Today in History- October 28th STATUE OF LIBERTY DEDICATED: October 28, 1886 The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.Originally known as "Liberty Enlightening the World," the statue was proposed by the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye to commemorate the Franco-American alliance during the American Revolution. Designed by French sculptor Frýdýric-Auguste Bartholdi, the 151-foot statue was the form of a woman with an uplifted arm holding a torch. Its framework of gigantic steel supports was designed by Eugýne-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the latter famous for his design of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.In February 1877, Congress approved the use of a site on New York Bedloe's Island, which was suggested by Bartholdi. In May 1884, the statue was completed in France, and three months later the Americans laid the cornerstone for its pedestal in New York Harbor. In June 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty arrived in the New World, enclosed in more than 200 packing cases. Its copper sheets were reassembled, and the last rivet of the monument was fitted on October 28, 1886, during a dedication presided over by President Cleveland and attended by numerous French and American dignitaries.On the pedestal was inscribed "The New Colossus," a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus that welcomed immigrants to the United States with the declaration, "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. / I lift my lamp beside the golden door." In 1892, Ellis Island, adjacent to Bedloe's Island, opened as the chief entry station for immigrants to the United States, and for the next 32 years more than 12 million immigrants were welcomed into New York harbor by the sight of "Lady Liberty." In 1924, the Statue of Liberty was made a national monument, and in 1956 Bedloe's Island was renamed Liberty Island. The statue underwent a major restoration in the 1980s. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MORE GENERAL INTEREST 1919 Congress enforces prohibition 1965 Gateway Arch completed historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=general&month=10272962&day=10272993 AUTOMOTIVE 1918 The Origins Of Tatra historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=automotive&month=10272962&day=10272993 CIVIL WAR 1864 Second Battle of Fair Oaks concludes historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=civil&month=10272962&day=10272993 COLD WAR 1962 The Cuban Missile Crisis comes to an end historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=coldwar&month=10272962&day=10272993 CRIME 1961 Chuck Berry goes on trial for the second time historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=crime&month=10272962&day=10272993 ENTERTAINMENT 1950 Jack Benny's TV show debuts historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=entertainment&month=10272962&day=10272993 LITERARY 1905 George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession is performed in New York historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=literary&month=10272962&day=10272993 OLD WEST 1965 Workers complete the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=oldwest&month=10272962&day=10272993 VIETNAM WAR 1964 U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing of North Vietnam. historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=vietnamwar&month=10272962&day=10272993 WALL STREET 1981 Budget Deficit Soars historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=wallstreet&month=10272962&day=10272993 WORLD WAR II 1940 Italy invades Greece historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=worldwarii&month=10272962&day=10272993