John Hancock's Life And Accomplishments

John Hancock was born January 23rd, 1737 in Braintree, Massachusetts. He was born into a family of clergymen. As a child, Hancock didn’t have a normal childhood. Luckily, he was adopted by his uncle Thomas Hancock, the most wealthiest merchant in Boston. He then went to Harvard University, and graduated in 1754. When his uncle Thomas Hancock died in 1764, John inherited the family business and the estate. Hancock was elected to the Massachusetts General Court in 1766 because colonists were against the British interfering with the colonies. Hancock got some attention because he didn’t want to pay the British taxes, like the Stamp Act, and started smuggling things on his ships. He had a ship called the Liberty that was taken by the British

He also got married that year to Dorothy Quincy. He hoped to be selected to command the army around Boston, but George Washington was chosen instead. He was made the leader of the Massachusetts Delegate. He and Samuel Adams were hunted by the British because they kept getting people to protest and caused trouble. It was Paul Revere who warned them the British were coming and the two fled to Philadelphia. John gave money to the war efforts. His own business was starting to lose money at this time. On July 4th, 1776 John Hancock was the first representative to sign the Declaration of Independence which said the 13 colonies were free from British rule. His signature was large and fancy and is the most noticeable. Today, people will say to put your “John Hancock” here, it means for you to sign your name. A year later Hancock resigned because of his poor health. He was also the treasurer at Harvard College and they accused him of messing up and losing university funds. He had served as their treasurer since 1773, and the university made him give them approximately $22,000. to make up for missing funds. He also worked with the French navy to try to recapture Newport Rhode Island from the British, but he