Everyone knows about the Statue of Liberty. One stroll through Midtown will reveal t-shirts, mugs, snow globes and books all with the State of Liberty printed on front.

And hoards of people shell out upwards of $20 to ride ferries to visit the statue, and the smarter (albeit more frugal) tourists take the free Staten Island Ferry every year to get themselves just close enough to her beauty.

Five million people visit the Statue of Liberty each year. 

But how many really know what's going on with this gorgeous, 305-foot-tall symbol of American freedom? The truth is, not many.

Which is why we're here to share this info with you. 

Now read on to discover 9 mind-blowing facts about our very own Lady Liberty.

---

1. The Statue of Liberty's full name is "Liberty Enlightening the World"

And "Liberty Enlightening the World" was designed by French Freemason and sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi with the assistance of engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (who also designed the Eiffel Tower).

Her crown emanates solar rays, which Bartholdi modeled after the crown on the Colossus of Rhodes, a monument to the Sun God Helios. That monument once resided on a Greek harbor and was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Lady Liberty's crown's seven rays represent the seven continents and seven seas. The torch extended in her right hand is the Flame of Freedom, and at her feet are broken chains representing overcoming tyranny and enslavement.

Her torch and tablet has the date of American Independence inscribed on it (July 4th, 1776). 

[via Circle Sanctuary]

---

2. The Statue of Liberty was Edouard de Laoulaye's idea

Edouard de Laboulaye was a prominent political thinker of his time, an abolitionist, and a supporter of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. 

He believed vehemently in the "common law of free peoples," and that every person possessed an inalienable, sacred right to freedom. 

Laboulaye proposed the gift as a celebration of both the union's victory in the American Revolution and the passing of the 13th Amendment which abolished of American slavery.

Laboulyae also hoped the gift would inspire French people to fight for their own democracy in the midst of Napoleon III's oppressive monarchy. He spent most of his political career pushing for the return of democracy to France.

[via National Park Service]

---

3. More than 100,000 people in France contributed money to Lady Liberty

Most people know the Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France in honor of America's 100th birthday.

But what most people don't know is that thousands of French and American citizens contributed funds to her creation.

In the USA, Joseph Pulitzer spurred a grass-roots effort via newspapers to solicit donations from Americans. As a result, thousands of Americans contributed money to the construction of the 65-foot high granite pedestal that serves as Lady Liberty's base.

The Statue was completed in Paris in May of 1884 and shipped in 300 copper pieces to New York where it was reassembled.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty was the tallest structure in New York City.

[via Circle Sanctuary and NYCVP]

---

4. There's a poem carved into Lady Liberty's pedestal

In 1903, a plaque was added to the interior wall of Lady Liberty's pedestal enshrined with the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus. The last lines of the poem read:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

[via Liberty State Park]

---

5. Lady Liberty was modeled after Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom

"Libertas" is the Latin word for freedom. 

To the Romans, Libertas signified action, freedom from restraint, independence, rights, and personal liberty. Ancient Romans revered certain virtues, and Libertas was among the most important representations of these virtues.

Libertas is usually signified as a woman in a flowing classical dress. 

She's continued to signify freedom long past the fall of the Roman Empire in paintings, sculptures, songs, stories, poems, and other literature.

And, of course, as the State of Liberty.

[via Circle Sanctuary]

,

6. Suffragettes demanded the right to vote at The Statue of Liberty's opening

Thousands of New Yorkers attended the Statue of Liberty's opening on October 28th, 1886. 

Those in attendance included Suffragettes who circled the island in a boat, proclaiming via megaphone that women deserved the right to vote.

[via Circle Sanctuary]

---

7. Close to 40% of all current U.S. citizens can trace at least one ancestor to Ellis Island

Ellis Island opened in 1892 as a federal immigration station and closed in 1954. During that time, millions of newly arrived immigrants passed through Ellis Island.

Annie Moore from County Cork, Ireland, was the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island on January 1st, 1892, her 15th birthday.

[via The History Channel]

---

8. Most of Ellis Island is part of New Jersey

Sigh. Sorry New Yorkers, but the majority of Ellis Island is part of New Jersey.

After a lengthy court battle, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that the state of New Jersey actually had authority over the majority of the 27.5 acres of Ellis Island.

NYC, however, retained ownership of Ellis Island's original three acres, including the Main Arrivals Hall and the Ellis Island Immigration museum.

Giuliani famously remarked about the decision, "They're still not going to convince me that my grandfather, when he was sitting in Italy thinking of coming to the United States, and on the shores getting ready to get on that ship in Genoa, was saying to himself, 'I'm coming to New Jersey.' 

He knew where he was coming to. He was coming to the streets of New York."

[via The History Channel]

---

9. There are 1900 recorded oral interviews from immigrants and employees of Ellis Island

Since 1973, the Oral History Project has been dedicated to preserving the first-hand recollections of immigrants and employees who passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.

In its years of collection, the Oral History Project has accrued 1900 interviews of people from dozens of countries, former Immigration and Public Health Service employees, military personnel stationed at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty as well as World War II detainees.

Each person interviewed described their daily life in their country of origin, family history, reasons for emigration, journey to New York and arrival at Ellis Island. 

These oral interviews are available to the public in the Oral History Library, on the third floor of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, or online here.

[via Liberty Ellis Foundation] [via The Telegraph]

Check out 17 Touristy Things Every New Yorker Needs to Cross Off Their Bucket List ASAP. 

[Feature Image Courtesy: Zastavki]