"ONE IF BY LAND, TWO IF BY SEA"

JFK PRESENTED WITH OLD NORTH CHURCH LANTERN REPLICAS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy was presented with two silver lanterns* at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner held at the Sheraton-Park Hotel here in the Nation's Capital.

The lanterns were given to the President by Garnett D. Horner, reporter for the Washington Star.  He was also the outgoing president of the Association.

The lanterns are replicas of those hung in the belfry of the Old North Church in Boston on the night of April 18 1775 by order of Paul Revere to alert patriots that 700 Redcoats were moving out of Boston "by sea."** 

Celebrities attending the dinner included Julie London, Ralph Bellamy, Joey Bishop, and Jerome Hines.

*The silver lanterns were made by William de Matteo, master silversmith at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.  JFK had the lanterns mounted on the walls on opposite sides of the windows behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.

**The lanterns were hung by either or both Old North Church sexton Robert Newman and vestryman Capt. John Pulling, Jr.  The prearranged signal was one lantern meant the British Redcoats were heading to capture patriot/rebel military supplies at Lexington and Concord via the Boston Neck.  This was strictly a land route.

Two lanterns meant the route was by boat across the Charles River.  Thus, from Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," 'one if by land and two if by sea...'  The British soldiers would disembark on the other side of the Charles then march to their destination.

JFK+50 Note

On his midnight ride, Paul Revere alerted the countryside to the trouble heading out of Boston by shouting, "The Regulars are out!"  The British regular army wore bright red coats.

Revere would not have shouted "The British are coming!" because HE was British, in fact, the majority of American colonists were British.

SOURCE

"Who Actually Hung the Lanterns in Old North Church?," by Matthew Reed Baker, July 4, 2017, www.bostonmagazine.com/

 

 

 

Old North Church Replica Lantern

Work of William de Matteo (1961)

JFK Library Photo

 

OLD NORTH CHURCH LANTERNS

REVERE LANTERNS HANG IN JFK'S OVAL OFFICE

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-four years ago today, February 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy received a pair of lanterns crafted by Colonial Williamsburg's master silversmith, William de Matteo*.

The lanterns are functional electric reproductions of the original tin lamps that hung in the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts on the night of Paul Revere's** famous midnight ride, April 18-19, 1775.

JFK had the lanterns hung on the wall of the Oval Office behind the famous Resolute desk.

JFK and Caroline in Oval Office

Lantern visible on the wall

Colonial Williamsburg Lantern

*William De Matteo (1923-1988) Designer and maker of handwrought arts and crafts and fine antique reproduction sterling holloware.  He studied under his father and became master silversmith at the Colonial Williamsburg Restoration.

**Paul Revere (1735-1818) was an American silversmith & engraver who became most famous for his midnight ride of April 1775 warning the countryside that British Regulars were moving out of Boston.  After his death, his son, Joseph Warren Revere, assumed control of his father's business and in 1801 the Revere Copper Works was founded.  Today, it is known as the Revere Copper Company.


SOURCES

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston.

Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks and Maker's Marks, www.925-1000.com/

Old North Church

Boston, Massachusetts

Photo by Jennifer White (2014)

CASSIUS CLAY V. SONNY LISTON

CASSIUS CLAY WON WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Miami Beach, Florida (JFK+50) Cassius Clay of Louisville, Kentucky was declared the winner of a heavyweight championship fight 50 years ago today, February 25, 1964, here in Miami Beach.

Clay, who won a gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games in 1960, won the match in the seventh round over reigning world champion, Sonny Liston.

Cassius Clay

World Heavyweight Champion

Despite his opponent being an 8 to 1 favorite, Clay said before the fight that he would...

 "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee."

Clay also predicted a victory in eight rounds.

Liston, who did not come out for the seventh round, had become champion in 1962 by defeating Floyd Patterson.

Just two days later Clay announced he had joined the Nation of Islam and was changing his name to Muhammad Ali.

In 2005, Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

"ONE IF BY LAND, TWO IF BY SEA," REVERE LANTERNS HANG IN JFK'S OVAL OFFICE

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy accepted a pair of lanterns crafted by Colonial Williamsburg's master silversmith, William de Matteo, on February 25, 1961.

The lanterns were functional electric reproductions of the original tin lamps that hung in the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts on the night of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, April 18-19, 1775.

JFK had the lanterns hung on the wall of the oval office behind the famous Resolute desk.

JFK and Caroline in Oval Office

Lantern visible on the wall

Colonial Williamsburg Lantern

SOURCE

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston.

Old North Church Lanterns

February 25, 1961


OLD NORTH CHURCH LANTERNS TO HANG IN JFK'S OVAL OFFICE


President Kennedy accepted today a pair of lanterns crafted by Colonial Williamsburg's master silversmith, William de Matteo.


These lanterns are functional electric reproductions of the original tin lantern that hung in the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts on the night of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, April 18 & 19, 1775.


JFK will display these lanterns on the wall of the oval office behind his desk.*

*Information & photographs courtesy of JFK Library, Boston

February 25, 1964


CLAY WINS IN 7TH ROUND ON TKO


Cassius Clay of Louisville, Kentucky was declared the winner of a heavyweight championship fight today in Miami Beach, Florida.


Clay, who won a gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games in 1960, won the match in the 7th round over reigning world champion, Sonny Liston.

Despite his opponent being an 8 to 1 favorite, Clay said before the fight that he would "float like a butterfly & sting like a bee" & predicted a victory in 8 rounds.


Liston, who did not come out for the 7th round, had become champion in 1962 by defeating Floyd Patterson.*


*Two days later Clay announced he had joined the Nation of Islam & was changing his name to Muhammad Ali.


In 2005, Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

February 25, 1986


FERDINAND MARCOS ESCAPES PHILIPPINES


President Ferdinand Marcos along with his wife, Imelda, has been airlifted by US helicopter from the presidential palace in Manila to Hawaii.


Marcos, who has faced mass demonstrations against his regime, will go into exile.


He was 1st elected president of the Philippines in 1966 but assumed dictatorial powers in 1972.

LBJ welcomes Marcos to the White House in 1966


February 25, 1948


COMMUNISTS TAKEOVER IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA


The Communist Party officially took control of the government of Czechoslovakia today.

Having been concerned with Soviet influence in the country, the United States had ended a loan to Czechoslovakia.*


*Communists control the country until the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989.


February 25, 1870


1st AFRICAN AMERICAN SENATOR IS SWORN


Hiram R. Revels, Republican of Mississippi, was sworn in today at the 1st African American to both serve in the congress of the United States, but also to be a U.S. senator.

Senator Revels photographed by Matthew Brady


Revels, a college-educated minister of the AME church, served the Union army as a chaplain & helped organize African-American fighting units.


He holds the senate seat once occupied by former Confederate president, Jefferson Davis.*


*Hiram R. Revels, who died in 1901, is only 1 of 6 African-American US senators to this day.