•Not one of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence was born in America. •The first public reading of the signed Declaration of Independence took place on July 8, 1776, in Philadelphia.

•Nine of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence died before the American Revolution ended in 1783.

•The Declaration of Independence was signed by Thomas Lynch, Jr. and Edward Rutledge when they were only 26 years of age.

•Benjamin Franklin was 70 years old and the oldest to sign the Document.

•Matthew Thornton, from New Hampshire, was the last man to sign the document on November 4, 1776

•Signing the Declaration of Independence was extremely dangerous – a treasonable act, punishable by death.

•Congress initially kept the names of the men who signed the document secret until January 1777 to protect them from charges of treason.

•Two future presidents signed the Declaration: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Both men died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826, 50 years after the first Independence Day. •The original sheet of parchment measured 24¼ by 29¾ inches.

•George Washington ordered that the Document be read before the American army in New York when it was first printed.

•The Continental Congress made 86 changes to the draft.

•The United States didn’t exist until after the Declaration of Independence was signed! •Every 4th of July the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is tapped (not rung) 13 times in honor of the original thirteen colonies.