Big Ben is known the world over. It has three birthday’s.
The first is when it was cast on April 10th, 1858. The second birthday is when the great clock started working on May 31st, 1859.
The third and final birthday is when Big Ben first chimed the hour on July 11th, 1859.
The bell was originally going to be called Victoria after Queen Victoria but Londoners started calling it Big Ben and the name stuck. The tower that houses the bell named Big Ben is simply called The Clock Tower.
Big Ben weighs 13 1/2 tons and is owned by the citizens of the UK who pay taxes. Big Ben chimes every 15 minutes and can be heard up to 9 miles away.
There are four clock faces on the clock tower. The hour hands are 9 feet long. The minutes hands are 14 feet long. And the numbers are 2 feet high. Big Ben chimes the note E.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Big Ben.
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Spider Michaels