At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which delegate signed the U.S. Constitution first?

George Washington signed the U.S. Constitution first at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

The signing took place on September 17, 1787, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. Washington presided over the convention as its president and therefore signed before the other delegates.

Thirty-nine delegates signed the completed Constitution. The document then went to the states for ratification; the convention’s signature did not itself put the Constitution into effect.

Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton were also important convention delegates, but none signed first. Washington’s role as presiding officer explains the signing order, rather than a rule that the future president was automatically first.