John Hancock’s large signature appears first on the United States Declaration of Independence.
Hancock was president of the Second Continental Congress when the Declaration was adopted. His position placed his name separately and prominently beneath the document’s text, above the signatures arranged by colony. The scale of his handwriting helped make “John Hancock” a lasting American expression for a signature.
Hancock was a wealthy Boston merchant and a major supporter of the patriot cause. Before independence, he had become prominent through resistance to British taxation and customs enforcement. His ship, the Liberty, was seized by British authorities in 1768, intensifying tensions in Boston.
The other delegates’ signatures were not all written at exactly the same moment. Most were added on August 2, 1776, while some delegates signed later. Hancock’s name is especially recognizable because it is both unusually large and visually isolated from the main list.