Edward Rutledge was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, at age 26.
Rutledge represented South Carolina and signed alongside three other South Carolina delegates: Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr., and Arthur Middleton. He was born on November 23, 1749, making him 26 when the Declaration was signed in 1776.
His age is sometimes confused with the ages of other prominent founders. Thomas Jefferson was 33, while John Hancock was 39. Rutledge’s distinction refers specifically to the 56 people who eventually signed the engrossed Declaration.
Rutledge later served in South Carolina politics and became governor of the state. His career illustrates that the signers were not all elderly national leaders; the group included comparatively young lawyers and politicians who assumed great personal risks by endorsing independence.