Happy 50th Birthday
Feb 24th, 2008 at 7:58 am by PSoTD
This forked symbol was designed for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC) and was adopted as its badge by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in Britain, and originally was used by the British nuclear disarmament movement. It was later generalised to become an international icon for the 1960s anti-war movement, and was also adopted by the counterculture of the time. It was designed and completed February 21, 1958 by Gerald Holtom, a professional designer and artist in Britain for the Easter march planned by DAC from Trafalgar Square, London, to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in England.
The symbol itself is a combination of the semaphoric signals for the letters “N” and “D,” standing for Nuclear Disarmament. In semaphore the letter “N” is formed by a person holding two flags in an upside-down “V,” and the letter “D” is formed by holding one flag pointed straight up and the other pointed straight down. These two signals imposed over each other form the shape of the peace symbol. In the original design the lines widened at the edge of the circle.
Check out http://www.happybirthdaypeace.com/
Oh.
I thought it was Susie’s birthday.
I’ll be darned. I just remember (yes, I’m that old) it becoming ubiquitous in the late 1960s. I never knew the provenance. Thanks.
Just a coinky dink, that the symbol is
the inverted rune Algiz, (indicates Defense, Protection)
set inside a circle.
What is the inverse of Defense and Protection?
No fear, No want, No when.
No, I heard this, I did not invent nor realize this.