John Dunlap printed the first published copies of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the document later celebrated by America250.
Dunlap was a Philadelphia printer who held a printing contract with the Continental Congress. After Congress approved the Declaration's final wording on July 4, John Hancock ordered Dunlap to produce broadside copies for distribution.
Dunlap worked through the night of July 4, printing an estimated 200 broadsides. These sheets became known as the Dunlap broadsides and carried the text across the colonies. They were the first published versions, although they did not list the names of all the eventual signers.
Mary Katherine Goddard printed a later broadside in January 1777 that included the names of the signers, so she is sometimes confused with Dunlap. Benjamin Franklin was also a famous printer, but he did not print the first Declaration broadsides.