For America250, which person was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence?

Edward Rutledge was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, signing at age 26.

Rutledge represented South Carolina and was born in Charleston on November 23, 1749. He studied law in London before returning to colonial politics and serving in the Continental Congress. Although initially instructed to oppose an immediate declaration, he ultimately supported the document and signed it with the other delegates.

Rutledge later served in the South Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War and was captured at the Siege of Charleston in 1780. He was released in a prisoner exchange and returned to public life. The youngest-signatory distinction is sometimes confused with other “youngest” facts from the founding era. Rutledge was the youngest person who signed the engrossed Declaration; Benjamin Franklin, aged 70, was the oldest signer. Rutledge later became governor of South Carolina and died in 1800.