The Statue of Liberty was dedicated
On this day · 28 October 1886
In 1886 a French gift rose over New York Harbor, and President Cleveland dedicated her before a million spectators.
On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland stood in New York Harbor and dedicated “Liberty Enlightening the World,” the colossal figure the world now simply calls the Statue of Liberty. “We will not forget that Liberty has made here her home,” he declared, “nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.”
The statue was a gift from the people of France, conceived to honor Franco-American friendship and the centennial of American independence. Sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi designed the 151-foot copper figure; engineer Gustave Eiffel devised the iron skeleton that lets her copper skin flex in the wind without tearing.
An estimated one million people turned out to watch.
Built in France, shipped across the Atlantic in 214 crates, and reassembled atop an American-funded pedestal, she was unveiled amid cannon fire, a harbor parade, and dense fog. What began as a diplomatic gesture became one of the planet’s most recognizable monuments — a torch-bearing welcome that has greeted arrivals to New York ever since.
Sources & references
2 referencesWell-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.
