<P> "The shot heard round the world" is a phrase referring to several historical incidents, particularly the opening of the American Revolutionary War in 1775 and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914 . </P> <P> The phrase comes from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" (1837) and refers to the first shot of the American Revolution . According to Emerson's poem, this pivotal shot occurred at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, where the first British soldiers fell in the battles of Lexington and Concord . </P> <P> Historically, no single shot can be cited as the first shot of the battle or the war . Shots were fired earlier at Lexington, Massachusetts where eight Americans were killed and a British soldier was slightly wounded, but accounts of that event are confused and contradictory, and it has been characterized as a massacre rather than a battle . The North Bridge skirmish did see the first shots by Americans acting under orders, the first organized volley by Americans, the first British fatalities, and the first British retreat . </P> <P> The towns of Lexington and Concord and their partisans have debated over the point of origin for the Revolutionary War since 1824, when the Marquis de Lafayette visited the towns . He was welcomed to Lexington hearing it described as the "birthplace of American liberty", but he was then informed in Concord that the "first forcible resistance" was made there . President Grant considered not attending the 1875 centennial celebrations in the area to evade the issue . In 1894, Lexington petitioned the state legislature to proclaim April 19 as "Lexington Day", to which Concord objected; the current name for the holiday is Patriots' Day . </P>

Where was the shot heard around the world