The Forgotten Artist Who Created The World's Peace Symbol

Gerald Holtom and the Birth of an Icon

On a cold February day in 1958, Gerald Holtom, a British designer and former World War II conscientious objector, sat at his drawing table creating a symbol for the upcoming Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War march to Aldermaston. What emerged from his sketch pad would become arguably the most recognizable symbol in the world.

Holtom’s design was brilliantly simple: a circle containing a downward line with branching lines at the bottom (resembling an upside-down tree). The symbol combined the semaphore signals for “N” (arms down in an inverted V) and “D” (one arm up, one down), standing for “Nuclear Disarmament.” But the design had a deeper, more personal meaning as well.

“I was in despair,” Holtom later wrote to Hugh Brock, editor of Peace News. “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.” This imagery from Francisco Goya’s “The Third of May 1808” painting conveyed Holtom’s profound anxiety about nuclear annihilation.

According to the Imperial War Museum, which houses artifacts from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the peace symbol first appeared publicly on Easter weekend 1958, when thousands of protesters marched from London to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston (Imperial War Museum Collection)

From London Streets to Global Phenomenon

What’s remarkable about the peace symbol is how quickly it spread beyond its original context. Initially, it was specifically associated with nuclear disarmament in Britain, with protesters carrying black and white banners featuring the symbol. The design wasn’t copyrighted—a deliberate decision by Holtom, who wanted it freely available to the peace movement.

By the early 1960s, the symbol had crossed the Atlantic and began appearing in American civil rights and anti-war demonstrations. Its simple design made it easy to reproduce—it could be drawn, painted, sewn, or formed by hand—making it accessible for grassroots movements with limited resources.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which documents social movements and human rights, notes that the symbol gained tremendous momentum during Vietnam War protests, becoming a visual shorthand for opposition to military interventions globally (USHMM Collection on Social Activism).

The Hippie Adoption and Cultural Resonance

The peace symbol’s association with the hippie counterculture of the mid-1960s catapulted it to worldwide recognition. While Holtom created it specifically for nuclear disarmament, the symbol proved remarkably adaptable, embodying broader ideals of peace, love, and harmony that defined the hippie movement.

Several factors contributed to its resonance with the hippie generation:

1. Perfect Timing. The symbol arrived just as youth counterculture was forming and seeking visual identifiers that distinguished them from mainstream society.
2. Visual Simplicity. Its basic design could be quickly drawn on anything—jeans, vans, guitars, skin—making it an accessible form of self-expression.
3. Non-Verbal Communication: At a time when young people felt misunderstood by older generations, the symbol communicated complex ideals without words.
4. Flexibility of Meaning: While originating in anti-nuclear activism, the symbol easily accommodated multiple interpretations, from opposition to the Vietnam War to general anti-establishment sentiment.
5. Commercial Adoption: Once adopted by musicians, fashion designers, and marketers, the symbol appeared on clothing, album covers, and merchandise, accelerating its cultural penetration.

Cultural Context of the Late 1950s and 1960s

The peace symbol’s rapid spread reflected the profound cultural anxieties and social transformations of its era:

Cold War Nuclear Fears: The late 1950s saw heightened nuclear tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, making Holtom’s symbol painfully relevant.

Civil Rights Movement: As Black Americans fought for equality, the peace symbol became part of a visual language of protest that crossed racial boundaries.

Vietnam War: As the conflict escalated and televised footage brought war’s horrors directly into American homes, the peace symbol became a central visual element of anti-war demonstrations.

Youth Cultural Revolution: The massive baby boomer generation came of age questioning authority structures and traditional values, seeking new symbols untainted by association with the “establishment.”

Media Globalization: Improved global communications, particularly television, allowed symbols and movements to spread internationally with unprecedented speed.

Legacy and Universal Adoption

What began as a specific protest symbol has achieved a remarkable cultural transformation. Today, the peace symbol has largely transcended its original context to become a universal icon of harmony, recognized across religions, cultures, and generations.

Gerald Holtom might be surprised to see his creation on everything from fashion items to corporate logos, sometimes divorced from any explicit political message. Yet the symbol retains its power to evoke ideals of harmony and cooperation, a testament to the effectiveness of its simple design.

Ironically, the symbol that Holtom intended to represent despair has become one of hope. As he later reflected, “I realized that if I turned it upside down, it could be seen as a tree of life… and as a gesture of joy with the arms raised and outstretched, and that’s exactly what we need.”

Six decades after its creation, the peace symbol continues to resonate globally, demonstrating the extraordinary potential of visual symbols to transcend language, borders, and even their original intentions.