John Nixon read the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia during its first public readings.
The reading occurred at noon on July 8, 1776, in the yard of the Pennsylvania State House, the building later known as Independence Hall. Nixon was a Philadelphia civic official and public reader who presented the newly adopted document to the assembled crowd.
The first readings took place simultaneously in Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania. The document had been approved by the Second Continental Congress four days earlier and printed in broadsides for distribution.
John Hancock, the president of Congress, is often associated with the Declaration because of his prominent signature, while Thomas Jefferson is associated with its drafting. George Washington later ordered the Declaration read to the Continental Army in New York City on July 9. None of those three men was the Philadelphia reader on July 8.