The Founders: Matthew Thornton

“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”

Thomas Jefferson

Matthew Thornton was born to Irish parents in 1714 in New Hampshire and became a doctor in Londonderry NH. He served in the state militia as a surgeon both before and after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775 but did not arrive in Philadelphia until November and though he was not involved in the debate creating the document he was granted permission to sign it four months after the fact. You can read more about Matthew Thornton in Wikipedia He was part of the strength in numbers that added veracity to the document. His life would make a good historical fiction novel.


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