So Where Did The Peace Sign Come From?

The sign that we’ve all come to know, dates back to the fifties as a campaign against nuclear violence. The English artist and designer, Gerald Holtom, created it in an attempt at Nuclear Disarmament, with the “N” and “D” finding its way subtly into the symbol. Holtom later presented his design to the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War, which was already planning an anti-nuclear march from London to the British manufacturing site of nuclear weapons in Aldermaston. The committee chose Holtom’s creation, and printed it on buttons and flags, where it made its first public debut. 

Shortly after the march to Aldermaston, an American civil rights  activist who participated in the anti-nuclear campaign made his way back to the U.S., bringing with him the peace sign badge that very same year. It later made waves as a symbol of anti-Vietnam War protests and civil rights in the sixties.