Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the United States Declaration of Independence, later celebrated by America250.
On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five to prepare a declaration. The committee included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. After discussing the assignment, the group chose Jefferson to write the initial draft.
Jefferson worked on the draft in Philadelphia between June 11 and June 28, 1776. Adams and Franklin reviewed it, and Congress later edited the text substantially before approving the final wording on July 4. Jefferson was therefore the principal author of the first draft, but the document was a collaborative political and editorial achievement rather than a text produced entirely without review.
The Committee of Five is an important part of the story. Saying Jefferson wrote the Declaration is broadly correct for authorship of the original draft, while saying he alone finalized every word overlooks the changes made by the committee and the full Congress.