Signers of the US Declaration of Independence

The signatures on the Declaration of Independence

The Signing: 02 Aug 1776

The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776 at the Pennsylvania State House, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress represented the 13 former colonies which had declared themselves the "United States of America," and they endorsed the Declaration of Independence which the Congress had approved on July 4, 1776. The Declaration proclaimed that the former Thirteen Colonies then at war with Great Britain were now a sovereign, independent nation and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. The signers’ names are grouped by state, with the exception of President of the Continental Congress John Hancock; the states are arranged geographically from north to south.

The final draft of the Declaration was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, although the date of its signing has long been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed on August 2, 1776, nearly a month after its adoption, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.

The Signatories

The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress represented the 13 former colonies which had declared themselves the "United States of America," and they endorsed the Declaration of Independence which the Congress had approved on July 4, 1776.

1. John Adams (1735-1826) (Mass) - Future US President / member of committee to draft this declaration
2. Samuel Adams (1722-1803) (Mass) - Leader of the Boston Tea Party
3. Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795) (N.H.) - Future 4th Governor of New Hampshire
4. Carter Braxton (1736-1797) (Virg) - Virginia planter and politician
5. Charles Carroll of Carrollton
6. Samuel Chase
7. Abraham Clark
8. George Clymer
9. William Ellery
10. William Floyd
11. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) (Penn) - famous american scientist and statesman / member of committee to draft this declaration
12. Elbridge Thomas Gerry (1744-1814)
13. Button Gwinnett
14. Lyman Hall (1724-1790) (GA) - Physician & Clergyman, Future Governor of Georgia,
15. John Hancock
16. Benjamin Harrison V
17. John Hart
18. Joseph Hewes
19. Thomas Heyward, Jr.
20. William Hooper
21. Stephen Hopkins (politician)
22. Francis Hopkinson
23. Samuel Huntington (statesman)
24. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) (Vrg)
25. Francis Lightfoot Lee
26. Richard Henry Lee
27. Francis Lewis
28. Philip Livingston
29. Thomas Lynch (1749-1779)
30. Thomas McKean (1734-1817) (Del) - Governor of Delaware, Governor of Pennsylvania, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, President of the Continental Congress.
31. Arthur Middleton
32. Robert Morris (financier)
33. John Morton (politician)
34. Thomas Nelson, Jr.
35. William Paca
36. Robert Treat Paine
37. John Penn (Continental Congress)
38. George Read (U.S. statesman)
39. Caesar Rodney
40. George Ross (delegate)
41. Benjamin Rush
42. Edward Rutledge
43. Roger Sherman
44. James Smith (delegate)
45. Richard Stockton (Continental Congressman)
46. Thomas Stone