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The history of the peace symbol

Published 8:39 PM EDT, Sun July 22, 2018
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Gerald Holtom's early sketch for the nuclear disarmament symbol from 1958, on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Gerald Holtom's early sketch for the nuclear disarmament symbol from 1958, on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Yui Mok/PA Wire/Getty Images
Demonstrators meet in Trafalgar Square, London, for a four-day protest march to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire, on April 4, 1958.
Demonstrators meet in Trafalgar Square, London, for a four-day protest march to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire, on April 4, 1958.
Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Anglican Canon John Collins, one of the founders of the CND anti-nuclear movement, heads a protest march through Scarborough in North Yorkshire in 1960.
Anglican Canon John Collins, one of the founders of the CND anti-nuclear movement, heads a protest march through Scarborough in North Yorkshire in 1960.
Edward Miller/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Joan Baez performs at an anti-Vietnam War demonstration in London's Trafalgar Square in May 1965.
Joan Baez performs at an anti-Vietnam War demonstration in London's Trafalgar Square in May 1965.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Peace demonstrators fill Fulton Street in San Francisco on April 15, 1967 during a five-mile march through the city.
Peace demonstrators fill Fulton Street in San Francisco on April 15, 1967 during a five-mile march through the city.
Robert W. Klein/AP
Folk singer Arlo Guthrie performs at a 1969 music festival in Medford, Massachusetts, as a skywriting pilot makes a peace symbol in the sky.
Folk singer Arlo Guthrie performs at a 1969 music festival in Medford, Massachusetts, as a skywriting pilot makes a peace symbol in the sky.
Bettmann/Bettmann/Getty Images
Surrounded by a sea of peace symbols, President Richard Nixon gives the "V" sign as his motorcade passes a group of demonstrators in Rochester, Minnesota in October 1970.
Surrounded by a sea of peace symbols, President Richard Nixon gives the "V" sign as his motorcade passes a group of demonstrators in Rochester, Minnesota in October 1970.
AP Photo
A group of anti-nuclear weapons protesters sit beneath a "ban the bomb" banner at a protest.
A group of anti-nuclear weapons protesters sit beneath a "ban the bomb" banner at a protest.
Hulton Deutsch/Corbis/Getty Images
Demonstrators from South Boston High School carry a sign with the symbol of a cross on top of a peace sign during a rally to peacefully protest the Vietnam War in May 1971.
Demonstrators from South Boston High School carry a sign with the symbol of a cross on top of a peace sign during a rally to peacefully protest the Vietnam War in May 1971.
Jack Sheahan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
A logo on a Volkswagen bus converted to a peace symbol in a photograph by Ken Kolsbun.
A logo on a Volkswagen bus converted to a peace symbol in a photograph by Ken Kolsbun.
Ken Kolsbun
A demonstrator waves a flag marked with the peace symbol during an anti-Gulf War rally at the US Capitol in Washington in 1991.
A demonstrator waves a flag marked with the peace symbol during an anti-Gulf War rally at the US Capitol in Washington in 1991.
KEVIN LARKIN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Yoko Ono looks at a peace symbol on the John Lennon Peace Wall in Prague, Czech Republic in 2003.
Yoko Ono looks at a peace symbol on the John Lennon Peace Wall in Prague, Czech Republic in 2003.
Thousands of people demonstrate by forming a peace symbol at Catalunya Square in Barcelona against the US-led war in Iraq in 2003.
Thousands of people demonstrate by forming a peace symbol at Catalunya Square in Barcelona against the US-led war in Iraq in 2003.
LLUIS GENE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
"Peace baguettes" in Berkeley, California at a 2003 protest against the US invasion of Iraq.
"Peace baguettes" in Berkeley, California at a 2003 protest against the US invasion of Iraq.
Ken Kolsbun
Two young protesters with their faces painted with a peace symbol for a 2004 demonstration in Rome.
Two young protesters with their faces painted with a peace symbol for a 2004 demonstration in Rome.
Antiwar protesters demonstrate during the New York City Veterans Day Parade in 2005.
Antiwar protesters demonstrate during the New York City Veterans Day Parade in 2005.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/Getty Images
More than 4,000 activists with torches form a peace symbol on  Heroes' Square in central Budapest during a rally to demand the end of the US occupation of Iraq in 2006.
More than 4,000 activists with torches form a peace symbol on Heroes' Square in central Budapest during a rally to demand the end of the US occupation of Iraq in 2006.
ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
An US flag with the peace symbol instead of the stars representing the 50 states is held during a protest against the war in Iraq in January 2007 in Los Angeles.
An US flag with the peace symbol instead of the stars representing the 50 states is held during a protest against the war in Iraq in January 2007 in Los Angeles.
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
The peace symbol written with chalk is seen on a wall on the Place de la Bourse in central Brussels in a 2016 tribute to the victims of the Brussels attacks.
The peace symbol written with chalk is seen on a wall on the Place de la Bourse in central Brussels in a 2016 tribute to the victims of the Brussels attacks.
PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A participant holds signs as they march during the Women's March in Los Angeles in 2017.
A participant holds signs as they march during the Women's March in Los Angeles in 2017.
Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images North America/Getty Images
People gather to make a giant human peace sign at the 2017 Glastonbury Festival.
People gather to make a giant human peace sign at the 2017 Glastonbury Festival.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

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