Statue of Charlie Chaplin, London Statue of Charlie Chaplin, London The statue of Charlie Chaplin in Leicester Square, London, is a work of 1979 by the sculptor John Doubleday. It portrays the actor, comedian and filmmaker in his best-known role, as The Tramp. A memorial to Chaplin in the city of his birth was proposed on 25 December 1977, soon after Chaplin's death, by Illtyd Harrington, the leader of the opposition in the Greater London Council. Initial plans for a memorial in the Elephant and Castle, in South London where Chaplin spent his early years, were dropped and instead Leicester Square, at the centre of
Firdos Square statue destruction Firdos Square statue destruction The destruction of the Firdos Square statue was an event in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that marked the symbolic end of the Battle of Baghdad. The event took place on April 9, 2003. In April 2002, the 12-meter (39 ft) statue was erected in honor of the 65th birthday of Saddam Hussein. In the afternoon of April 9, 2003, a group of Iraqi civilians started to attack the statue. One such futile attempt by sledgehammer wielding weightlifter Kadhem Sharif particularly caught media attention. Shortly after, an advance unit of the United States Marine Corps