John Hancock - Children, American Revolution, Things named after John Hancock

Merchant and patriot, born in Braintree, Massachusetts, USA. He inherited his uncle's merchant business (1764) and entered the patriot ranks (1765) in opposition to the Stamp Act. He engaged in smuggling, and one of his ships was seized in 1769. He served as the president of the Massachusetts Provisional Congress (1774–5) and as president of the First and Second Continental Congresses (1775–7), and was the first member to sign the Declaration of Independence. Following his period in Congress (1775–80), he helped to frame the Massachusetts constitution and was elected as the first governor of that state (1780–5, 1787–93). He presided at the state convention which ratified the Constitution, and he died during his ninth term as governor.

John Hancock
1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts
Term of office: 1780 – 1785 May 30, 1787 – October 8, 1793
Lieutenant Governor:	Thomas Cushing
Predecessor:	None
Successor:	Thomas Cushing (1785), Samuel Adams (1787)
Born:	January 12, 1737 Quincy, Massachusetts
Died:	October 8, 1793 Quincy, Massachusetts
Political party:	None
Spouse:	Dorothy Quincy

John Hancock (January 12, 1737 (O.S.) – October 8, 1793 (N.S.)) was President of the Second Continental Congress and of the Congress of the Confederation;

Children

John and Dorothy had two children, neither of whom survived to adulthood. Eventually, Hancock's shipping practices became more evasive, and he began to smuggle glass, lead, paper and tea.

His regular merchant trade as well as his smuggling practices financed much of his region's resistance to British authority and his financial contributions led the people of Boston to joke that "Sam Adams writes the letters [to newspapers] and John Hancock pays the postage" (Fradin &

American Revolution

At first only a financier of the growing rebellion, he later became a public critic of British rule. Under Hancock, Massachusetts raised bands of "minutemen"—soldiers who pledged to be ready for battle in a minute's notice—and his boycott of tea imported by the British East India Company eventually led to the Boston Tea Party.

In April 1775 as the British intent became apparent, Hancock and Samuel Adams slipped away from Boston to elude capture, staying in the Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington, Massachusetts (which can still be seen to this day). At this time, General Thomas Gage ordered Hancock and Adams arrested for treason. Following the battle a proclamation was issued granting a general pardon to all who would demonstrate loyalty to the crown—with the exceptions of Hancock and Adams.

In the first month of his presidency, on June 19, 1775, Hancock commissioned George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. A year later, Hancock sent Washington a copy of the July 4, 1776 congressional resolution calling for independence as well as a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Hancock was the only one to sign the Declaration of Independence on the fourth; Hancock's skills as orator and moderator were much admired, but during the American Revolution he was most often sought out for his ability to raise funds and supplies for American troops. Despite his skill in the merchant trade, even Hancock had trouble meeting the Continental Congress's demand for beef cattle to feed the hungry army. On January 19, 1781, General Washington warned Hancock:

"I should not trouble your Excellency, with such reiterated applications on the score of supplies, if any objects less than the safety of these Posts on this River, and indeed the existence of the Army, were at stake. John Hancock was among those who signed the attestation that Phillis Wheatley, an African American, was its author, refuting the popular assertion that a black woman could not have the intellect to produce the work.

Things named after John Hancock

A number of things have been named after John Hancock:

Several states named a Hancock County after him. The town of Hancock, Massachusetts is named in his honor John Hancock Insurance, a U.S. insurance company, and in turn its office buildings, The John Hancock Tower, the tallest building in Boston, Massachusetts The "Old" John Hancock building, also in Boston, Massachusetts The John Hancock Center, major skyscraper in Chicago Continental schooner Hancock, hired to support George Washington's siege of Boston from 1775-1776 Continental Navy frigate Hancock, one of the first 13 frigates authorized by the Second Continental Congress in 1775. USS Hancock (AP-3), the former steamer SS Arizona, served as a Navy transport from 1902 to 1925 USS John Hancock, an 1850 steam tug USS Hancock (CV-19), an aircraft carrier that served from 1944 to 1976, including service in both World War II and the Vietnam War USS John Hancock (DD-981), a Spruance class destroyer commissioned in 1979 and decommissioned in 2000 The college football John Hancock Bowl, played in El Paso, Texas between 1990 and 1993. The John Hancock Student Village at Boston University, a 10-acre dormitory and recreational complex sponsored by John Hancock Insurance