Fifty-six people signed the Declaration of Independence, whose 250th anniversary America250 marks in 2026.
The signers were delegates to the Second Continental Congress representing the thirteen colonies. Most signed the engrossed parchment in August 1776, after Congress had adopted the declaration’s text on July 4.
The group included well-known figures such as John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. Other signers were less famous but represented the political communities that supported independence.
A common mix-up is to treat July 4 as the day every delegate signed the parchment. The date refers to adoption of the Declaration’s text; the formal signing occurred mainly on August 2, 1776, with some later signatures. The number 56 counts the people who signed, not the number of colonies or congressional delegates.