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Paul Revere ( January 1, 1735 (assumed) - May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolutionary War. Immortalized after his death for his role as a messenger in the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Revere was a prosperous and well-known craftsman who was born in the class of tradesmen yet yearned to advance to class of gentlemen. He served as an officer in one of the most disastrous campaigns of the war, a role for which he was later exonerated. After the war, he was early to recognize the potential for large-scale manufacturing of metal goods and is considered by some historians to be the prototype of the American industrialist.
The actual date of Paul Revere's birth is not known. However, according to the records of the New Brick Congregational Church in Boston he was baptised on 22 December 1734. This date is given in the "old style" Julian Calendar that was used in the British EmpireThe British Empire in the early decades of the 20th century, held sway over a population of 400 500 million people (roughly a quarter of the world's population), and covered nearly 30 million square kilometres, (roughly two-fifths of the world's land area until 1752Events February 11 Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the US, is opened. March 23 The Halifax Gazette the first Canadian newspaper June 15 Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (kite + key + lightning) September 14 The British E. The date translates to 2 January 1735 in the "new style" Gregorian Calendar. Nevertheless, most sources give 1st January as Revere's birth date. It is unlikely that Revere was baptised on the day he was born, so his actual birth date would have probably been a few days earlier in late December 1734. An assumption that he was born the day before his baptism has perhaps led to the adoption of 1st January 1735 (new style) as his birth date.
Revere was the eldest surviving son of Apollos Rivoire, a HuguenotIn the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. Origin of the Name Originally a term of derision, the origin remains uncertain. It may have derived from the personal name of Besan refugee who had anglicized his name to Paul Revere. He had a meager schooling, and in his father's shop learned the trade of a gold- and silversmith.
In 1756Events March 17 St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern). May 15 Seven Years' War: The war begins when England declares war on France. August 29 Frederick the Great attacks Saxony October 1 Seve he was Second LieutenantSecond Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned rank in many armed forces. In the United States Army, the rank bore no insignia until 1917 when a gold bar was introduced to contrast with the silver bar of a First Lieutenant. As a result those in the rank hav of artillery in the expedition against Crown Point, and for several months was stationed at Fort Edward, in New York.
He became a proficient copper engraver in the years before the war. He was a close friend of Samuel Adams and was involved the earliest stages of the struggle for independence. He engraved several anti-British caricatures in the years before the war. One of his best known is a pro-Patriot engraving of the Boston Massacre. He was one of the Boston grand jurors who refused to serve in 1774 because Parliament had made the justices independent of the people for their salaries; was a leader in the Boston Tea Party; was one of the thirty North End mechanics who patrolled the streets to watch the movements of the British troops and Tories; and in December 1774 was sent to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to urge the seizure of military stores there, and induced the colonists to attack and capture Fort William and Mary -- one of the first acts of military force in the war.