Birth of Paul Revere

Paul Revere was born on January 1, 1735 (or December 21, 1734 old style). He died in 1818. He was an American silversmith, engraver and folk hero, an early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member and Patriot. He is best known for his midnight ride to alert the colonial militia in April 1775 of the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatised in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1861 poem, "Paul Revere's Ride".

At age 41, Revere was a prosperous, established and prominent Boston silversmith. He had helped organise an intelligence and alarm system to keep watch on the British military. Revere later served as a Massachusetts militia officer, though his service ended after the Penobscot Expedition, one of the most disastrous campaigns of the American Revolutionary War, for which he was absolved of blame.

Following the war, Revere returned to his silversmith trade. He used the profits from his expanding business to finance his work in iron casting, bronze bell and cannon casting and the forging of copper bolts and spikes. In 1800 he became the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets for use as sheathing on naval vessels.

Johnson begins work on his dictionary

It was in 1735 that Samuel Johnson began work on his famous "Dictionary of the English Language": that eventually appeared in 1755. The dictionary played a crucial role in standardising the English language and remains an influential reference work.

Rare musical table clock

 

This rare 18th Century George II Musical Table Clock by Matthew King, was made around 1735 and is considered tio be wirth more than £24k.

Shakespeare's Head, Carnaby Street, London

The sign outside the Shakespeare's Head pub in Carnaby Street claims the inn was established on the site in 1735 and was named after the owners, Thomas and John Shakespeare, who claimed to be distant relations of their famous namesake. Nothing of the original establishment remains – the building which stands today is late nineteenth-century (albeit in a Tudor style). There are apparrently many Shakespeare's Head pubs in London - others can be found in Holborn, the City, Kingsway, Finsbury and Forest Hill.