Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence, whose adoption America250 commemorates. Franklin was 70 years old when he signed the engrossed document in 1776.
Franklin represented Pennsylvania in the Second Continental Congress and served on the Committee of Five that prepared the Declaration. He was already an internationally known printer, scientist, diplomat, and political leader by the time of the American Revolution.
The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge of South Carolina, who was 26. John Hancock, whose large signature is especially famous, was president of Congress and signed as its presiding officer, but he was not the oldest signer.
The Declaration has 56 signatures. Most delegates signed the engrossed parchment on August 2, 1776, although the document had been adopted on July 4.