Who designed the Statue of Liberty, the French gift to the United States?

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the Statue of Liberty, the French gift presented to the United States.

Bartholdi was a French sculptor who developed the monument as a colossal figure representing liberty. The statue was built in France, disassembled into sections, shipped across the Atlantic, and reassembled on what was then Bedloe’s Island, now Liberty Island, in New York Harbor.

Gustave Eiffel designed the statue’s internal iron framework, which is why his name is often incorrectly given as the statue’s designer. Édouard de Laboulaye, a French political thinker and abolitionist, helped promote the concept and encouraged French support. The United States was responsible for the pedestal, while fundraising in France supported the statue itself.

The monument was dedicated on October 28, 1886, by President Grover Cleveland. Its tablet bears the date July 4, 1776, linking the monument directly to the founding anniversary celebrated by America250.