Simón Bolívar signature

Who Simón Bolívar was

Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) was born in Caracas to a wealthy Creole family. He led the wars of independence against Spanish rule that freed present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia, which is named after him. Admirers called him El Libertador, the Liberator.

He served as president of Gran Colombia and of Peru, and died of illness in Santa Marta, Colombia, in 1830, as the union he had built was breaking apart.

The story of the signature

Bolívar usually signed with his surname alone, “Bolívar”, followed by a rúbrica. In the Spanish-speaking world the rúbrica, a personal flourish drawn with the name or on its own, has long been treated as part of the signature itself.

His flourish takes up as much space as the letters, which makes the signature easy to recognize on decrees, military orders and letters.

Like most leaders of his time, he dictated much of his huge correspondence to secretaries and added his signature at the end, so many of his letters show his signature beneath text in another hand.

What makes it distinctive

How to give your signature a similar feel

• Try a surname-only signature in the signature generator and let a flourish carry the personality. Arizonia on the Type tab has a heavy, vintage line; set Slant around 10°.
• Design your own rúbrica on the Draw tab: after the last letter, continue into one or two large strokes below the name. Make it the same way every time; consistency is what makes a rúbrica recognizable.
• If you have a rúbrica, you can also use it alone to initial the pages of a long document, as many people in Spanish-speaking countries still do.
• Already sign with a rúbrica on paper? Upload a photo through the Upload tab to get it as a transparent PNG.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

• Wikimedia Commons: Signatures of Simón Bolívar
• Wikimedia Commons: Simón Bolívar’s signature