On This Day
John Hancock
Born January 23, 1737
39 years later, he became the first Founding Father to sign the Declaration of Independence, making his bold signature one of the most famous in American history.
Why so big?
On This Day
John Hancock
- Orphan turned Harvard graduate.
- Adopted by a wealthy uncle with a shipping fortune.
- His ship “Liberty” got seized by Brits for smuggling. John Adams, his good friend & lawyer, got charges dismissed.
- Influential in the American Revolution, though not in battle; known for his ability to raise $$ for troops (ex: supplies & food).
On This Day
His Signature
- John Hancock not only signed the Declaration of Independence first, his signature is the largest.
- Rumors suggested he did this to make sure King George could read it.
- More Likely: As one of few Founding Fathers to sign the doc on July 4th, 1776 (most signed Aug. 2nd), it WAS a bold move (and he had a huge blank space).
On This Day
“We think we live in a dangerous, uncertain time, and we do. But theirs was worse, and they had no sure way of knowing how things would turn out, any more than we do…To sign your name to the Declaration of Independence was to declare yourself a traitor to the British Crown. If caught by enemy forces, you would almost certainly be hanged.”
On This Day
Your signature is often referred to as your "John Hancock" because of Hancock's prominent signature on the Declaration of Independence. Hancock, born in Massachusetts, loved his home state & served 9 terms as governor.
Read
Sources
- John Hancock:
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/january-23 - 10 fascinating facts about John Hancock:
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-john-hancock - The Argonauts of 1776:
https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/04/opinion/the-argonauts-of-1776.html - The Second Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence:
https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/resources-declaration-secondcontinentalcongress.htm