Revere was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Like his father, he was a silversmith, making tableware and other items out of silver and gold. During the French and Indian War, he served as a soldier, fighting with the British against the French and the Indians. Soon after, Revere married Sarah Orne.

Paul Revere joined the secret anti-British organization called the "Sons of Liberty." On December 16, 1773, Revere and others participated in the Boston Tea Party. The Tea Party was a protest against high British taxes (imposed by the Stamp Act of 1765); the colonists dumped tea, a very valuable item at the time, into Boston Harbor.

Revere became a messenger for the colonists in their fight against the British. On the night of April 18, 1775, Revere and William Dawes waited for a signal from the steeple of the Old North Church in Boston; one lantern meant that the British were coming by land, two lanterns meant that the British were coming by sea. Two lanterns were shining; this meant that the British were coming by sea. This was the beginning of the American Revolution.

Their plan was to ride borrowed horses from Boston to Lexington, and on to Concord, Massachusetts, to warn the people that the British were coming. Revere was captured by the British near Lexington, and Samuel Prescott (who had joined them on the ride) made it to Concord, warning Samuel Adams and John Hancock to protect the military equipment stored at Concord. Revere became famous for the ride because the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow later wrote a poem called "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."