The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. The 56 delegates t
John Trumbull's 1819 painting, Declaration of Independence, depicts the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Second Continental Congress
The 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence
The Syng inkstand was used during the 1776 signing of the Declaration and the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution
The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence in Washington, D.C.'s Constitution Gardens
John Hancock
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John Hancock was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving president of the Continental Congress, having served as
Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
…of the Kingdom of Great Britain and, thus, no longer a part of the British Empire. The signers’ names are grouped by state, with the exception of John Hancock, as President of the Continental Congress; the states are arranged geographically from south to north, with Button Gwinnett from Georgia first, and…
Portrait by John Singleton Copley, c. 1770–1772
Around 1772, Hancock commissioned John Singleton Copley to paint this portrait of Samuel Adams, Hancock's early political mentor.
A 1765 portrait of Hancock by John Singleton Copley
Paul Revere's 1768 engraving of British troops arriving in Boston was reprinted throughout the colonies.