Who was Paul Revere

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A.� American patriot, famous for riding to warn comrades of the approaching British. He was also an engraver, dentist, artist and participant of the Boston Tea Party.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� But what about this ride

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Q.� Journey details

A.� On 18 April, Dr Joseph Warren - of the Sons of Liberty patriots - sent for Revere and asked him to ride to Lexington and warn Hancock and Adams of British plans. Within an hour, two friends rowed Revere across the Charles River to Charlestown. There, he borrowed a horse from a friend. He got to Lexington just after midnight - stopping on the way to warn the locals of the British plan - and delivered the message to Hancock and Adams. He also alerted the minutemen - local militias who were meant to be ready for action within a minute.

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Q.� His mission was over

A.� By no means. He and another rider, William Dawes, decided to go to Concord, where the local militia had been storing weapons and provisions. Along the way they met Dr Samuel Prescott, another Son of Liberty member, and the three men continue on together. Then a British patrol stopped all three men. Prescott and Dawes escaped, but Revere was captured, questioned and - incredibly - released, but without his horse.

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Q.� What about Hancock and Adams

A.� They were still in hiding. Two hours later, Revere went to Buckman Tavern, where Hancock had left his trunk. As Revere took the trunk out, he heard the first shot fired on Lexington Green, where the locals he warned had begun to confront the British. The rifle's report becomes known as the 'shot heard round the world'. It was the beginning of the American Revolution.

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Q.� What about a biography of this man

A.� Certainly. Paul Revere was born in North End, Boston, in December, 1734, and learned silversmithing from his father. His father died in 1753 and two years later, Paul volunteered to fight the French in New York, becoming a second lieutenant. A year later he married Sarah Orne. They had eight children.

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As well as his work as a silversmith, he advertised as a dentist. He not only cleaned teeth, but also wired in false teeth carved from walrus ivory. He also worked as a copperplate engraver and an engraver of business cards, political cartoons, bookplates, a songbook and bills of fare for taverns.���

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Q.� And his patriotism

A.� Paul becomes involved with secret patriot organisations such as the Committees of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty. As an excellent rider, he carried messages between groups in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. On 5 March, 1770, British troops and the townspeople of Boston became involved in a scuffle. Snowballs, ice, sticks and rocks were thrown at the guards, knocking one British soldier to the ground. Panicking, the troops fired on the crowd, killing five. It became known as The Boston Massacre and Revere published an engraving as propaganda.

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Q.� Why is his ride so famous

A.� It was a dramatic moment that led up to war. It was heroic and exciting. It was also featured in a dramatic poem, Paul Revere's Ride, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

You must recall its opening lines:

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Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

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Steve Cunningham