King (pharaoh) of ancient Egypt. He built great monuments at Thebes, including the temples at Luxor. Two portrait statues at his mortuary temple were known to the Greeks as the colossi of Memnon; one was cracked, and when the temperature changed at dawn it gave out an eerie sound, then thought supernatural. His son Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaton.
The number of stripes changed frequently until around 1800. Red, white, and blue became the colours of liberty and an inspiration for other revolutionary flags around the world. Effective date: 19 February 1937.