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Who was John Hancock?
The third president of what was to become the United States of America, Hancock was a patriot, rebel leader, and merchant who signed his name into immortality in giant strokes on the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As President of the Continental Congress during two widely spaced terms, (the first from May 24, 1775 to October 30, 1777 and the second from November 23, 1785 to June 5, 1786), Hancock was the presiding officer when the members approved the Declaration of Independence.
Hancock figured prominently in another historic event-the battle at Lexington. British troops who fought there on April 10, 1775 had known Hancock and Samuel Adams were in Lexington and had come there to capture these rebel leaders, but the pair were warned by Paul Revere. One of Boston's wealthiest merchants, Hancock was recognized by the citizens, as well as by the British, as a rebel leader, and was elected President of the first Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Later, after he was chosen President of the Continental Congress in 1775, Hancock became known beyond the borders of Massachusetts. Having served as colonel of the Massachusetts Governor's Guards, he hoped to be
named commander of the American forces-until John Adams
nominated George Washington.
But it was as a political leader that his real distinction was earned-as the first Governor of Massachusetts, as President of Congress, and as President of the Massachusetts constitutional ratification convention. In the latter capacity he gained great popular recognition to make him a contender for the newly created Presidency of the United States. But he again he saw Washington gain the prize. Like Washington, Hancock was a wealthy man who risked much for the cause of independence. He was the wealthiest New Englander supporting the patriotic cause and he became one of the foremost leaders of the new nation, perhaps, in part, because he was willing to commit so much at such risk to the cause of freedom.
Lyndon B. Johnson was the first president of the United States to wear contact lenses.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
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