What became the Statue of Liberty began as a monument for Egypt.

World History

O ne of the greatest gifts America ever received was originally envisioned for another nation. Before creating "Liberty Enlightening the World," as the Statue of Liberty is officially known, French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi set to work on "Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia," which was meant to be placed at the entryway of the Suez Canal in Port Said, Egypt. It would have looked fairly similar to Lady Liberty, with an "Upper Egyptian" (Saeid Misr) wearing a robe and holding a torch. Bartholdi was inspired by a trip to Abu Simbel, the site of two iconic temples devoted to Ramesses II, and planned the sculpture to stand 86 feet high on a 48-foot pedestal.

However, the statue was deemed too costly to produce, and the Port Said Lighthouse was erected instead. Bartholdi then repurposed his design after turning his attention to America due to a proposal by Édouard de Laboulaye, a French historian and abolitionist who wanted to honor the century-old alliance between the U.S. and France, as well as America's successful effort to abolish slavery. The monument, renamed the Statue of Liberty, was constructed in France and presented to Levi Morton, then the U.S. ambassador to France and later vice president under Benjamin Harrison, in a ceremony in Paris on July 4, 1884. Following its completion the next year, it was disassembled and shipped to New York City, where it still stands today.

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By the Numbers

Known pyramids in Egypt

118

Words in "The New Colossus," the sonnet inscribed on Lady Liberty's plaque

105

Did you know?

Some theorize that the statue's seven rays represent the seas and continents.

Given that there are seven of them, the rays in Lady Liberty's crown are rife with potential symbolism. Though research has never confirmed it, some have speculated that they represent the seven seas and continents, with liberty spreading throughout them and into the world. The National Parks Service officially offers a more practical interpretation, saying they simply represent a "radiant halo," also known as an aureole. Another unconfirmed but frequently reported theory is that Bartholdi based the design on his mother, Charlotte, whose visage was said to be similar to that of Lady Liberty.

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