What was the order of signing of the declaration of independence?

Answer 1

The signers of the Declaration of Independence signed based on the state they were from, except for John Hancock who served as the President of the Congress and so signed first.

The order of the states was simply north to south (New Hampshire to Georgia). However, the signers started at the top right and worked their way down columns and then left to new columns.

Answer 2

The Declaration was signed in geographic order, beginning with the northernmost state (New Hampshire), ending with the southernmost (Georgia). Names from each state were also laid out geographically, with New Hampshire and the New England states in the rightmost column, and Georgia in the farthest left column.

There were a few exceptions: a handful were not present for the signing on August 2 and later added their signatures by other names (though there wasn't room for New Hampshire delegate Matthew Thornton to fit his, so he wrote at the bottom of that column). Also, John Hancock, as President of the Congress signed first of all, and (though from Massachusetts) place his name separately, in the top middle.

The arrangement by column, followed by the number of signers from that state (column A = first on the left, B to its right, etc) then was:

(A) Georgia (3)

(B) North Carolina (3)

South Carolina (4)

(C) <Hancock>

Maryland (4)

Virginia (7)

(D) Pennsylvania (9)

Delaware (3)

(E) New York (4)

New Jersey (5)

(F) New Hampshire (3)

Massachusetts (4, not including Hancock)

Rhode Island (2)

Connecticut (4)

There were a few exceptions: a handful were not present for the signing on August 2 and later added their signatures by other names (though there wasn't room for New Hampshire delegate Matthew Thornton to fit his, so he wrote at the bottom of that column). Also, John Hancock, as President of the Congress signed first of all, and (though from Massachusetts) place his name separately, in the top middle.

The arrangement by column, followed by the number of signers from that state (column A = first on the left, B to its right, etc) then was:

(A) Georgia (3)

(B) North Carolina (3)

South Carolina (4)

(C) <Hancock>

Maryland (4)

Virginia (7)

(D) Pennsylvania (9)

Delaware (3)

(E) New York (4)

New Jersey (5)

(F) New Hampshire (3)

Massachusetts (4, not including Hancock)

Rhode Island (2)

Connecticut (4)

There were a few exceptions: a handful were not present for the signing on August 2 and later added their signatures by other names (though there wasn't room for New Hampshire delegate Matthew Thornton to fit his, so he wrote at the bottom of that column). Also, John Hancock, as President of the Congress signed first of all, and (though from Massachusetts) place his name separately, in the top middle.

The arrangement by column, followed by the number of signers from that state (column A = first on the left, B to its right, etc) then was:

(A) Georgia (3)

(B) North Carolina (3)

South Carolina (4)

(C) <Hancock>

Maryland (4)

Virginia (7)

(D) Pennsylvania (9)

Delaware (3)

(E) New York (4)

New Jersey (5)

(F) New Hampshire (3)

Massachusetts (4, not including Hancock)

Rhode Island (2)

Connecticut (4)

Exceptions: There were a few exceptions: a handful were not present for the signing on August 2 and later added their signatures by other names (though there wasn't room for New Hampshire delegate Matthew Thornton to fit his, so he wrote at the bottom of that column). Also, John Hancock, as President of the Congress signed first of all, and (though from Massachusetts) place his name separately, in the top middle.

The arrangement by column, followed by the number of signers from that state (column A = first on the left, B to its right, etc) then was:

(A) Georgia (3)

(B) North Carolina (3)

South Carolina (4)

(C) <Hancock>

Maryland (4)

Virginia (7)

(D) Pennsylvania (9)

Delaware (3)

(E) New York (4)

New Jersey (5)

(F) New Hampshire (3)

Massachusetts (4, not including Hancock)

Rhode Island (2)

Connecticut (4)