From www.kittytours.org:  Year: 1958 Sculptor: Felix deWeldon
Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) was born into the Spanish ruling class
of Venezuela and spent some of his teen years being educated in
Spain. However, a private tutor in his youth had already greatly
influenced his philosophy of life by encouraging him to read the
writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and explore the concept of the
natural rights philosophy. As a result, Bolivar resolved to
dedicate his life to freeing Venezuela from the domination of
Spain.  On his return to Venezuela, he and his revolutionary
supporters forced the Spanish governor to abdicate and replaced
him with a government of locally-chosen leaders. Between 1810
and 1824, his revolutionary forces fought the Spanish and
liberated what are now Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
They briefly formed a united country named, at Bolivar's
suggestion, Greater Colombia. Bolivar served as president until
1830 when Venezuela and Ecuador seceded from the union in
opposition to his dictatorial