Short answers, pulled from the story.
The year 604 marks the consecration of Mellitus as the first bishop to the East Saxons, establishing a church dedicated to Paul on Ludgate Hill. King Aethelberht of Kent built this initial structure though its exact location remains speculative among modern historians.
Sir Christopher Wren received official assignment to design a replacement structure on the 30th of July 1669 following years of advising on repairs before the disaster. Construction began in June 1675 with the first stone laid by Thomas Strong one of two master stonemasons appointed by Wren.
A bomb struck St Paul's on the 10th of October 1940 destroying the high altar during the Blitz while another attack on the 17th of April 1941 left a hole in the floor above the crypt and shifted the entire dome laterally by a small amount. Temporary Lieutenant Robert Davies defused a time-delayed bomb on the 12th of September 1940 that would have totally destroyed the cathedral if it had exploded.
The crypt contains more than two hundred memorials including Christopher Wren himself who was interred there in 1723 with the Latin inscription Lector si monumentum requiris circumspice. Horatio Lord Nelson lies buried next to the Duke of Wellington Florence Nightingale J.M.W. Turner Arthur Sullivan Samuel Johnson Lawrence of Arabia William Blake and Alexander Fleming are all remembered within the cathedral grounds.
Old St Paul's Cathedral burned completely during the Great Fire of London in 1666 leaving only the outer walls standing. Parliament declared the cathedral officially complete on the 25th of December 1711 though statues continued to be added throughout the 1720s.