John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.
The reading took place at noon in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall. Nixon was a member of Philadelphia’s civic and political community and read the document to the assembled public after Congress had approved it four days earlier.
The first formal public readings occurred simultaneously in three places: Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia reading is especially associated with the Liberty Bell, although the popular story that the bell rang specifically to summon listeners is not firmly documented in contemporary records.
This event helped move the Declaration from a congressional document into a public proclamation. George Washington later ordered the Declaration read to the Continental Army in New York City on July 9. The public reading date is separate from the later signing of the engrossed parchment copy, which began primarily on August 2.