As president of the Congress John Hancock was
the first to sign this historic document. He used large bold script
and signed under the text in the center of the page. At that time, a
general practice was to sign below text on the right and by geographic
location. Using this protocol, signatures of the New Hampshire delegates
began the list. Delegates from Georgia, the southernmost state, ended
the list. Some of the delegates were not in Philadelphia on that day,
but signed the document later. Not all delegates signed the document.
The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence
included two future presidents, three vice presidents, and ten members
of the United States Congress. Below are the names of the men who signed
the Declaration of Independence:
[Column 1]
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
[Column 2]
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas
Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
[Column 3]
Massachusetts: John Hancock
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles
Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter
Braxton
[Column 4]
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin,
John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson,
George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
[Column 5]
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis,
Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson,
John Hart, Abraham Clark
[Column 6]
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple
Massachusetts: Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine,
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams,
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire: Matthew Thornton