The Secretary of Congress Who Created the Nation’s Archives

The little-known secretary who documented the Revolution, shaped the Great Seal, and preserved the records that became America’s first national archives.

John Trumbull's painting, 1819, "Declaration of Independence," depicts the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress. The painting can be found on the back of the U.S. $2 bill. The original hangs in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. Public Domain

American history is replete with unsung patriots who played significant roles in shaping the country and the Revolutionary War. Names like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin are the familiar Founding Fathers, but others worked quietly behind the scenes—men who conducted lesser-known but vitally important functions and were also present at the dawn of American independence.

The name Charles Thomson may be unfamiliar today, but his contributions arguably impacted the development of America’s national consciousness as much as those of the delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence. As congressional secretary, Thomson’s “John Hancock” appears on the official Declaration of Independence as the only nondelegate signature on the document. In artist John Trumbull’s 1818 painting “Declaration of Independence,” Thomson is shown standing across the table from the Committee of Five.