John Hancock
Revolutionary War Patriot
1737-1793
Born in Braintree (now Quincy), Mass., the son of clergyman, he was educated at Harvard and trained for business in London. He was brought up by his uncle, Thomas Hancock, a wealthy Boston merchant, who adopted him after his father's death. His uncle helped him become a well-established and successful business man. After his uncle's death, Hancock became the wealthiest man in Massachusetts.
Hancock emerged as a leading figure in the revolutionary movement and in 1774 was chosen president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. The following year he became the leader of the Boston patriot committee and an ally of Adams. The inflammatory oratory of Hancock and Adams brought them to the attention of British officials in 1775. Warned by Paul Revere, they fled Lexington just as the battles of Lexington and Concord opened the Revolutionary War.
He is well known as the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and he signed his name in large script so that the king could not miss it. He did so with such a flourish that his name has became a synonym for the word "signature."
Hancock was also Governor of Massachusetts 1780-1785; was again elected President of the Continental Congress on November 23, 1785, but he became ill and did not serve. He was again elected Governor of Massachusetts from 1787 and served until his death in Quincy, Mass., in 1793. He is buried in Old Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Mass.
|
Hancock was considered by some to be a vain, flamboyant man, who lived in splendor on Boston's Beacon Hill. Nonetheless, he was a devoted patriot and considered kind and generous, and he used his wealth to help the cause of patriotism. He risked his fortune in the struggle for independence and performed valuable services for his country. John Adams referred to him as an "essential character" of the American Revolution. |
|
http://webpages.homestead.com/revwar/files/HANCOC.HTM
http://www.totse.com/en/politics/political_documents/hancock.html