How old would have Oskar Sala been today? Google Doodle celebrates German music composer and physicist

Google is celebrating the 112th birth anniversary of German music composer and physicist Oskar Sala. Known as an innovative electronic music composer, the Google Doodle today, July 18, talks about a pioneer of German music.

Oskar Sala was known for producing sound effects on a musical instrument, which is famously called mixture-trautonium. He is also well-known in the world of television, radio, and film for his contributions.

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How old would Oskar Sala have been today?

Oskar Sala, born on July 18, 1920, in Greiz, Germany, would be 112 years old today. The musician and physicist was immersed in music since birth. While his mother was a singer, Oskar’s father was an ophthalmologist who also possessed musical talent. Thus, it is clear where Oskar got his interest and talent from.

Oskar ventured into the music industry when he was merely 14 years old and started creating songs on instruments such as violin and piano. As per Oskar, he was inclined to master the trautonium and develop it further. This is what motivated him to study physics at school.

Through his education, he created his own instrument, which was known as the mixture-trautonium, which had a super unique architecture. Through this instrument, he could play several voices or sounds simultaneously.

Clicking on the Google Doodle, which has an animated image of Oskar, the search engine navigates the user to a page where they can read information about the musician. Sala has also received many honors for his work. Having created pieces and sound effects for radio, TV, and movie productions, he has notable contributions in Rosemary (1959) and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1962).

Sala also later served as the honorary senator for Berlin. He donated his original mixture-trautonium in 1995 to the German Museum of Contemporary Technology in Berlin. The musician took his last breath on February 28, 2002.

Popularly known as the one-man orchestra, Google also shared the news about the doodle on their Twitter page. Google posted an image saying:

“Take a beat to celebrate German electronic composer Oskar Sala's 112th birthday. He developed & played the mixture-trautonium, which introduced a unique sound to television, radio & film.”

The tweet also mentions a link that redirects users to a page that Google has created where readers can learn more about the musician. Wishing Oskar “Happy Birthday,” Google mentions slight details about the life and journey of the great German musician.

Google Doodle honors Oskar Sala on his 112th birthday; tweets Happy Birthday! (Image via Google Doodles)

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While Oskar is not the first to have had his Google Doodle, Google often creates these to honor and spread more awareness about great individuals who have contributed immensely in various fields.

However, what’s astonishing is that the first Google Doodle was an out-of-office message that the Google founders designed. The founders used the first doodle to notify users of their absence at the Burning Man festival back in 1998.

What’s more surprising is that the first animated doodle was in honor of Sir Isaac Newton, which was made to honor his 367th birthday.