Nuclear + Disarmament = PEACE

The peace symbol made it’s first public appearance on Good Friday, 50 years ago to the day.

The icon was created by West Londoner Gerald Holtom, a man convinced that the “Ban the Bomb” movement would fare much better with a symbol to stand behind, a logo to rally conscientious objectors far and wide.

While initial sketches began with imagery derived from the Christian cross, Holtom’s final design was born from the Semaphore alphabet. Simplified poses N and D - Nuclear Disarmament - were drawn within a large circle, a stylized planet Earth.

I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad

Peace signs abound.

* SKIP 20 YEARS*

People paint the peace sign on their naked bodies on the way to Woodstock. It’s now the masthead for America’s counter-culture movement. We appropriated it, made it sexy, a little spooky, and made necklaces out of it.

BBC has more.