Happy 4th of July… Some tidbits from StrangeCosmos for your celebration:
- Fifty-six individuals from each of the original 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence. Pennsylvania sent nine delegates for the signing, while Rhode Island, the smallest colony, sent only two delegates to Philadelphia.
- The average age of a signer was 45. The oldest delegate was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, who was 70 when he signed the Declaration. The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr., of South Carolina, who was 27.
- Twenty-two of the signers were lawyers, 18 were businessmen, 14 were farmers, and 4 were doctors. Forty-two signers had served in their colonial legislatures.
- Seventeen of the signers served in the military during the American Revolution. As an example, John Hancock was a Major General in the Massachusetts militia.
- Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. For example, Francis Lewis’s New York home was destroyed and his wife was taken prisoner by the British.
- John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Carroll were the longest surviving signers. Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Charles Carroll of Maryland was the last signer to die — in 1832 at the age of 95.