Who was the oldest signer of the United States Declaration of Independence?

Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, signing at age 70.

Franklin was a Pennsylvania delegate, printer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and long-serving public figure. His age and experience made him one of the most prominent members of the Committee of Five that reviewed Jefferson’s draft.

Franklin is sometimes confused with Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who lived to be 95 and was the last surviving signer. Carroll was older at death, but he was not the oldest person when the Declaration was signed. John Hancock is also often associated with the document because of his famous signature, not because he was its oldest signer.

Franklin’s signature joined those of 55 other delegates on the engrossed parchment. His participation links the Declaration’s political message with the broader Enlightenment-era scientific and civic world that shaped the revolutionary generation.