Google Doodles

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Georges Seurat’s 162nd Birthday.



Today’s Doodle celebrates French painter Georges Seurat, who captured the natural qualities of light in scenes of contemporary Parisian life with his signature painting techniques known as Pointillism and Divisionism. Seurat’s innovative methods gave rise to the school of Neo-Impressionism, an avant-garde 19th century movement that forever changed the course of modern art.     

Georges Seurat was born into a prosperous family in Paris, France, on this day in 1859. He began formal artistic training as a teenager and furthered his education at the prestigious fine arts institution École des Beaux-Arts in 1878. Seurat developed a fascination with the science behind art during his studies, but soon became disenchanted with the confines of academic tradition. He delved into the scientific study of color theory and optical physics to develop an original style he coined “chromo-luminarism,” later known as Pointillism or Divisionism.

After many drafts on small boards, a meeting with a 100-year-old chemist, and years of experimentation, Seurat finished the painting widely considered his masterpiece at only 26, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte — 1884,” now in the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago. An encapsulation of the Pointillist technique is recreated in the Doodle artwork. When viewed from the proper distance, the mural-sized painting tricks the observer into perceiving  over 200,000 tiny brushstrokes and dabs of contrasting color on its canvas as a shimmering, cohesive scene of an island in the Seine outside of Paris.

Seurat’s obsession with color theory has prompted some art historians to hypothesize that his techniques were influenced by the atmospheric effects of the volcanic eruptions that created some of the most colorful sunsets recorded during the 1800s. Although the exact inspirations for his artistic innovations remain up for debate, Seurat has had an impact on the visual culture. His monumental work has inspired countless artists across disciplines, a Broadway musical, and has even been featured in a blockbuster film.

Here’s to an artist who never lost sight of the big picture!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Émilie du Châtelet's 315th Birthday.



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 315th birthday of French mathematician, physicist, translator, and philosopher Émilie du Châtelet, whose contributions to Newtonian theory and mission to make scientific literature more accessible helped clear the path for modern physics.

Émilie du Châtelet was born Gabrielle-Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil in Paris on this day in 1706—a time when it was rare for women to publicly pursue intellectual careers. Raised in an aristocratic household, Châtelet learned avidly from the distinguished scientists and mathematicians whom her family often entertained. She complemented her formal math and science studies with fencing and linguistics lessons, learning six languages by age 12. Despite society’s discouragement of women pursuing the sciences, Châtelet broke convention. 

In her 20s, she married Marquis Florent-Claude du Châtelet, a prominent military officer, and their estate library housed approximately 21,000 books! After months of clandestine research and experimentation, Châtelet submitted a groundbreaking physics paper to the French Academy of Sciences in 1737 that predicted the existence of infrared radiation. Voltaire, an eminent writer of the French enlightenment, recognized her talents, and in 1738, the pair published “Elements of Newton’s Philosophy” under Voltaire’s name. This pioneering book broke down complex Newtonian physics into easy-to-understand terms for French readers.

Châtelet’s magnum opus came in 1740 with the anonymous publication of “The Foundations of Physics,” a work of natural philosophy that married Newtonian physics with metaphysics. Her work played an instrumental role in the acceptance of Newtonian physics across Europe. Albeit anonymously, Châtelet continued to revolutionize physics by translating “Principia,” Newton’s manifesto for the laws of motion and gravity. Published posthumously in 1759, it remains the leading French translation to this day. 

Here’s to an unstoppable force in the progression of physics!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Winter 2021 (Northern Hemisphere)

[renaeden]

The way the legs move is hypnotic.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is New Year's Eve 2021.



That’s a wrap for 2021—Happy New Year’s Eve!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is New Year's Day 2022



And just like that, 2022 is here—Happy New Year’s Day!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Stephen Hawking's 80th Birthday.



Today’s video Doodle celebrates one of history’s most influential scientific minds, English cosmologist, author, and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. From colliding black holes to the Big Bang, his theories on the origins and mechanics of the universe revolutionized modern physics while his best-selling books made the field widely accessible to millions of readers worldwide.

Stephen William Hawking was born on this day in 1942 in Oxford, England. Fascinated by how the universe functioned from a young age, his curiosity and intellect earned him the nickname “Einstein.” Following a diagnosis with a neurodegenerative disease at 21, the music of composer Richard Wagner and the loving support of his future wife Jane Wilde motivated Hawking to dedicate himself to physics, math, and cosmology. 

In 1965, Hawking defended his doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge, “Properties of Expanding Universes,” which presented the revolutionary theory that space and time originated from a singularity, a point both infinitely small and dense, best known today as the key characteristic of black holes. That year, Hawking was accepted as a research fellow at Cambridge’s Gonville and Caius College—his academic home for a lifetime of research. Hawking’s obsession with black holes led to his 1974 discovery that particles could escape black holes. This theory, coined Hawking radiation, is widely considered his most important contribution to physics.

In 1979, Hawking’s groundbreaking work on black holes prompted Cambridge to appoint him as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a position held by Isaac Newton in 1669. Hawking’s doctoral thesis was released to the public in 2017 on a University of Cambridge website, which crashed due to enormous amounts of traffic.

Here’s to an innovator whose astronomical impact changed how the world understands the universe!
 

[odeon]

Hawking was awesome. RIP.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2022.



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Brooklyn, New York-based guest artist Olivia Fields, celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This United States federal holiday commemorates a day of service and reflection on the life and work of Dr. King—the civil rights leader who worked as a lifelong advocate for racial equality and the end of segregation.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He began his career of service in Montgomery, Alabama as a pastor and community leader in the NAACP, which aimed to establish legal protections for the Black community across all aspects of social and institutional life. Members of the NAACP elected Dr. King to fight segregation by leading a historic bus boycott in 1955. As the first, large-scale, peaceful demonstration of its kind, the Montgomery Bus Boycotts marked a turning point in the American civil rights movement and inspired generations to fight for civil rights. 

Through influential demonstrations, speeches, and written works, Dr. King spread his message of racial justice and economic equality. His efforts culminated with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a landmark piece of legislation that decreed the end of legal public segregation and discrimination in the United States. In commemoration of Dr. King’s birthday, the third Monday in January was declared a federal holiday in 1983 and observed for the first time in 1986.

Dr. King’s legacy lives on in the work of his children and in the millions inspired by his impactful rhetoric to continue pushing the arc of the moral universe to an equitable society for all.

Happy MLK Day!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Katarzyna Kobro's 124th Birthday.



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 124th birthday of Russian-born, Polish avant-garde sculptor and art theoretician Katarzyna Kobro. Her utilitarian and geometric sculptures explored the relationship between expression and the infinitude of space, carving out Kobro’s place as a leading innovator of early 20th century Central European abstract art. 

Katarzyna Kobro was born into a multicultural family in Moscow on this day in 1898. Following an early interest in arts and sciences, Kobro enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in 1917 where she collaborated with progressive groups re-envisioning Russian art. Her stylistic development was complemented by emerging attitudes in the Polish avant-garde, in which artists believed art could be incorporated into everyday life through mass production.

On this creative foundation, Kobro created her first sculpture in 1920—an amalgamation of metal, wood, glass, and cork titled “Tos 75 - Struktura” (Tos 75 - Structure). She moved to Poland soon after, where she created her most famous works—the 1925–1933 sculpture series “Kompozycja Przestrzenna” (Spatial Compositions) and the 1931 philosophy book,  “Composition of Space: Calculations of Space-Time Rhythm,” co-written with her husband, Władysław Strzemiński. Kobro further declared her conceptual philosophy in signing the 1936 Parisian “Manifeste Dimensioniste” (“Dimensionist Manifesto”), which called for the integration of scientific advancements into art.

In the mid-twentieth century, art historians began restoring Kobro’s works, which reignited interest in her influence on the social and artistic movements of her time. Much of Kobro’s remaining artworks are currently on display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York’s 2021 exhibition “Collection 1940s–1970s.”

Here’s to an intellect who shaped the art world—Katarzyna Kobro!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Lunar New Year 2022 (Multiple Countries)



With radiant lanterns, traditional foods, and an air of anticipation for what’s to come, today’s Doodle welcomes the Year of the Tiger on the first day of the Lunar New Year. In contrast to festivities tied to the solar Gregorian calendar, people around the world align their new year’s celebrations based on the ancient lunisolar Chinese calendar system, which follows the cycles of the moon and sun. 

A new year symbolizes a fresh start and many traditions capture this concept. Preparations begin ten days before the lunar new year with many  cleaning their homes as a way to clear out bad luck from the previous year. Traditional foods that represent good fortune such as fish (abundance) and mandarin oranges (auspiciousness) are prepared. Families decorate their homes with flowers such as peach blossoms; red lanterns; fai chun (red banners with phrases that wish people luck and prosperity); and exchange lai see (red envelopes filled with money).

Happy Lunar New Year!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Winter Games 2022 Begin!



The competitive critters featured in today’s Doodle have gathered from all over the world under the winter sky to keep their cool and put their opponents on ice. Who will be pouncing on victory and scurrying home an international legend?

Find out over the next two weeks as the Games have officially begun!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Toni Stone.



In honor of U.S. Black History Month, today’s Doodle illustrated by San Francisco, CA-based guest artist Monique Wray celebrates athlete Marcenia “Toni” Stone, who overcame both gender and racial discrimination to become the first woman in history to play professional baseball as a regular in a men’s major baseball league. On this day in 2021, Stone was inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.

Marcenia Lyle Stone was born in 1921 in Bluefield, West Virginia during an era of pronounced racial segregation in American sports. In 1931, Stone moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she developed her remarkable athleticism in the city’s public playgrounds and baseball fields. By just 15, the all-male semi-pro Twin Cities Colored Giants broke gender convention by bringing Stone onto its roster. In 1946, Stone went to bat with the San Francisco Sea Lions, marking the start of her illustrious professional career.

Her exceptional batting average of .280 earned her a spot on the bench with the Negro League All-Star team while she continued to travel across the United States playing second base for the minor league New Orleans Creoles. In 1953, Stone filled the spot of future Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron as the second baseman for the Indianapolis Clowns, one of the League’s most prestigious teams. Undeterred by taunts during her debut season with the Clowns, Stone hit a single off of Satchel Paige, who is widely considered the greatest pitcher in Negro League history.

Stone played alongside legendary players such as Jackie Robinson throughout her career before retiring from professional baseball in 1954 as a legend. In 1990, March 6 was declared “Toni Stone Day” in her adopted hometown of St. Paul, where future generations of baseball players practice under the lights of Toni Stone Field. She has been honored by several exhibitions in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 1993, was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Here’s to you, Toni Stone—thanks for showing the world what determination and unstoppable love for the game can achieve! 

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Valentine's Day 2022



Sometimes love takes you by surprise. It can be full of twists and turns, but through all its ups and downs, it can still bring the world closer together (no matter the species).

Just look at the two smitten hamsters featured in today’s interactive 3-D Doodle. Can you piece their path together and clear the way for them to scamper into each other’s precious paws? As they say, home is where the heart is.

Happy Valentine's Day!

https://g.co/doodle/j92m7jc

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Dr. Michiaki Takahashi's 94th Birthday.



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Tokyo, Japan-based guest artist Tatsuro Kiuchi, celebrates Japanese virologist Dr. Michiaki Takahashi, who developed the first vaccine against chickenpox. Takahashi’s vaccine has since been administered to millions of children around the world as an effective measure to prevent severe cases of the contagious viral disease and its transmission.   

Michiaki Takahashi was born on this day in 1928 in Osaka, Japan. He earned his medical degree from Osaka University and joined the Research Institute for Microbial Disease, Osaka University in 1959. After studying measles and polio viruses, Dr Takahashi accepted a research fellowship in 1963 at Baylor College in the United States. It was during this time that his son developed a serious bout of chickenpox, leading him to turn his expertise toward combating the highly transmissible illness.

Dr.Takahashi returned to Japan in 1965 and began culturing live but weakened chickenpox viruses in animal and human tissue. After just five short years of development, it was ready for clinical trials. In 1974, Dr. Takahashi had developed the first vaccine targeting the varicella virus that causes chickenpox. It was subsequently subjected to rigorous research with immunosuppressed patients and was proven to be extremely effective. In 1986, the Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University began the rollout in Japan as the only varicella vaccine approved by the World Health Organization.

Dr.Takahashi’s lifesaving vaccine was soon utilized in over 80 countries. In 1994, he was appointed the director of Osaka University’s Microbial Disease Study Group—a position he held until his retirement. Thanks to his innovations, millions of cases of chickenpox are prevented each year.