Fifty-six delegates signed the Declaration of Independence, whose adoption is commemorated by America250.
The signers represented the Thirteen Colonies in the Second Continental Congress. They did not all sign at the same moment: most historians place the main signing of the engrossed parchment copy on August 2, 1776, with some delegates signing later.
John Hancock, the Congress president, signed prominently. The signatures were arranged by state, with Hancock's name treated separately because he signed in his presidential capacity.
A common misconception is that all 56 delegates signed on July 4. Congress adopted the Declaration on that date, but the surviving engrossed copy and later historical research indicate that the signing process extended beyond the adoption ceremony.