Who was the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence?

John Hancock was the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence.

Hancock signed as president of the Second Continental Congress, placing his large, prominent signature beneath the document's text. The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776, but most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, with additional signatures added later.

Hancock had served in Congress since 1775 and became its president in May 1775. His position made him the first signer, while the other delegates signed in groups arranged by state. The famous size of his signature helped make his name a synonym for a signature in American English.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration, but he was not its first signer. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams also signed it, yet neither held Hancock's presiding role or occupied the first position on the parchment. Hancock later became governor of Massachusetts.