Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculptor who is best known for designing "Liberty Enlightening the World", commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Bartholdi was born in Colmar, France, 2 August 1834. He was born to a family of German Protestant (Alsatian) and Italian heritage, with his family name Romanticized from Barthold. Jean Charles Bartholdi (1791–1836) and Augusta Charlotte Bartholdi ( Beysser; 1801–1891), Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was the youngest of their four children, and one of only two to survive infancy, along with the oldest brother, Jean-Charles, who
Statue of Liberty the war, Napoleon III was captured and deposed. Bartholdi's home province of Alsace was lost to the Prussians, and a more liberal republic was installed in France. As Bartholdi had been planning a trip to the United States, he and Laboulaye decided the time was right to discuss the idea with influential Americans. In June 1871, Bartholdi crossed the Atlantic, with letters of introduction signed by Laboulaye. Arriving at New York Harbor, Bartholdi focused on Bedloe's Island (now named Liberty Island) as a site for the statue, struck by the fact that vessels arriving in New York had to sail