John Hanson

John Hanson was born on April 14, 1715, at Mulberry Grove, the Hanson family's ancestral estate in Charles County, Maryland. About 1768, he moved to Frederick and built his home on this property. From 1757 to 1782, he served in the Maryland House of Delegates, the Second Continental Congress, and the United States in Congress Assembled. From 1774 to 1779, he headed Frederick County government and was a colonial and then national leader in financing the Revolutionary War, mustering troops, and producing war materiel. In June 1776, he was pivotal in persuading Maryland to sign the Declaration of Independence. From 1779 to 1782, as a Maryland delegate to the Second Continental Congress, he persuaded states with large midwestern land grants to cede these lands to the nation, overcoming the last obstacle to forming the first government. On March 1, 1781, he was the final signer of the Articles of Confederation creating the first government. On November 6, 1781, he was elected first President of the United States in Congress Assembled under the ratified Articles of Confederation, the first United States government, which existed from 1781 until 1788. As the first elected president of the independent nation, he began the task of unifying the former colonies and providing for their common defense, communication, and economic growth. He completed his one-year term as president on November 3, 1782. Hanson died on November 22, 1783, at his nephew's Oxon Hill Manor home, and his burial place is unknown. His wife, Jane Contee Hanson, died at their Frederick home on February 21, 1812. On January 31, 1903, a John Hanson statue was unveiled in National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol.

Frederick, Maryland · United States