Biography: Paul Revere

Description:
An American patriot and silversmith, Paul Revere was born in Boston, Jan. 1, 1735, and died May 10, 1818. Revere became a legendary hero at the start of the American Revolution, when he rode from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass., on the night of Apr. 18, 1775, to warn the countryside of approaching British troops.

Born in Boston on January 1, 1735, this hero was the son of a silversmith. Like his father, Revere learned how to make all kinds of things. He was able to supplement his income in the economic depression before the Revolution by creating tools, copper plates, and even fake teeth. Besides working as a silversmith, Revere was a soldier for a short time during the French and Indian War. The British and the French were at war over territory in North America.

In August 1757 he married Sarah Orne with whom he had eight children. Shortly after her death in 1773 he married Rachel Walker, and together they had another eight children.

In the 1770s, Revere became a strong supporter of American independence. He was a member of the 'Sons of Liberty', a group of patriots in who took their name from a debate on the Stamp Act in Parliament in 1765. He joined with 50 other revolutionaries in the Boston Tea Party, an event in 1773 when American colonists destroyed many crates of tea on ships in Boston Harbor. This event was a protest against the English tax on tea in the colonies. The colonists didn't have any say about the new taxes. And they didn't have anyone in the English government to support their cause. This was called "taxation without representation." The incident has been seen as helping to spark the American Revolution.