Paul Revere

Paul Revere was a silversmith and American Revolutionary patriot. He was born in the north end of Boston, Massachusetts, in December, 1735. He was the son of Deborah Hichborn and Apollos Rivoire, a French Huguenot. His father changed his name to Paul Revere after immigrating to America. Paul Revere married Sarah Orne (d. 1773) in 1757; he married Rachel Walker after her death.

On the evening of 18 April 1775, Paul Revere was sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren and instructed to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. Revere had already arranged a signal to alert local inhabitants of the British advance: two lanterns had been hung briefly in the bell-tower of Christ Church in Boston, indicating that British troops were rowing "by sea" across the Charles River to Cambridge, rather than marching "by land" out Boston Neck (one lantern). On the way to Lexington, Revere "alarmed" the country-side, stopping at each house, and arrived in Lexington about midnight.