On this day, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to New York City, where he he was apprenticed to a cameo cutter. At nineteen he traveled to Paris and Rome, studying classical art and architecture, and soon began to work as a sculptor.

Over his career, he produced over 200 works in marble and bronze, became internationally known for his art, instruction and advocacy. At various times he maintained studios in New York, Paris, and at his country retreat, Aspet, in New Hampshire.

Among his best-known pieces are six Civil War monuments, including the Shaw Memorial. It tells the story of the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment and depicts a procession of black soldiers and their white leader moving together toward the goal of emancipation. The bronze now stands on the Boston Common across from the State House.