UN pin for San Francisco conference

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Architect Donal McLaughlin, who designed the symbol that was adopted by the United Nations, has died at his home in Maryland, USA, aged 102. He graduated from Yale University where his thesis was on circular graphics.

After working for the CIA’s forerunner, the OSS, where he was chief of graphics during the war, he was commissioned to come up with a pin that could identify delegates to the first UN conference in San Francisco, USA in 1945. The symbol of the continents seen from above the north pole, surrounded by olive leaves, was adopted by the new organization as its own. He also designed the courtroom for the Nuremburg war crimes trials.

Link to other site: NZZ (Ger), Yale Alumni Magazine

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