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The Statue of Liberty
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Edouard de Laboulaye has idea for Statue of Liberty
Edouard de Laboulaye, a French political intellectual and authority on the U.S. Constitution, proposes that France give a statue representing liberty to the United States for its centennial. -
Auguste Bartholdi becomes the sculptor.
Auguste Bartholdi, a young sculptor fascinated with the idea of creating colossal works, enthusiastically supports Laboulaye's proposed statue and becomes the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. -
Bartholdi returns to France having found the perfect site.
Bartholdi returns to France and reports on having found interest in the project as well as the perfect site - Bedloe's Island located in New York Harbor. -
Bartholdi begins constructing the Statue.
Bartholdi completes the Statue's hand holding the torch. This section of the Statue is sent to the United States and displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia on May 18th. -
The Statue's head and shoulders are completed.
The Statue's head and shoulders are completed and displayed for the first time at the Paris Universal Exposition. -
Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel is hired as project engineer.
The Statue's engineer, Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, dies and Bartholdi hires Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel to complete the project and overcome various obstacles concerning the Statue's structure and assembly. The obstacles include the Statue's height, weight, unusual shape, and the high winds in New York harbor. -
New support system invented.
Eiffel devises his ingenious support system: a 98 foot (29.87 meters) inner iron framework that will support the Statue's structure. -
Statue is assembled in France. Base constuction begins.
The Statue's copper plates are completed and the first rivet is driven into the structure. This begins the Statue's assembly and completion. As the Statue is gradually built near the Parc Monceau, in Paris, the French people fall in love with her. She is referred to as the "Lady of the Park." The American Committee for the Statue of Liberty commissions American architect Richard Morris Hunt to design the pedestal; within months he submits a detailed plan. -
Statue continues, pedestal is started.
The Statue's assembly continues in Paris and work begins on the 15 foot deep foundation for the pedestal on Bedloe's Island. General Charles P. Stone is appointed as Chief Engineer, responsible for design and construction of the concrete foundation and the construction of the pedestal. -
Base is completed.
Hunt completes his finalized plan for the pedestal, with poured concrete walls up to 20 feet thick, faced with granite blocks. The concrete mass is the largest mass of poured concrete at that time. The pedestal's cornerstone is laid on Bedloe's Island. -
Statue is presented. Funds are depleted
July 4th - hundreds of people gather at the feet of the completed Statue in Paris to watch as she is formally presented to Levi P. Morton, the U.S. minister to France. A crisis occurs in the United States. The Statue is scheduled to arrive in the United States in 1885, but funds for the pedestal project run out and work on the pedestal stops. -
Jospeh Pulitzer raises funds needed - Statue is shipped.
New York World publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, comes to the Statue's financial rescue with a highly successful, six-month fund raising campaign. Over $100,000 is raised. The Statue is disassembled in Paris and shipped to the United States aboard the French navy ship the Isère. It arrives in New York Harbor on June 17th. The Statue is met with tremendous fanfare and a naval parade, but is placed in storage for a year while the pedestal is completed. -
Statue is completed.
The Statue is formally unveiled at the dedication ceremony on Bedloe's Island. One million New Yorkers turn out to cheer for the Statue of Liberty. President Cleveland salutes Bartholdi as "the greatest man in America today."
