THIS DAY IN HISTORY

[IceWizard]

Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor





1885
June 17



On June 17, 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people
of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor after being shipped across
the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 cases. The copper
and iron statue, which was reassembled and dedicated the following year in a ceremony
presided over by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, became known around the world as an
enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.

Intended to commemorate the American Revolution and a century of friendship between
the U.S. and France, the statue was designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi
(who modeled it after his own mother), with assistance from engineer Gustave Eiffel, who
later developed the iconic tower in Paris bearing his name. The statue was initially scheduled
to be finished by 1876, the 100th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence;
however, fundraising efforts, which included auctions, a lottery and boxing matches, took
longer than anticipated, both in Europe and the U.S., where the statue’s pedestal was to be
financed and constructed. The statue alone cost the French an estimated $250,000
(more than $5.5 million in today’s money).

Finally completed in Paris in the summer of 1884, the statue, a robed female figure with an
uplifted arm holding a torch, reached its new home on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor
on June 17, 1885. After being reassembled, the 450,000-pound statue was officially dedicated
on October 28, 1886, by President Cleveland, who said, “We will not forget that Liberty has
here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.” Standing more than 305 feet
from the foundation of its pedestal to the top of its torch, the statue, dubbed
“Liberty Enlightening the World” by Bartholdi, was taller than any structure in New York City
at the time. The statue was originally copper-colored, but over the years it underwent a natural
color-change process called patination that produced its current greenish-blue hue.

In 1892, Ellis Island, located near Bedloe’s Island (which in 1956 was renamed Liberty Island),
opened as America’s chief immigration station, and for the next 62 years Lady Liberty, as the
statue is nicknamed, stood watch over the more than 12 million immigrants who sailed into
New York Harbor. In 1903, a plaque inscribed with a sonnet titled “The New Colossus” by
American poet Emma Lazarus, written 20 years earlier for a pedestal fundraiser, was placed
on an interior wall of the pedestal. Lazarus’ now-famous words, which include “Give me your
tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” became symbolic of America’s
vision of itself as a land of opportunity for immigrants.

Some 60 years after President Calvin Coolidge designated the statue a national monument in 1924,
it underwent a multi-million-dollar restoration (which included a new torch and gold leaf-covered flame)
and was rededicated by President Ronald Reagan on July 4, 1986, in a lavish celebration. Following
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the statue was closed; its base, pedestal and
observation deck re-opened in 2004, while its crown re-opened to the public on July 4, 2009.
(For safety reasons, the torch has been closed to visitors since 1916, after an incident called the
Black Tom explosions in which munitions-laden barges and railroad cars on the Jersey City, New Jersey,
waterfront were blown up by German agents, causing damage to the nearby statue.)

Today, the Statue of Liberty is one of America’s most famous landmarks. Over the years, it has
been the site of political rallies and protests (from suffragettes to anti-war activists), has been
featured in numerous movies and countless photographs, and has received millions of visitors
from around the globe.




ALSO ON THIS DAY



CRIME
2015
Charleston church shooting

On the evening of June 17, 2015, a mass shooter took the lives of nine
African American people at a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The massacre at a historic
Black church deeply shook a nation already jaded by frequent gun ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1940
France to surrender to Nazis

With Paris fallen and the German conquest of France reaching its conclusion,
Marshal Henri Petain replaces Paul Reynaud as prime minister and announces
his intention to sign an armistice with the Nazis. The next day, French
General Charles de Gaulle, not very well known even to ... read more





VIETNAM WAR
1972
Watergate burglars arrested

In the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men are arrested for breaking into
the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate, an
office-hotel-apartment complex in Washington, D.C. In their possession were
burglary tools, cameras and film, and three pen-size tear ... read more





EXPLORATION
1579
Sir Francis Drake claims California for England

During his circumnavigation of the world, English seaman Francis Drake anchors
in a harbor just north of present-day San Francisco, California, and claims the
territory for Queen Elizabeth I. Calling the land “Nova Albion,” Drake remained
on the California coast for a month to ... read more


CRIME
1994
O.J. Simpson leads L.A. police on a low-speed chase

Viewers across the nation are glued to their television screens on June 17, 1994,
watching as a fleet of black-and-white police cars pursues a white Ford Bronco
along Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California. Inside the Bronco is
Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson, a former ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1943
FDR’s secretary of war stifles Truman’s
inquiry into suspicious defense plant

On June 17, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s secretary of war, Henry Stimson,
phones then-Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman and politely asks him not to make
inquiries about a defense plant in Pasco, Washington. World War II was in full
swing in 1943 and Truman was chairing ... read more


NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY
1876
Native Americans score victory
at the Battle of the Rosebud

Sioux and Cheyenne Native Americans score a tactical victory over General Crook’s
forces at the Battle of the Rosebud, foreshadowing the disaster of the Battle of the
Little Big Horn eight days later. General George Crook was in command of one of
three columns of soldiers ... read more


COLD WAR
1953
Soviets crush antigovernment riots in East Berlin

The Soviet Union orders an entire armored division of its troops into East Berlin to
crush a rebellion by East German workers and antigovernment protesters. The
Soviet assault set a precedent for later interventions into Hungary in 1956 and
Czechoslovakia in 1968. The riots in ... read more





AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1775
Battle of Bunker Hill begins

British General Thomas Gage lands his troops on the Charlestown Peninsula
overlooking Boston, Massachusetts, and leads them against Breed’s Hill, a fortified
American position just below Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775. As the British advanced
in columns against the Americans, ... read more


WORLD WAR II
1940
British and Allied troops continue the evacuation
of France, as Churchill reassures his countrymen

On June 17, 1940, British troops evacuate France in Operation Ariel, an exodus
almost on the order of Dunkirk. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
offers words of encouragement in a broadcast to the nation: “Whatever has happened
in France… [w]e shall defend our ... read more