140 years ago today
The Statue of Liberty Is Dedicated
On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland formally dedicated the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor before a crowd of thousands, cementing one of the most powerful symbols of freedom in the world. The colossal copper statue — a gift from France conceived by political thinker Édouard de Laboulaye and sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi — had taken over a decade to design, fund, and construct. Its iron internal framework was engineered by Gustave Eiffel, who would later build his famous tower in Paris. Standing 305 feet from base to torch tip, Lady Liberty welcomed generations of immigrants arriving by sea. The original copper surface has since oxidized to its distinctive green patina, and the statue remains the most recognizable symbol of American ideals worldwide.
This day, across time
- 312 CEEventBattle of the Milvian Bridge
- 1466BornDesiderius Erasmus
- 1492EventColumbus Makes Landfall on Cuba
- 1636EventHarvard University Founded
- 1704DiedJohn Locke
- 1818DiedAbigail Adams
- 1886FeaturedThe Statue of Liberty Is Dedicated
- 1914BornJonas Salk
- 1940EventGreece Defies Italy's Ultimatum
- 1943EventThe Alleged "Philadelphia Experiment"
- 1955BornBill Gates
- 1962EventCuban Missile Crisis Ends
- 1965EventGateway Arch Completed in St. Louis
- 1967BornJulia Roberts
- 1998DiedTed Hughes
Alive in 1886
OverlapSame years; not influence
Franz Rosenzweigborn this year
Albert Einsteinturned 7 this year
Carl Gustav Jungturned 11 this year
Eleanor Rooseveltturned 2 this year
Franz Kafkaturned 3 this year
Friedrich Nietzscheturned 42 this year
Henry Fordturned 23 this year
Joseph Stalinturned 8 this year
Mahatma Gandhiturned 17 this year
Marie Curieturned 19 this year
15 more figures were alive that year
Step into the moment
Simulation · scenario
The Nobel News Reaches Cuba
Finca Vigía, near Havana, Cuba
Ernest Hemingway, October 28, 1954. A simulation set on this date. The figure doesn’t know how the day ends.
Plus view — Scenes are part of Plus
Step into the sceneOn This Day in History
8 EventsBattle of the Milvian Bridge
Constantine I defeats Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge near Rome, becoming sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire and beginning his path toward Christianizing the empire.
Columbus Makes Landfall on Cuba
Christopher Columbus makes landfall on the coast of Cuba, becoming the first European to reach the island; he believes he has arrived in Japan.
Harvard University Founded
Harvard University is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts — the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, established to train a learned clergy for the new colonies.
Statue of Liberty Dedicated
President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, the gift from France that becomes the world's most recognizable symbol of freedom.
Greece Defies Italy's Ultimatum
Greece rejects Mussolini's ultimatum to allow Axis occupation of strategic positions; Italy responds by invading through Albania, beginning the Greco-Italian War.
The Alleged "Philadelphia Experiment"
According to a persistent legend, the U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge was allegedly rendered invisible at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on or around this date, purportedly teleporting to Norfolk, Virginia, over 200 miles away. The story — first relayed by merchant seaman Carl M. Allen in the 1950s — has never been substantiated; Navy records show the Eldridge was not in Philadelphia at the time, and the Office of Naval Research has categorically denied any such experiment took place. Despite being widely considered a hoax, the Philadelphia Experiment endures as one of the most captivating military conspiracy theories of the 20th century.
Cuban Missile Crisis Ends
Soviet Premier Khrushchev announces the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba, stepping back from the brink of nuclear war and ending the most dangerous confrontation of the Cold War.
Gateway Arch Completed in St. Louis
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri is completed — at 630 feet the tallest man-made monument in the United States and a landmark of modern architectural engineering.
Born on This Day
Desiderius Erasmus
Dutch Renaissance Humanist & Scholar
The preeminent intellectual of his age, whose sharp wit and calls for Church reform — particularly "In Praise of Folly" — made him the most widely read author in Europe and laid the groundwork for the Reformation.
Jonas Salk
American Virologist
American virologist who developed the first effective polio vaccine in 1955, protecting millions of children from the crippling disease and becoming one of the most celebrated medical figures of the 20th century.
Bill Gates
American Software Pioneer & Philanthropist
Co-founder of Microsoft who built it into the world's most valuable software company; he later became one of history's most generous philanthropists through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Julia Roberts
American Actress
One of Hollywood's highest-paid stars, Julia Roberts won an Academy Award for "Erin Brockovich" and enchanted audiences worldwide in romantic comedies including "Pretty Woman" and "My Best Friend's Wedding."
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John Locke
English Philosopher
Philosopher whose "Two Treatises of Government" and "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" laid the intellectual foundations for liberal democracy, natural rights, and the Enlightenment.
Abigail Adams
American First Lady & Writer
Wife of President John Adams and mother of President John Quincy Adams; her prolific correspondence provides one of the most vivid firsthand accounts of the founding era, and her letters are among the earliest American feminist voices.
Ted Hughes
English Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, renowned for the fierce natural imagery of collections like "Crow" and "Birthday Letters."
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