John Hancock was the Continental Congress president who signed the 1776 Declaration of Independence first.
Hancock presided over Congress when it adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776. His large, prominent signature appears beneath the document’s text and became one of the best-known symbols associated with American independence.
Hancock’s signature helped create the American expression “John Hancock,” meaning a person’s signature. A popular story says he wrote his name so King George III could read it without spectacles, but historians regard that story as a later legend.
The Declaration’s signing was not necessarily one grand ceremony on July 4. Most historians conclude that many delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, 1776, with additional signatures added later. Hancock’s role as presiding officer and his distinctive handwriting remain central to the document’s public memory.