John Hancock’s name appears first on the engrossed United States Declaration of Independence.
Hancock was president of the Second Continental Congress when it adopted the Declaration. His position placed his name separately from the state-by-state groups of delegates, and his large, distinctive signature became the document’s most famous autograph.
The parchment engrossed copy was signed primarily on August 2, 1776, rather than in a single ceremonial event on July 4. Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, but delegates who were absent or had joined Congress later signed at different times.
A popular story claims that Hancock made his signature large so King George III could read it without spectacles. Historians treat that story as later legend. Hancock’s name also became an informal American synonym for a signature, as in the phrase “put your John Hancock here.”