Hancock
Hancock names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Hancock John, an American Merchant and statesman
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
John, an American Merchant and statesman. He was born at Braintree, Massachusetts, January 23, 1737, and died at Quincy, October 8, 1793. He was graduated at harvard in 1754. He learned the business of an importing merchant in the counting house of an uncle, who left him $400,000 with which to carry on the business. Samuel Adams was without a dollar. Hancock was the wealthiest merchant in the city. It is difficult to say which was the more determined opponent of the oppressive acts of Great Britain . Both were members of the Massachusetts General Court. Both sat in the Provincial Congress. Both were honored by General Gage as the two rebels "whose offenses are of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration but that of condign punishment." Both were expressly omitted by name from an act of general amnesty with which the British government sought to conciliate the colonies in 1775. From the beginning, Hancock was in the thick of the contest. He owned the sloop Liberty, whose seizure brought on the riot of 1768. He demanded the removal of troops after the so-called Boston massacre. He delivered a fiery address at the funeral of the victims of that affair. He was president of the Continental Congress, and his bold signature appeared prominently on the Declaration of Independence . He was the first governor of the state of Massachusetts. He had faults enough, no doubt, vanity and jealousy, it is said, but none doubt his patriotism and strong common sense. His wealth, education, social standing, determined character, and reputation for strict integrity were of incalculable service to the cause of the patriots.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JOHN, an American revolutionary patriot and president of Congress; born in Quincy, Mass., Jan. 12, 1737. In the inception of the Revolutionary struggle he was a leading spirit. The attempt to arrest Hancock and Samuel Adams led to the battle of Lexington. Hancock was a member of the Continental Congress from 1775 to as 1780, also from 1785 to 1786, serving president of the body from 1775 to 1777. The Declaration of Independence as first published bore only ly his name. of Massachusetts He served as governor 12 years. As an orator he was eloquent; as a presiding officer, dignified and impartial. He died in Quincy, Mass., Oct. 8, 1793.
Hancock WINFIELD SCOTT, an Amercan military officer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
WINFIELD SCOTT, an Amercan military officer; officer; born in Mont- Montgomery co., Pa., gomery Square, duated at the Feb. 14, 1824; was graduated g United States Military Academy in 1844, and received his commission of 2d lieutenant; served during the Mexican War, was promoted for gallantry, and, having filled several subordinate posts, made assistant quartermaster-general; in 1861 was appointed a Brigadier-General of volunteers, and attached to the Army of the Potomac, accompanied General Mc- Clellan to the peninsula in 1862, and distinguished himself before Yorktown and Williamsburg; at the battle of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, commanded a division of the 2d Corps, which suffered most severely, and for his services on this occasion received his commission as Major-General; took part in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in 1863, and in one of the many struggles of that campaign was severely wounded; in 1868 was appointed by President Johnson to the command of the S. W. military district, but his appointment was not indorsed by the Senate. In June, 1880, he became the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for City, President. He died in New York C Feb. 9, 1886.
Hancock a village of Michigan
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a village of Michigan, in Houghton co. It is on Lake Portage and on the Copper Range and the Mineral Range railroads. A ship canal gives transportation facilities to Lake Superior, and within its limits are several important copper mines. It has also smelting works, foundries, machine sm shop shops, and other industries. It has a park and a Finnish college. Pop. (1910) 8,981; (1920) 7,527.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The two Hancocks are settled history, and the accounts above still hold. One detail worth flagging: Aiton's 1910 birthplace of "Braintree" and Collier's "Quincy" are the same spot, since the North Precinct of Braintree was set off as Quincy in 1792, and the two birth dates (January 12 and 23, 1737) are the Old Style and New Style versions of the same day; the famous story that Hancock signed the Declaration large so King George could read it without spectacles is a later legend, not contemporary testimony. Winfield Scott Hancock's 1880 defeat, which Collier's notes in a single clause, was one of the closest in American history, decided by a popular-vote margin of about two thousand out of nine million cast. The Michigan village has changed most: Collier's 7,527 residents in 1920 have fallen to roughly 4,500, the copper mines it lists are long shut and now interpreted by Keweenaw National Historical Park, and the "Finnish college" andia University closed in 2023 after 127 years.
Written for this edition, 2026.