Fifty-six delegates eventually signed the Declaration of Independence.
The signers were delegates to the Second Continental Congress representing the Thirteen Colonies. John Hancock, the president of Congress, signed prominently, while the remaining names were grouped by colony or state. The list includes well-known figures such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
The document’s adoption on July 4 and the signing of its engrossed parchment were not necessarily the same event. Most historians place the main signing on August 2, 1776, with some delegates signing later. This distinction is a common source of confusion: the anniversary celebrated in 2026 is based on adoption in 1776, while the famous parchment bears the signatures of 56 delegates.