Birthday of Simon Bolivar
July 24
The Liberator
Simon Bolivar is one of the greatest heroes of South America. Known as
El Libertador (The
Liberator), Bolivar is also called the “George Washington of South
America.”
Bolivar, like Washington, was a great general. He fought for the freedom
of the
Spanish colonies in South America.
the United States. And in 1819, Bolivar
Washington became the first President of became the first president of a
union of South American countries. Finally, in 1824, Bolivar crushed the
Spanish army. He had won independence for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, and Venezuela.
Simon Bolivar’s birthday, July 24, is especially remembered in the city
of Caracas, Venezuela, where he was born and is buried. The country of
Bolivia was named in his honor, and a silver coin used today in
Venezuela is called the bolivar.
