A replica of the Liberty Bell on the campus of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. The replica is one of 55 cast in 1950 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as part of a defense bond drive. The Bell was dedicated in 1953 and sits on a pedestal whose construction was financed by pennies contributed by schoolchildren in Anne Arundel County, Md. The Bell has often been rung on Jan. 20 to commemorate the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Other replicas created as part of the bond drive are located in state capitals from Alaska to Wyoming as well as other locations including the Truman Library in Independence, Mo. and in Annecy-Le-Vieux, France, where the replicas were cast. The Bells were delivered on flat-bed trucks donated by the Ford Motor Company, that were painted red, white and blue. For more information, see: http://www.libertybellmuseum.com/statebells.htm

** Photo Credit: Peter West, National Science Foundation

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