will be just as inspiring and influential for them.