Simón Bolívar Day

On July 24, 1783, Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas, in what is now Venezuela. Bolivar became the most powerful leader in South America, nicknamed “El Libertador” (the liberator) for helping nations become independent from Spain. Today, July 24 is celebrated as Simon Bolivar Day throughout Latin America. Bolivar was inspired by the American Revolutionary War. He admired George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and even sent his nephew to the University of Virginia. However, unlike the “Founding Fathers,” Bolivar rejected slavery and called for its abolition in the Americas. Bolivar hoped to unite all South American countries into one nation. He did not succeed in this plan. Instead, his leadership helped establish what are now the nations of Colombia, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Both Bolivia and Venezuela (officially, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) are named after Bolivar, as are the currencies of both nations (the Bolivian boliviano and the Venezuelan bolivar).