The first public readings of the United States Declaration of Independence were held on July 8, 1776.
The readings took place at noon in three locations: Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, John Nixon read the document aloud in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall.
The public readings followed the Declaration’s unanimous adoption by the Second Continental Congress on July 4. The document had already been printed in The Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 6, making it available to newspaper readers before the formal readings.
A common mix-up is confusing public reading with adoption or signing. Congress approved the final wording on July 4, while the engrossed parchment copy was signed primarily on August 2. July 8 marks the first formal public presentation of the text to crowds in several cities.