FOOTPRINTS

Colombian artist, Débora Arango's 114th Birthday Débora Arango, was born on 11 November, 1904, in Medellín, Colombia. Arango, was encouraged by her mother, to become a painter.  She first exhibited her work, at a 1939 competition for professional artists, in Medellín. Her work was awarded first place, sparking widespread outrage, due to her exhibition’s scandalous nature, that rebelled against the status quo.    Overcoming decades of censorship, both at home and abroad, Arango, was finally able to exhibit 100 paintings in Medellín, in 1975.            Arango was awarded with the  Order of Bocaya - Colombia’s highest civilian honor. Today, Colombians exchange 2,000 peso bills, emblazoned with her portrait, and the Medellín Museum of Modern Art, displays a permanent collection of Arango’s paintings. 

Happy Veterans' Day 2021 Today’s(11 November, 2021) Google Doodle celebrates Veterans Day, in honor of the efforts and sacrifices, made by members of the U.S. armed forces.  The occasion first celebrated the end of the first World War, which concluded with a peace treaty, that took effect at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  The first “Armistice Day”, was observed one year later, before being declared an official federal holiday, in 1938, and renamed Veterans Day, in 1954.  Veterans Day, is an expression of gratitude, to those who have served in the military, whether the Air Force, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Army, or Space Force.  Many public buildings fly the American flag at half-mast, and some communities observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m., in remembrance of the moment, when the Armistice first took effect in 1918.   Happy Veterans Day!

  Kamal Samarath , better known as Kamal Ranadive , was born on 8 November, 1917, in Pune, India.  Her father’s encouragement to pursue a medical education, inspired Ranadive, to excel academically, but she found her calling in biology instead. In 1949, she received a doctorate in cytology, the study of cells, while working as a researcher, in the Indian Cancer Research Center (ICRC).  After a fellowship, at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, she returned to Mumbai (then Bombay) and the ICRC, where she established the country’s first tissue culture laboratory.  Ranadive studied Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy, and aided in developing a vaccine. In 1973, Dr. Ranadive, and 11 colleagues, founded the, Indian Women Scientists’ Association (IWSA), to support women in scientific fields.  Ranadive encouraged students and Indian scholars abroad, to return to India, and put their knowledge to work for their communities.  A...

Charles Kuen Kao aka Charles K. Kao , Chinese-born, British-American physicist and educator, is considered as the father of fiber optics. His innovations revolutionized global communication, and laid the groundwork for today’s high-speed internet.  Charles Kuen Kao, was born on 4 November, 1933, in Shanghai, China. He went on to study electrical engineering in England, and worked as an engineer, at Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd., where his colleagues invented the laser in 1960.   Shortly after earning his doctorate, Kao and his collaborator, George Hockham, published a groundbreaking paper in 1966, that proposed, fibers fabricated with purified glass, could carry a gigahertz (1 billion hertz) of information, over long distances, using lasers.  Kao led the development of this revolutionary technology, and in 1977, the first telephone network, carried live signals through optical fibers.  By the 1980s, Kao, was overseeing the implementation of fiber-optic ne...

Day of the Dead 2021 Today’s Google Doodle, celebrates the holiday, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), an annual celebration of life, in honor of those that have passed.   The Aztec people, who are from what is today central Mexico, are believed to be the first to celebrate the Day of the Dead, by using skulls to honor their dead, over 3,000 years ago. Skull symbology has remained an essential element of the day’s celebrations, often seen in the form of colorful calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls), or paper maché calaveras (skulls), laid on altars in family homes, to welcome the spirits of the departed.  In today's Google Doodle artwork, a family member drops marigold petals for loved ones to follow home.  Although many common themes, connect Mexican communities celebrating the Day of the Dead, each region across the nation observes the holiday with a unique spin, as cultural traditions continue to evolve every year.

Every year, Halloween is celebrated on 31 October, and this year, the festival falls on a Sunday. People celebrate Halloween by going to church, lighting a candle, and praying. It is also celebrated by carving pumpkins, wearing scary costumes, and watching horror movies.  Halloween means holy evening or All Saints Day. In the eighth century, All Saints Day was celebrated to honor saints. The eve of All Saints Day was called All Hallows Eve, which then came to be known as Halloween.  It is also believed that, Halloween originates from an ancient Celtic festival, called Samhain. The festival was celebrated by people wearing spooky costumes, and lighting bonfires at night. The tradition of donning a spooky attire was followed, to keep ghosts away on 31 October. The night of 31 October was believed to be the night, when spirits from the other world visited the living world every year.  The Celtic people who lived around two thousand years ago, also shared the same belief...

Turkey National Day 2021 Google Doodle celebrates the 98th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, with a depiction of the nation’s First Grand National Assembly of Turkey Building. It was here that the Turkish parliament, also known as the Grand National Assembly, declared independence on 29 October, 1923.   Today, the building stands in the Turkish capital of Ankara, as the War of Independence and Republic Museum. Many original artifacts from the early days of the Turkish Republic are preserved in the museum. The parliament moved to its current building in 1961.  Happy National Day, Turkey! 

The name Judo means “the gentle way”, and the sport is built on principles, such as, justice, courtesy, safety, and modesty. Kanō saw the martial art as a way to bring people together, even while throwing opponents to the mat.  Kanō Jigorō was born on 28, October, 1860, in Mikage (now part of Kobe). Kanō moved to Tokyo with his father at age 11. Though he was known as a child prodigy in school, he often faced adversity.  To build strength, he became determined to study the martial art of Jujutsu. During his time as a student at Tokyo University, he finally found someone who would teach him, Jujutsu master and former samurai, Fukuda Hachinosuke.   Judo was first born during a Jujutsu sparring match, when Kanō incorporated a western wrestling move, to bring his much larger opponent to the mat. By removing the most dangerous techniques used in Jujutsu, he created “Judo,” a safe and cooperative sport based on Kanō’s personal philosophy of Seiryoku-Zenyo (maximum efficien...

Otto Wichterle: Czech chemist who invented the first soft contact lenses. Otto Wichterle was born on 27 October, 1913, in Prostĕjov, the Czech Republic (then, Austria-Hungary).  As a lover of science from his youth, Wichterle went on to earn his doctorate in organic chemistry, in 1936, from the Prague Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT).  He taught as a professor at his alma mater during the 1950s, while developing an absorbent and transparent gel for eye implants.   In 1961, Wichterle (a glasses wearer himself), produced the first soft contact lenses, with a DIY apparatus.  As the inventor of countless patents and a lifelong researcher, Wichterle was elected the first President, of the Academy of the Czech Republic, following the country’s establishment in 1993.  Happy birthday, Otto Wichterle!

Galina Vishnevskaya is one of the greatest Russian opera singers of the 20th century.   Galina Pavlovna Ivanova, was born on 25 October, 1926, in Leningrad, Russia, (modern-day St. Petersburg), and became enthralled with opera at 10 years old, after hearing Tchaikovsky’s epic, “Eugene Onegin.” While walking the streets of Leningrad in the early 1950s, Vishnevskaya stumbled upon an invitation, to audition for the Bolshoi Theater - Russia’s most prestigious opera hall.  She blew the judges away with her audition, earning a spot as the year’s only auditioner accepted into the Bolshoi troupe.  In 1953, she portrayed the lead character Tatyana, in “Eugene Onegin”, with a fresh interpretation of a classic character, that became her signature role.  This marked the genesis of a virtuosic opera career, that took Vishnevskaya to venues around the world, from New York’s Metropolitan Opera, to Helsinki’s Finnish National Opera.  It was at the latter venue, that she g...

Today, (25-10-2021), is the 127th birthday, of French author, and surrealist photographer, Claude Cahun .  Claude Cahun, was born on 25 October, 1894, in Nantes, France, into a Jewish family.  At 14, they met Marcel Moore, their lifelong partner and artistic collaborator. After moving to Paris to study literature, in 1919, Cahun shaved their head, and adopted their famed gender-neutral name, in revolt against societal convention.    Cahun explored gender-fluidity, through literature, and melancholic self-portraiture, such as the 1927 series, “I am in training, don’t kiss me.” This work depicted the artist costumed as a feminized weightlifter, blurring the line between masculine and feminine stereotypes.  The French government awarded their efforts, with the Medal of French Gratitude, in 1951.  Happy birthday, Claude Cahun! 

Helena Modrzejewska , (also known professionally as Helena Modjeska). She has portrayed nearly 300 different roles in over 6,000 plays, both in Polish and English.  Helena Modrzejewska, was born as Jadwiga Benda, on 12 October, 1840, in Krakow, Poland, and was soon renamed, Helena Opid. She made her theatrical debut in 1861, in a one-act comedy, “The White Camellia,” performing under the stage name, Modrzejewska.  In 1877, she debuted in America. Renowned for Shakespearean roles, she livened up theater productions across America, sometimes touring for up to 30 weeks while performing 8 to 9 productions each week.  She toured not just as a lead actor but also as a director, producer, costume designer, and publicist!     Modrzejewska’s longest-lasting role was Lady Macbeth, which she played 520 times.  Happy birthday, Helena Modrzejewska! 

Margaret Fulton, was born on 5 October, 1924, in Nairn, Scotland. Margaret Fulton, emigrated to New South Wales, at three years old.  At 18, Fulton moved to Sydney in the hope of becoming a dress designer, but after hearing a prediction, that the food industry would boom in post-war Australia, she instead pursued a career in cookery.  In 1947, Fulton took a position as a cooking teacher for a utility company, where she found her passion for developing easy-to-follow recipes, while teaching a class for visually impaired home cooks.   Fulton refined her recipes in the decades that followed, while working as a pressure cooker salesperson, advertising executive, and food journalist. In 1968, she published the first of 25 cookbooks, titled, “The Margaret Fulton Cookbook”, which has sold over 1.5 million copies.     Happy birthday, Margaret Fulton!  

Ángeles Alvariño Today, (October 3, 2021), is the 105th birthday, of Spanish-American professor, and marine research biologist, Dr. María de los Ángeles Alvariño González, who is widely regarded, as one of the most important Spanish scientists of all time.   María de los Ángeles Alvariño González, was born on October 3, 1916, in Serantes, a small coastal town, in northern Spain’s Galician coast. Ángeles Alvariño’s love of natural history, began with her father’s library, and deepened, as she pursued coastline oceanography research. Although the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), only accepted men at the time, Ángeles Alvariño’s university work, impressed the organization, that they appointed her as a marine biologist, in 1952.  At IEO’s Vigo Oceanographic Center, she began her pioneering research on zooplankton, tiny organisms, that serve as the foundation of the oceanic food chain, and identified some species to be the best indicators of ocean health. In 1953, the...

Today, Google doodle celebrates, the 23rd birthday of Google, and this video explains the history of google.  Google began in January 1996, as a research project, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, when they were both PhD students, at Stanford University in California.  The project initially involved an unofficial "third founder", Scott Hassan, the original lead programmer, who wrote much of the code, for the original Google Search engine. But, he left before Google was officially founded as a company. Hassan went on to pursue a career in robotics, and founded the company, Willow Garage, in 2006.  Page and Brin originally nicknamed the new search engine, "BackRub", because, the system checked backlinks, to estimate the importance of a site.  Eventually, they changed the name to Google. The name of the search engine was a play on the word "googol", the number 1, followed by 100 zeros, which was picked to signify, that the search engine was intended to provide l...

Today (18-09-2021), Chile celebrates its  National Day. On 18 September, 1810, Chile’s Primera Junta Nacional de Gobierno , (First National Assembly), made the first step toward independence, sparking the start of the Chilean movement, to becoming a sovereign nation.  Today’s Google Doodle honors Chile’s National Day, or Fiestas Patrias, with a depiction of the South American nation’s official animal, the huemul deer.    Indigenous to the southern Andean regions of Chile and Argentina, the huemul (also known as the South Andean deer) is the rarest mammal found within the Chilean borders. A sighting of one of these elusive creatures in nature, is a rare and special occurrence, but it can always be seen on the Chilean Coat of Arms, alongside its fellow mountain dweller, the Andean condor.  Happy National Day, Chile!