Charles Thomson largely designed the Great Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1782 during the founding era celebrated by America250.
Thomson was secretary of the Continental Congress. In June 1782, Congress gave him the materials produced by three earlier committees, and he assembled their ideas into a final design. William Barton then made additional heraldic changes before Congress approved it on June 20, 1782.
The seal’s obverse features a bald eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, with a shield and a constellation of thirteen stars. Its reverse contains an unfinished pyramid, the Eye of Providence, and Latin mottos including E pluribus unum.
The seal’s development took six years and involved three committees and contributions from fourteen men. This history explains why several Founding Fathers are sometimes credited with parts of its design. Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams served on early committees, but Thomson created the final overall design that Congress accepted.