<P> John Hancock ( January 23 , 1737 ( O.S. January 12 , 1736 ) -- October 8 , 1793 ) was an American merchant , statesman , and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution . He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts . He is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence , so much so that the term John Hancock has become a synonym in the United States for one 's signature . </P>
who signed the largest on the declaration of independence
John Hancock