John Hancock

John: "We must now all hang together."

Benjamin: "Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."

—John and Benjamin Franklin signing the Declaration of Independence.

John Hancock (1737 – 1793) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, serving as a merchant, patriot, and a statesman.

John first became involved in the fight against the British when they confiscated his sloop, the HMS Liberty, in 1768. In 1769, the HMS Liberty was burned by Patriots, and this demonstration was one of the first acts of open defiance towards the British Royalists.

In 1774, Hancock was elected to replace James Bowdoin in the Second Continental Congress. However, before Hancock reached Philadelphia, he was re-elected by the Provincial Congress in February of 1775. As such, Hancock gained major influence in Massachusetts, and posed a threat to the British.

At the start of the war, Hancock and Samuel Adams were staying at the town of Lexington. Major John Pitcairn prepared an assault on the town, intending to arrest them and avoid a violent revolution.

However, Paul Revere and the Assassin Connor arrived the night before, warning the two Sons of Liberty to leave, as the latter believed Pitcairn intended to kill them. Hancock would go on to meet Connor again during the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Gallery

• 
  Revere telling Hancock and the others to escape
• 
  Hancock and the others at the signing of Declaration of Independence

Reference

• Assassin's Creed III