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Definition: John Hancock |
John HancockNoun1. American revolutionary patriot who was president of the Continental Congress; was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence (1737-1793). 2. A person's own signature. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
John Hancock (January 23, 1737 - October 8, 1793) was secretary of the Continental Congress, and the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence. According to legend, he signed his name largely and clearly to be sure King George III could read it. His name has thus become a slang term for "signature."He is also noted for having signed the Attestation concerning Phillis Wheatley being responsible for Poems on Various Subjects, Religioius and Moral in 1773 which was put on display in Aldgate, London when the first book by an African American was published.
A Boston selectman and representative to the Massachusetts General Court, Hancock financed much of his region's resistance to British authority. In addition, he presided over insurgent groups including the Provisional Congress of Massachusetts (1774) and its Committee of Safety.
John Hancock was also the third President of the Continental Congress, from May 24, 1775, until October 30, 1777. He was preceded in office by Henry Middleton and succeeded by Henry Laurens. On June 19, 1775, Hancock commissioned George Washington commander-in-chief of the Army of the United Colonies.
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. He requested Washington have the Declaration read to the Continental Army.
Hancock's skills as orator and moderator were much admired, but during the Revolution he was most often sought out for his ability to raise funds and supplies for American troops. Yet, while governor of Massachusetts 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:
After the war, Hancock represented his state under the Articles of Confederation. He was the seventh President of the United States in Congress assembled, from November 23, 1785 to June 6, 1786. He was preceded in that position by Richard Henry Lee and succeeded by Nathaniel Gorham.
- 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. By the enclosed Extracts of a Letter, of Yesterday, from Major Genl. Heath, you will see our present situation, and future prospects. If therefore the supply of Beef Cattle demanded by the requisitions of Congress from Your State, is not regularly forwarded to the Army, I cannot consider myself as responsible for the maintenance of the Garrisons below [West Point, New York], or the continuance of a single Regiment in the Field.
- George Washington to John Hancock, January 19, 1781. George Washington Papers, 1741-1799
Resuming the governorship of Massachusetts, he led his state toward ratification of the federal Constitution. Hancock was also active in creating a navy for the new nation. He died in 1793 while serving his ninth term as Massachusetts' governor.
External Links
- U.S. Library of Congress Today in History: January 12 - Most of the text of this article (as of January 18, 2003) was copied from this public domain source.
- Image of John Hancock (PD)
- large version
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "John Hancock."
Synonym: John HancockSynonym: autograph (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: John Hancock |
| English words defined with "John Hancock": Copley ♦ John Copley, John Singleton Copley. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Clever | There, I guess King George will be able to read that! (references; author: John Hancock) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
References | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Kitchen of the John Hancock House, Lexington. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Hancock and Adams room, John Hancock House, Lexington. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Dining room, John Hancock House, Lexington, Mass. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Kitchen and living room, John Hancock House, Lexington, Mass. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | John Hancock. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Kitchen of the John Hancock House, Lexington. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
John Hancock | There, I guess King George will be able to read that! |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | China | To date there are 17 foreign insurers with operating licenses (twelve in operation and five pending approval): three from the United States (AIG, Chubb Group and John Hancock in operation) two from Britain (Royal & Sun Alliance and Prudential UK in operation), two from Canada (Manulife in operation and Sun Life Assurance pending approval) plus one each from Japan (Tokio Fire and Marine in operation), Switzerland (Winterthur in operation), Germany (Allianz Dazhong in operation), Holland (Aetna in operation, now part of ING) France (Axa-UAP in operation) and Australia (Colonial Mutual in operation). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Malaysia | John Hancock Life Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad | USA | John Hancock Financial Services Incorporated |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "John Hancock"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Hungarian | saját kezű névaláírás. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ohnjay ancockhay.(various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-c-h-h-j-k-n-n-o-o" | |
-4 letters: cooncan. | |
-5 letters: ahchoo, concha, honcho, hookah. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Names: Company Usage 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Anagrams 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
