Which French sculptor designed the Statue of Liberty, a symbol associated with the United States?

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the Statue of Liberty, a symbol associated with the United States.

Bartholdi was a French sculptor who conceived the colossal neoclassical figure officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World. France gave the statue to the United States, while American supporters financed and built its pedestal. Gustave Eiffel designed the statue's internal iron framework, but he was not its sculptor.

The statue was dedicated in New York Harbor on October 28, 1886. Its robed female figure holds a torch and a tablet inscribed with the Roman-numeral date July 4, 1776. A broken chain and shackle lie beneath her feet, adding an image of liberation to the monument's symbolism.

The project was proposed by Édouard de Laboulaye, a French historian and abolitionist, but Laboulaye did not design the statue. Distinguishing the designer, structural engineer, and political sponsor prevents one of the most common Statue of Liberty mix-ups.