Fifty-six delegates signed the engrossed parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence. Their signatures represented the thirteen colonies that had declared independence from Great Britain and are central to the document’s historical identity.
The signing was not a single moment involving every delegate on July 4. Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, but the engrossed parchment was prepared afterward, and most delegates signed it on August 2. Additional signatures were added later by delegates who had not been present at the main signing.
The signers included well-known figures such as John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. The number 56 refers to signers, not to the total number of delegates who attended every congressional session or participated equally in drafting the text.