Statue of Liberty National Monument national monument in 1924. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the monument to include all of Bedloe's Island, and in 1956, an act of Congress officially renamed it Liberty Island. Ellis Island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument by proclamation of President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The United States historic district, a single listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was designated in 1966. The islands were closed during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 and suffered severe damage. Liberty Island reopened July 4, 2013; Ellis Island re-opened October 24, 2013.
John S. McKiernan John S. McKiernan John Sammon McKiernan (October 15, 1911 – March 9, 1997) was the United States Democratic politician, who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island from 1947–1950 and 1951–1956 and briefly the 62nd Governor of Rhode Island (1950–1951). Born in Providence, Rhode Island, McKiernan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1934 and from Boston University School of Law in 1937. After this, he went on to run his own law practice. and serve as legal advisor to the Providence Civil Service Commission as well as chairman of the Providence Fair Rents Committee in 1941. In