Skip to main content

Google doodles John James Audubon's birthday


New Delhi: The doodle in place of the usual Google logo on Tuesday is inspired by the paintings of the famous French-American ornithologist John James Audubon. The doodle celebrating Audubon's birthday has, like many other Google doodles, a pattern of the Google logo visible. In the latest doodle, the Google logo is made up of the branches of the trees the birds in the painting are perched.
Audubon was born in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), then a French colony, on April 26, 1785 to a French sea captain and plantation owner and his French mistress. He spent his early years in France and immigrated to the United States at the age of 18. He had an avid interest in birds and drawing right from his childhood.
He began his study of American birds soon after his arrival in the US while also dabbling in the series of unsuccessful business ventures. He was also briefly jailed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile his interest for drawing birds steadily grew and published the first volume of his illustrations title The Birds of America in 1827. The book was well received and Audubon had established himself as an ornithologist of note. His other works includeOrnithological BiographyA Synopsis of the Birds of North America and Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.
James Audubon died at the age of 65 on January 27, 1851 in New York.
Google doodles have gained immense popularity over the past few years and the Google team has put out commemorative doodles on events ranging from news events, civic milestones, birthdays, death anniversaries and important dates in history.
Google has recently celebrated Charlie Chaplin, Robert Bunsen and Jules Verne's birthdays and also Earth Day with commemorative doodles.
Google estimates it has created more than 900 doodles since 1998, with 270 of them running in 2010. Some appear globally, and others are tailored for local markets, such as Kenya Independence Day.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

In pics: The Bachchan Family Tree

The Bachchans:  Bachchans are busy celebrating the arrival of Aishwarya and Abhishek's daughter. Let's meet the Bachchan clan Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan's father was a famous Hindi poet. He is most popular for his book 'Madhushala'. He passed away in 2003. Harivansh Rai Bachchan got married to Shyama in 1926. Shyama died after ten years of marriage. Harivansh married Teji Bachchan (in the picture) in 1941. They had two sons, Amitabh and Ajitab. Born in 1969, Amitabh Bachchan is the most popular Bollywood celebrity today. Ajitabh Bachchan (second from left) is Amitabh's younger brother Amitabh Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bachchan. They have two children, Abhishek Bachchan and Shweta Nanda. Jaya was born in a Hindu Bengali family to Taroon Kumar Bhaduri and Indira Bhaduri. Her father was a writer, journalist and stage artist. Abhishek's elder sister Shweta Bachchan Nanda is married to industrialist Nikhil Nanda. Nikhil and Shweta have t

Mary Anning: Google doodle celebrates 215th birthday of British palaeontologist

Anning became famous for her work collecting fossils from the Jurassic beds near her home in Lyme Regis Dorset Google has celebrated the 215th anniversary of the birth of British palaeontologist Mary Anning with a special doodle. Anning is best known for her work collecting fossils from the Jurassic period near her home in Lyme Regis Dorset. Today's colourful Google Doodle shows her uncovering a dinosaur's fossilised remains. Anning is recognised for contributing to fundamental changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life. Among her many discoveries was the first ever correctly identification skeleton of an ichthyosaur. Despite being recognised globally for her work in the field, she was not - as a woman - eligible to join the Geological Society of London. In 2010 Anning was included by the Royal Society iin a list of the ten British women who have most influenced the history of science. Born in Lyme Regis on 21st May 1799. Her father, a cabinetmaker,

Fanny Blankers-Koen’s 100th Birthday

On a rainy summer day in 1948, onlookers at London’s Wembley track saw an unexpected athlete make history. Dutch runner and 30-year-old mother of two Fanny Blankers-Koen outstrided her opponents in the women’s 200m by 0.7 seconds—the highest margin in Olympics 200m history and a record that still stands today.   Born near Baarn, the Netherlands, in 1918, Blankers-Koen had set a national record for the women’s 800m by age 17. At 18, she competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, placing fifth in the 4x100m and sixth in high jump. After the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were canceled, many thought Blankers-Koen would never make another Olympics. When she declared her intentions to compete in the 1948 London Games, she received letters from many criticizing her for continuing to race despite being a mother and insisting she stay home.   But words couldn’t break Blankers-Koen’s stride. She captured four golds during the 1948 London Games, winning the 100m, 80m hurdles