Who was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence associated with America250?

Edward Rutledge was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence associated with America250.

Rutledge was 26 years old when he signed the Declaration in 1776. He represented South Carolina in the Second Continental Congress and was one of four South Carolina delegates whose names appear on the engrossed parchment.

Although young, Rutledge was an influential lawyer and politician. He participated in congressional debates and later returned to South Carolina, where he served in state government. He became governor of South Carolina in 1798 but died the following year at age 50.

The youngest-signer distinction is sometimes confused with the ages of other famous founders. Thomas Jefferson was 33 in 1776, while John Adams was 40. Rutledge's youth did not mean he was politically inexperienced: colonial politics, legal training, and revolutionary organizing had already brought him into national public life. His signature is part of the group of 56 names remembered in the America250 story.