John Hancock
Born: January 12, 1737
Died: October 8, 1793
Colony/State: Massachusetts
Occupation / Public Role: Merchant, legislator, president of the Continental Congress, governor
Contribution to the Founding Era: Signer of the Declaration of Independence, president of the Second Continental Congress, leading Massachusetts Patriot, and later the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts (now Quincy). After his father died, he went to live with his wealthy uncle Thomas Hancock, a Boston merchant, and eventually inherited both his uncle’s business interests and much of his fortune. He graduated from Harvard College in 1754 and became one of the most prominent merchants in Boston.
As tensions with Great Britain increased, Hancock became deeply involved in the Patriot cause. The Massachusetts Historical Society notes that his wealth gave him political influence, and by the 1760s and 1770s he had become one of the acknowledged leaders of resistance in Massachusetts alongside Samuel Adams. The 1768 seizure of his sloop Liberty helped make him a symbol of colonial resistance to British enforcement measures.
Hancock served as president of the Continental Congress and, as president, he signed the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence first. The National Archives notes that on August 2, 1776, Hancock signed the engrossed Declaration with a bold signature before the other delegates signed by colony from north to south. That famous signature made his name almost a synonym for “signature” in American memory, though the popular story that he signed it huge so King George could read it “without spectacles” is treated skeptically by the National Archives.
After the Revolution, Hancock continued in Massachusetts politics. He served as the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a position he held for most of the years between 1780 and 1793, aside from a short break. He remained one of the best-known public men in the state until his death in 1793.
John Hancock is one of the most recognized names of the founding era, but he was more than a large autograph in a history book. He was a wealthy merchant turned revolutionary leader, a central political figure in Massachusetts, and the presiding officer whose name sits first on the Declaration of Independence. That is a pretty sturdy résumé, even before the signature stole the show.
Related Links
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
- Declaration of Independence
- John Adams
- Samuel Adams
- Robert Treat Paine