Peace Symbol Turns 50

"...the peace sign turns 50 years old today. Over the past five decades the peace sign has become one of the world’s enduring icons. The original peace sign was developed in1958 by a British textile designer and conscientious objector named Gerald Holtom."


"He created the symbol by combining the semaphore letters N and D, for nuclear disarmament. [...] The symbol soon began to be used in anti-nuclear protests across Britain and then spread across the globe." (DN!)


The image of a peasant before a firing squad in Francisco Goya's "The Third of May 1808" is also cited as one of his inspirations.
"The white of the victim's shirt represents innocence and purity [...] He alone looks straight at the faceless enemy. Though on his knees he is a giant who towers above all at the very moment before his death."