John Hancock

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John Hancock

possibly after Littleford
mezzotint, circa 1776-1777
7 1/8 in. x 4 1/8 in. (180 mm x 105 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D2574

Sitterback to top

  • John Hancock (1736 or 1737-1793), Governor of Massachusetts; signer of the Declaration of Independence. Sitter in 2 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Littleford. Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.

Subject/Themeback to top

Events of 1776back to top

Current affairs

Tahitian visitor to London Omai returns home with Captain James Cook on his third voyage. During his two-year stay he inspired a play and was painted by Joshua Reynolds.
Member of Parliament David Hartley unsuccessfully introduces a motion to the House of Commons calling for the abolition of the slave trade.

Art and science

Edward Gibbon produces the first volume of his monumental The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Artist John Constable is born.
Scottish economist Adam Smith analyses the nature and causes of prosperity in his magnum opus The Wealth of Nations.

International

American War of Independence: George Washington raises a new American flag on Prospect Hill, Boston. In an anonymous pamphlet entitled Common Sense, English immigrant Thomas Paine is the first to argue that the American colonies should be independent. Declaration of American Independence on 4 July.

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