John Hancock is famous for writing the large, flamboyant signature on the United States Declaration of Independence.
Hancock was president of the Continental Congress when Congress adopted the Declaration in 1776. His prominent signature became so associated with the document that “John Hancock” later became an informal American synonym for a signature.
A popular story says Hancock signed his name unusually large so King George III could read it without spectacles. That explanation is a later legend rather than a documented reason for the signature’s size.
The Declaration’s signing history is also more complicated than the familiar July 4 image suggests. Congress approved the text on July 4, but most delegates are generally believed to have signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, 1776, with some signing later.