John Nixon

During early conflicts with the mother country, Nixon was an ardent proponent of the colonies. He signed the Non-Importation Agreement in 1765 and actively opposed the Stamp Act. When the Revolutionary War began, he joined the Committee of Safety, often acting as its chairman. As a lieutenant-colonel in the Third Battalion of Associators (a unit comprised of wealthy “Silk Stockings”), Nixon saw military action at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. He commanded the defenses of the Delaware at Fort Island and the Philadelphia city guard. Nixon, however, is best known as the first person to publicly read the Declaration of Independence, which he did from the steps of the State House on July 8, 1776.