The Statue of Liberty (still) Enlightening the World

On this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrives at Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. It would not be formally dedicated until October 28, 1886.

Lady Liberty’s official name is Liberty Enlightening the World. Her form is based on Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty. The statue was designed to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence.

Inscribed

She holds in her left hand a tabula ansata with the inscription JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776).

As she holds that votive tablet, and as it states in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”