Who was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence honored by America250?

Edward Rutledge was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence honored by America250.

Rutledge was 26 years old when he signed the document. He represented South Carolina in the Second Continental Congress and signed alongside Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr., and Arthur Middleton, the other South Carolina delegates whose names appear on the parchment.

Rutledge came from a prominent Charleston family and later served as governor of South Carolina. His age is often overlooked because the declaration is more commonly associated with older figures such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. Franklin, at age 70, was the oldest signer.

The declaration’s signers were not a uniform group of elderly revolutionaries. They ranged across several generations, included lawyers, merchants, planters, physicians, and politicians, and represented all thirteen colonies. Their signatures were added to the engrossed parchment primarily on August 2, 1776, though some delegates signed later.