The Liberty Bell, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American bell of great historic significance. The Liberty Bell is perhaps one of the most prominent symbols associated with the American Revolution and the American Revolutionary War. It is one of the most familiar symbols of independence, abolition of slavery, nationhood and freedom within the United States, and has been described as an international icon of liberty.----------------Its most famous ringing, though apocryphal, occurred on July 8, 1776, to summon citizens of Philadelphia for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Previously, it had been rung to announce the opening of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and after the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775. The Liberty Bell was known as the "Independence Bell" or the "Old State House bell" until 1837, when it was adopted by the American Anti-Slavery Society as a symbol of the abolitionist movement.-----------During the 19th century, the bell tolled at the death of Alexander Hamilton (1804), Lafayette's return to Philadelphia (1824), the deaths of Adams and Jefferson (1826), Washington's 100th birthday celebration (1832) and the deaths of Lafayette (1834), John Marshall (1835) and William Henry Harrison (1841).------------In 1839, William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery publication The Liberator reprinted a Boston abolitionist pamphlet containing a poem about the Bell, entitled, "The Liberty Bell," which represents the first known usage (in print) of the name, "Liberty Bell."-----------It is not certain when the second crack appeared (the first after the recastings), but the bell was repaired in February 1846. The method of repair, known as stop drilling, required drilling along the hairline crack so that the sides of the fracture would not reverberate. On February 22, 1846, the bell was tolled for several hours in the tower of Independence Hall in honour of George Washington's birthday.When the bell was rung, the crack grew from the top of the repaired crack to the crown of the bell, rendering the bell unuseable. Contrary to popular belief, the large crevice that currently exists in the Liberty Bell is a repair from the expansions, and not the crack itself. In 1852, the bell was removed from its steeple, and put on display in the "Declaration Chamber" of Independence Hall. In the meantime, a "Centennial Bell" replica was given as a gift to Philadelphia in 1876 and this newer bell was placed in the steeple of Independence Hall. This bell was cast by Meneely & Kimberly, a Troy, New York, bell foundry in June 1876. A third bell hangs in a modern tower nearby. Cast at the same British foundry as the original, this replica, called the Bicentennial Bell, was given to the people of the United States by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain during a visit to Philadelphia in 1976. From 1885-1915, the Liberty Bell travelled to numerous cities and was displayed at expositions and world's fairs.--------------------------In 2006 the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city proper to be over 1.4 million.Philadelphia is a major commercial, educational, and cultural centre for the nation. As of the 2006 population estimate, the Philadelphia metropolitan area was the fifth-largest in the United States with a population of 5.8 million.------------------------ In the 18th century, the city was the first capital and most populous city of the United States. It was arguably the second largest city, behind London, in the British Empire. Also, at that time, it eclipsed Boston and New York City in political and social importance, with Benjamin Franklin taking a large role in Philadelphia's early rise to prominence. It was the social and geographical centre of the original 13 American colonies. It was in this city that ideas, and subsequent actions, gave birth to the American Revolution and American independence.--------------------It is colloquially referred to as "the City of Brotherly Love"