John Hancock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Hancock
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Portrait by John Singleton Copley, c. 1770–1772
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| 1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts | |
| In office May 30, 1787 – October 8, 1793 |
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| Lieutenant | Samuel Adams |
| Preceded by | James Bowdoin |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Adams |
| In office October 25, 1780 – January 29, 1785 |
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| Lieutenant | Thomas Cushing |
| Preceded by | Office established (partly Thomas Gage as colonial governor) |
| Succeeded by | James Bowdoin |
| 4th and 13th President of the Continental Congress | |
| In office November 23, 1785 – June 5, 1786 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Henry Lee |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Gorham |
| In office May 24, 1775 – October 31, 1777 |
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| Preceded by | Peyton Randolph |
| Succeeded by | Henry Laurens |
| 1st President of Massachusetts Provincial Congress | |
| In office October 7, 1774 – May 2, 1775 |
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| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Warren |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 23, 1737 Braintree, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America (now Quincy) |
| Died | October 8, 1793 (aged 56) Hancock Manor, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Resting place | Granary Burying Ground, Boston |
| Spouse |
Dorothy Quincy
(m. 1775) |
| Children | Lydia Henchman Hancock (1776–1777) John George Washington Hancock (1778–1787) |
| Relatives | Quincy political family |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Signature |  |
John Hancock (January 23, 1737 [O.S. January 12, 1736] – October 8, 1793) was an early American patriot, a leader in the American Revolutionary War, and an American statesman. He was the first man to sign America's Declaration of Independence. Today in the United States, "John Hancock" is a synonym for signature.
Contents
Early life
In 1737, Hancock was born in Braintree (now Quincy, Massachusetts). He was the son of Colonel John Hancock Jr. of Braintree and Mary Hawke Thaxter (widow of Samuel Thaxter Junior), who was from nearby Hingham. The Hancocks lived a comfortable life and owned one slave to help with household work.
After Hancock's father died in 1744, he was sent to live with his uncle and aunt, Thomas Hancock and Lydia (Henchman) Hancock. Thomas Hancock was the proprietor of a firm known as the House of Hancock, which imported manufactured goods from Britain and exported rum, whale oil, and fish. Thomas Hancock's highly successful business made him one of Boston's richest and best-known residents. He and Lydia, along with several servants and slaves, lived in Hancock Manor on Beacon Hill. The couple, who did not have any children of their own, became the dominant influence on John's life.
Education
After graduating from the Boston Latin School in 1750, Hancock enrolled in Harvard College and received a bachelor's degree in 1754.
Business
Upon graduation, he began to work for his uncle, just as the French and Indian War had begun. Thomas Hancock had close relations with the royal governors of Massachusetts and secured profitable government contracts during the war. John Hancock learned much about his uncle's business during these years and was trained for eventual partnership in the firm.
Hancock gradually took over the House of Hancock as his uncle's health failed.
Early career
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Hancock began his political career in Boston as a protégé of Samuel Adams, an influential local politician, though the two men later became estranged. Hancock used his wealth to support the colonial cause as tensions increased between colonists and Great Britain in the 1760s.
The Liberty Affair
In 1768, British officials seized Hancock's ship, the Liberty, and accused him of smuggling. The Liberty was carrying a shipment of wine at the time. Patriots in Boston rioted, and Hancock was acquitted. This was one of the events that led to the American Revolutionary War.
Political career
Hancock had several important jobs in Colonial America and the early United States of America. He was president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774 and 1775. He used his money to support American independence. The British thought him a very dangerous man.
Hancock was president of the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775.
Hancock led the convention that adopted the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. He was the first Governor of Massachusetts, and served nine terms, governing through the end of the Revolutionary War and into an economically troubled postwar period. He governed until his surprise resignation on January 29, 1785. Hancock cited his failing health as the reason.
Final years
His health failing, Hancock spent his final few years as essentially a figurehead governor. With his wife at his side, he died in bed on October 8, 1793, at age 56. By order of acting governor Samuel Adams, the day of Hancock's burial was a state holiday; the lavish funeral was perhaps the grandest given to an American up to that time.
Personal life
Hancock married his fiancée, Dorothy "Dolly" Quincy on August 28, 1775 in Fairfield, Connecticut. They had two children, neither of whom survived to adulthood. Their daughter Lydia Henchman Hancock was born in 1776 and died ten months later. Their son John was born in 1778 and died in 1787 after suffering a head injury while ice skating.
Interesting facts about John Hancock
- Before the American Revolution, Hancock was one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies.
- According to legend, Hancock signed his name largely and clearly so that King George could read it without his spectacles.
- Hancock was put forth as a candidate in the 1789 U.S. presidential election. He did not campaign or even publicly express interest in the office. Hancock received only four electoral votes in the election.
- In his later life, Hancock suffered from gout.
- No full-length biography of Hancock appeared until the 20th century.
Legacy
Despite his grand funeral, Hancock faded from popular memory after his death. In 1876, with the centennial of American independence renewing popular interest in the Revolution, plaques honoring Hancock were put up in Boston. In 1896, a memorial column was erected over Hancock's essentially unmarked grave in the Granary Burying Ground.
Many places and things in the United States have been named in honor of Hancock. The U.S. Navy has named vessels USS Hancock and USS John Hancock; a World War II Liberty ship was also named in his honor. Ten states have a Hancock County named for him; other places named after him include Hancock, Massachusetts; Hancock, Michigan; Hancock, New Hampshire; Hancock, New York; and Mount Hancock in New Hampshire. The defunct John Hancock University was named for him, as was the John Hancock Financial company, founded in Boston in 1862; it had no connection to Hancock's own business ventures. The financial company passed on the name to the John Hancock Tower in Boston, the John Hancock Center in Chicago, as well as the John Hancock Student Village at Boston University. Hancock was a charter member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1780.
Images for kids
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Hancock House, a replica of Hancock Manor in Boston, was built in Ticonderoga, New York, by the Ticonderoga Historical Society and is open as a museum.
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Paul Revere's 1768 engraving of British troops arriving in Boston was reprinted throughout the colonies.
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This March 24, 1775 resolution in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress of which Hancock was president, resolves that measures for "putting this colony into a complete state of defense, be still most vigorously pursued by the several towns, as well as individual inhabitants".
See also
In Spanish: John Hancock para niños
- List of richest Americans in history
- Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
- Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
