John Hancock Birth Site

John Hancock was born on this site on January 23, 1737, the son of Reverend John Hancock, pastor of what is now the First Parish Church in Quincy. After his father's death, he was adopted in 1744 by his uncle, Boston's wealthiest merchant. He graduated from Harvard College in 1754, married Dorothy Quincy in 1775, served as president of the Second Continental Congress in 1775, and in 1776 became the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, saying, "I write so that George the Third may read without his spectacles." He was the first Governor of Massachusetts from 1780 to 1785 and again from 1787 to 1793. In 1792 he signed the act incorporating the Town of Quincy. He died in Boston in the Hancock House, built of Quincy granite, on October 8, 1793, and was buried with great ceremony in the Granary Burying Ground, Boston.

Milton, Massachusetts · United States