For America250, John Hancock is the delegate famous for the large signature on the Declaration of Independence.
Hancock was president of the Continental Congress when the Declaration was adopted. His prominent signature on the engrossed parchment became one of the document’s most recognizable features. In American English, “put your John Hancock” eventually became an informal way to ask for someone’s signature.
The popular story that Hancock signed his name large so King George could read it without spectacles is a later legend rather than a documented explanation. Hancock’s signature was conspicuous, but the famous quotation is not reliable evidence of his motive.
Hancock’s name also appeared on the first printed broadside of the Declaration, although it was printed there rather than written as his large handwritten signature. The celebrated signature belongs to the later engrossed copy, signed primarily on August 2, 1776.