 | |
| Use | Civil and state flag    |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | May 1, 1981 [1] |
| Design | A blue field charged with the state coat of arms below the word Wisconsin in white at the top and the year 1848 in white at the bottom. |
The flag of Wisconsin is the official flag of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The flag was first adopted in 1863, and was modified in 1979. It is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms of Wisconsin.
The flag field is navy blue with the Wisconsin coat of arms in the center, and the words "Wisconsin" in all capital letters above and "1848" below the seal in a bold white font. On the top of the coat of arms, there is a badger, and the state motto "Forward". In the center, on the shield, there is a plow to represent farming, a pick and shovel to represent mining, an arm and hammer representing manufacturing, and an anchor representing navigation. In the center of the shield is the United States coat of arms. The shield is supported by a sailor and a yeoman, both representing labor on land and on water. On the bottom there is a cornucopia, representing prosperity, and there are 13 lead ingots representing both mineral wealth and the original 13 colonies of the United States.
The state flag is officially described by law as:
(a) Relative dimensions of 2 to 3, hoist to fly. (b) A background of royal blue cloth. (c) The state coat of arms, as described under. 1.07, in material of appropriate colors, applied on each side in the center of the field, of such size that, if placed in a circle whose diameter is equal to 50 percent of the hoist, those portions farthest from the center of the field would meet, but not cross, the boundary of the circle. (d) The word “WISCONSIN" in white, capital, condensed Gothic letters, one-eighth of the hoist in height, centered above the coat of arms, midway between the uppermost part of the coat of arms and the top edge of the flag. (e) The year “1848" in white, condensed Gothic numbers, one-eighth of the hoist in height, centered below the coat of arms, midway between the lowermost part of the coat of arms and the bottom edge of the flag. [2]
The flag of Wisconsin was adopted in 1863, following requests from Civil War regiments for battlefield use. The legislature formed a committee to choose the specifications for the flag, which was the state coat of arms centered on a field of dark blue. This design was similar to the ones in use by regiments. In 1913, it was formally added to the Wisconsin Statues, which specified the design of the state flag. [3]
In 1941, Carl R. Eklund reported that he raised the state flag over Antarctica, at the behest of Wisconsin Governor Julius P. Heil, about 500 miles north of the South Pole and 620 miles into a previously unexplored area. [4] In 1958, Eklund flew another flag over Antarctica which he presented for display in a state museum. [5] In 1953, state assemblyman William N. Belter of Wautoma criticized the flag as too costly because of the details. [6]
In 1973, when the state senate was attempting to add the word Wisconsin to the flag, it was criticized as already too cluttered. [7] In 1975, some state flags were being sold that improperly had the state seal on them instead of the state coat of arms. Wisconsin Secretary of State Douglas J. La Follette noted that the correct state flag did not have the banner of thirteen stars at the bottom. [8]
In order to distinguish it from the many other blue U.S. state flags, Wisconsin's flag was modified in 1979 to add "Wisconsin" and "1848", the year Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. [9] [10] All Wisconsin state flags manufactured after May 1, 1981, were required to use this design. [1]
State flag from 1866 to 1913
State flag from 1913 to 1981
Unofficial 1913 to 1981 variant featuring a banner of stars on the bottom.
Unofficial 1913 to 1981 variant featuring the coat of arms on a white disc.
Unofficial 1975 variant featuring more of the state seal.
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The flag of San Marino is formed by two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the coat of arms has a shield with a closed crown on top, flanked by an oak and laurel wreath, with a scroll below bearing the word LIBERTAS (Freedom). The two colors of the flag represent peace (white) and liberty.
The flag of Newfoundland and Labrador was introduced in 1980 and was designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt. The flag design was approved by the House of Assembly of the province of Newfoundland, Canada, on May 28, 1980. It was flown for the first time on Discovery Day, June 24, 1980. The name of the province was changed to Newfoundland and Labrador by an amendment to the constitution of Canada in December 2001 at the request of the provincial legislature.
The flag of Belize was adopted on 21 September 1981, the day Belize became independent. It consists of the coat of arms of Belize within a white circle on a blue field with red stripes at the top and bottom.
The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a medium blue field with a yellow right triangle separating said field, and there are seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle.
The national flag of Costa Rica is based on a design created in 1848 and consists of two blue stripes, two white stripes, and a central red stripe which is twice as wide as each of the other four. The civil flag omits the coat of arms seen on the state flag, since the state variant is only permitted to be used by the government.
The flag of the Dominican Republic represents the Dominican Republic and, together with the coat of arms and the national anthem, has the status of a national symbol. The blue on the flag stands for liberty, the white for salvation, and the red for the blood of heroes. The civil flag follows the same design, but without the charge in the center. The flag was designed by Juan Pablo Duarte.
The national flag of Spain, as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle stripe was defined by the more archaic term of gualda, and hence the popular name la Rojigualda (red-weld).
The flag of the state of Maryland is the 17th-century heraldic banner of arms of Cecil, 2nd Baron Baltimore. It consists of the arms of his father George, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), quartered with those of his grandmother, heiress of the Crossland family. The flag was officially adopted by the General Assembly of Maryland in 1904.
The flag of West Virginia is the official flag of the U.S. State of West Virginia and was officially adopted by the West Virginia Legislature on March 7, 1929. The present flag consists of a pure white field bordered by a blue stripe with the coat of arms of West Virginia in the center, wreathed by Rhododendron maximum and topped by an unfurled red ribbon reading, "State of West Virginia." It is the only state flag to bear crossing rifles, meant to illustrate the importance of the state's fight for liberty during the Civil War as the southern unionist 35th state.
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The city of Kraków uses a coat of arms, a seal, official colors, a flag, and a banner as its official symbols. Additionally, a number of semi-official and unofficial symbols of the city are also used.
The Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin is a seal used by the Wisconsin Secretary of State to authenticate all the governor's official acts, except laws. It consists of the state coat of arms, with the words "Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin" above it and 13 stars, representing the original states, below it.
The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official emblem of the U.S. state, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state of Illinois. The flag of the state of Illinois consists of the seal of Illinois on a white background, with the word "Illinois" underneath the seal. The present seal was adopted in 1869, the flag bearing the central elements of the seal was adopted in 1915, and the word Illinois was added to the flag in 1970. In a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association, the flag of Illinois was ranked 49th out of 72 different flags of states and territories, mainly in the US and Canada.
The seal of the Territory of Idaho was adopted in 1863 and redrawn several times before statehood in 1890. The first state Great Seal was designed in the 1890s by Emma Edwards Green, the only woman to design a U.S. state seal. That seal was used until 1957, when the seal was slightly redrawn by Paul B. Evans and the Caxton Printers, Ltd. at the request of the state government, in order to add more anthropocentric elements to the centered shield.
The flag of Sint Maarten consists of a white triangle situated at the hoist charged with the constituent country's coat of arms, along with two horizontal bands of red and blue. Adopted in 1985 shortly after the territory was granted a coat of arms, it has been the flag of Sint Maarten since 13 June of that year. Since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010, it has been the sole flag used in the constituent country.
Edward H. Kiefer was an American house painter who served seven terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing Milwaukee. He ran initially as a Socialist, then became a Progressive.
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The flag of El Paso is the official municipal flag of El Paso, Texas. The current design, an augmentation of El Paso's seal in the center of a dark blue field, has been in place since 1962.
The Seal of Nueva Vizcaya is the seal used by the provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya in the Philippines.
The department of administration shall ensure that all official state flags that are manufactured on or after May 1, 1981 conform to the requirements of this section. State flags manufactured before May 1, 1981 may continue to be used as state flags.
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