France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1886. The monument, formally titled Liberty Enlightening the World, stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.
The statue was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, while Gustave Eiffel and his team engineered its internal iron framework. France funded and built the statue, and the United States constructed its pedestal after a major fundraising campaign.
The dedication ceremony took place on 28 October 1886. The figure represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty, and holds a torch in her raised right hand and a tablet inscribed with 4 July 1776 in her left.
The statue was intended to symbolize friendship between France and the United States as well as shared republican ideals. It later became an especially powerful emblem for immigrants arriving in New York Harbor.