There are many great reasons to visit London, but for Americans, the biggest fascination can come from the long and rich history of this great city. When your own country is still just short of celebrating 250 years in existence, a city that is nearly 2,000 years old is something else.
Of course, on private London tours, you can enjoy seeing Roman relics, Saxon and Norman cathedrals and Victorian architecture, and learn all about historical events like the Great Fire of 1666 or the Second World War Blitz. However, there are many sites where Americans have made a mark on London, or have interesting associations with the city.
Some famous Americans have marked major stages in their life in London, some have done great things there and, of course, there are some sporting achievements to note as well.
Weddings And Gravestones
If we consider rites of passage, there is the case of the future president John Quincy Adams, who was married to Louisa Johnson at the Church of All-Hallows-By-The Tower in the city of London in 1797. Louisa was to be the only London-born first lady and Adams the last president to have a wife born overseas until Donald Trump.
This church is well worth visiting in its own right, as it is the oldest in the city, dating from 675, and survived both the Great Fire and the Blitz, despite being wrecked by a bomb in the latter instance. It also features Roman tombstones and a Saxon arch.
There are many other Americans for whom a church service marked the end of their days, with a burial to follow in London.
Among the famous Americans whose graves are to be found here are:
* Benedict Arnold, a general in the American Revolutionary War who later defected to the British. He is buried at St Mary’s Church in Battersea.
* Hiram Maxim, inventor of the first portable machine gun, who became a naturalised British citizen and lies in West Norwood cemetery.
* The diarist Opal Whiteley, who was laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery.
Perhaps the most significant grave of all is not that of an American at all, but of Christopher Rose, the captain of the Mayflower, the ship carrying the Pilgrim Fathers across the Atlantic.
He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s in Rotherhithe. The Pilgrim Fathers started their journey in London, travelling down to Plymouth before they set sail for the New World.
Echoes Of War
Of course, many less well-known Americans died in and around London and the remains of many of these were brought home from Europe after D-Day, although if you want to pay your respects, your tour will need to extend north of London to the American military cemetery in Cambridge.
There are also American war memorials in London, such as at the former embassy site in Grosvenor Square and the American memorial chapel in St Paul’s Cathedral.
The war also saw many Americans make their mark in the UK and one spot worth a visit is in Bushy Park in south-east London, where General Dwight Eisenhower had his office while planning D-Day. The office is no longer there, but a plaque marks the location.
Culture And Sport
Lots of Americans have made their mark in peacetime, too, especially in areas like culture and sport. For example, there are many American actors who have performed in the West End or in films. A myriad of American musicians have performed in London, too, from Jimi Hendrix to Elvis.
Sporting arenas are up near the top of the list for places where Americans have made their mark. Now it is autumn, you won’t be seeing any tennis on the grass lawns of Wimbledon, but the museum there will tell the tale of the Championships and the many American players who have enriched its history.
There are great male players on the roll of honour like Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors or even the first American winner of the men’s singles, Bill Tilden in 1920.
Great Ladies champions include the Williams sisters, Billie-Jean King, the naturalised Martina Navratilova and Helen Wills Moody, with the first American Ladies’ Singles champion being May Sutton (later May Bundy), who won in 1905, becoming the first non-British winner of either singles title.
Memories of 2012
The London 2012 Olympic Park is another place to visit for similar reasons, where you can relive the memories of 46 gold medals for the USA, mostly at the Olympic Park venues like the main stadium and the Aquatics Centre.
London is a city with an extraordinary wealth of history, but it may be very pleasing to visit these sites and note that at least a bit of it is American.
