The 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Symbol

In case you missed this gem in Friday’s ‘On This Day in History’ column (featured every day at the bottom of the Good News Network homepage), the peace sign was created 50 years ago by artist Gerald Holtom in London for an anti-war protest. Peace activists marched from Trafalgar Square to an atomic weapons factory 50 miles away in Aldermaston. The new symbol of their movement was printed on clothing and signs — and ten days later debuted for Americans in a Life magazine photo. The design incorporated the flag signals (semaphores) for the letters N and D –for Nuclear Disarmament. Gerald Holtom and his anti-nuclear compatriots deliberately didn’t trademark the symbol, so it was free for everyone to use.  Happy birthday, peace sign!

(Read this anniversary tribute in the CBS News.)