When Was the Declaration of Independence Signed?

For many people, that seems like an easy question. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. Or was it? Although the Continental Congress approved the document on that date, it was not actually first signed until August 2, 1776. Why? The Congress wanted an official, legible document. They also needed a copy big enough to hold everyone’s signatures. So they ordered that the declaration be engrossed—that is, copied in a large, clear hand—to create an official version suitable for signing. That task was probably given to Timothy Matlack, a delegate from Pennsylvania and clerk of the Congress’s secretary. When the document was completed, John Hancock, president of the Congress, was the first to sign it on August 2 at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Most of the other delegates signed that day or in the months that followed. Thomas McKean of Delaware apparently was the last to add his signature, perhaps as late as January 1777. Two delegates, John Dickinson (Delaware) and Robert R. Livingston (New York), never signed the document.