The 10 Most Fantastic Google Doodles Yet

Google includes a lot of Easter eggs, secrets and goodies in their web applications. They love to feature Google Doodles in the header of their Web search engine. Google Doodles appear for a bunch of different reasons, sometimes highlighting current events, holidays or even celebrating the lives and birthday anniversaries of truly great people.

We’re going to take a look at the ten most artistic and beautiful doodles featured over the years.

Claude Debussy’s 151st Birthday

Claude Debussy is a renowned French composer, often accredited as one of the most influential impressionist musicians. For his 151st birthday, Google celebrated by featuring an animated doodle with one of his tunes – Clare de Lune – playing in the background. The doodle is an 1800s city backdrop set in front of a night sky, complete with automobiles, bicyclists and boats.

107th Anniversary of “Little Nemo in Slumberland”

For the 107th anniversary of the classic comic strip “Little Nemo in Slumberland,” Google doodlers paid tribute to its creator, Winsor McCay. Naturally, they went to great lengths to create an original piece that mirrors McCay’s original works. The resulting Google Doodle is something truly beautiful in its own right.

Jackie Robinson’s 94th Birthday

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American baseball player to play in Major League Baseball, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He took part in the World Series for 10 seasons and played in the 1955 Dodgers’ World Series championship game. Google paid tribute by featuring a doodle of Robinson on his 94th birthday anniversary.

Freddie Mercury’s 65th Birthday

To commemorate Freddie Mercury, Google doodlers put together a gorgeous mashup video to the tune of Queen’s classic hit “Don’t Stop Me Now.” It rocked almost as hard as Freddie.

Alfonse Mucha’s 150th Birthday

Alfonse Mucha (also known as Alfons Maria Mucha) was a Czech Art Nouveau painter. He is lauded for his many artistic expressions including paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, designs and decorative art. To celebrate the anniversary of his 150th birthday, a Google Doodle was published borrowing heavily from Mucha’s artistic grandeur.

Doodle 4 Google 2011 Competition’s First Place: Matteo Lopez

Seven-year-old Matteo Lopez of Monte Verde Elementary School in South San Francisco won first place in 2011’s Doodle 4 Google competition. Matteo’s space-themed doodle was featured for an entire day on Google’s home page on May 20th.

Jules Verne’s 183rd Birthday

Creators made the “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”-themed doodle to celebrate Jules Verne’s 183rd birthday anniversary. It’s interactive, modeled after a submarine. You can use a navigation lever to explore and view the beautiful underwater portrait in the background.

Ella Fitzgerald’s 96th Birthday

Designers created this attractive jazz-themed doodle using papercraft illustrations to celebrate Ella Fitzgerald’s 96th birthday. That means the entire thing used various sheets of paper, which they cut, shaped and layered in place. It’s certainly one of the most innovative on the list.

Martha Graham’s 117th Birthday

Martha Graham was a dance choreographer in the 1920s and ‘30s. She has been compared by many to Picasso, Einstein and even Stravinsky. The doodle featured five dancing characters inspired by her personal works. This doodle is actually one of the most beautiful on this list.

John Lennon’s 70th Birthday

For John Lennon’s 70th birthday on Oct. 8, 2010, Google featured its first-ever animated doodle on the homepage. Set to Lennon’s own tune “Imagine,” it depicts an ever flowing portrait of landscapes.

Which one of these Google Doodles is your favorite? Share in the comments below!