This day in history

U.S. President Grover Cleveland officially dedicates the Statue of Liberty. Designed by Frederic Bartholdi, the statue was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States.

The 152-foot copper and steel sculpture of a woman holding a torch above her head was built in France, then disassembled and sent to New York. Reconstructed on New York’s Bedloe’s Island, the monument was dedicated by President Cleveland on 28 October, 1886. Six years later, Ellis Island, adjacent to Bedloe’s Island, opened as the chief entry station for immigrants to the United States.

During the next three decades, the Statue of Liberty welcomed 12 million immigrants to their new home.

Chairman Hua Kuo-Feng becomes the first Chinese leader to visit Britain.

The Cuban Missile Crisis comes to an end when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev orders the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.

World War II: Italy invades Greece.

Against the will of President Woodrow Wilson, Congress passes the Volstead Act allowing for the introduction of prohibition in America.