Thirty-nine delegates signed the U.S. Constitution, a founding document highlighted by America250.
The signing took place on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Constitutional Convention had 55 delegates in total at various stages, but not all remained until the final session, and three delegates who were present refused to sign. The final document therefore bears 39 delegate signatures.
The signers represented 12 states because Rhode Island declined to send delegates to the convention. George Washington, the convention’s presiding officer, signed first. Benjamin Franklin, then 81 years old, was among the signers and offered a famous observation about the compromises embodied in the document.
The number 39 is sometimes confused with 55, the commonly cited total of delegates who attended the convention. It is also separate from the nine-state threshold required for ratification under Article VII. The Constitution became operative after the required states ratified it.