{{Infobox_Governor
|name= John Hancock
|image= JohnHancockSmall.jpeg
|caption=
|order4=3rd
|office4= Governor of Massachusetts
|term_start4= May 30, 1787
|term_end4= October 8, 1793
|lieutenant4= Thomas Cushing
|predecessor4= James Bowdoin
|successor4= Samuel Adams
|order3= 7th
|office3= President of the United States in Congress Assembled
|term_start3= November 23, 1785
|term_end3=  June 5, 1786
|predecessor3= Richard Henry Lee
|successor3= Nathaniel Gorham
|order2=1st
|office2= Governor of Massachusetts
|term_start2= 1780
|term_end2= 1785
|lieutenant2= Thomas Cushing
|predecessor2= William Howe (as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay)
|successor2= Thomas Cushing
|office= 3rd President of the Continental Congress<br><small>2nd President of the Second Continental Congress</small>
|term_start= May 24, 1775
|term_end=  October 31, 1777
|predecessor= Peyton Randolph
|successor= Henry Laurens
|birth_date= 
|birth_place= Quincy, Massachusetts
|death_date= 
|death_place= Quincy, Massachusetts
|spouse= Dorothy Quincy
|party= None
|signature=JohnHancocksSignature.svg
}}
'''John Hancock ''' ( &ndash; patriot of the President of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but is most famous for his prominent signature on the United States Declaration of Independence.

==Early life ==
John Hancock was born in Braintree, Quincy, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Thus, geographical point where he was born is now within the modern city of Quincy, and not the modern city of Braintree.</ref> the son of Reverend John Hancock and Mary Hawke, whose ancestors had lived in nearby Hingham. The Hancocks lived in a part of town which eventually became the separate city of Quincy, Massachusetts, where John became a childhood friend of John Adams. In 1742, his father died and John was adopted by his paternal uncle, Thomas Hancock, who had no children and was a highly successful merchant and privateer who lived in Hancock Manor in Boston.

After graduating from the Boston Latin School in 1750, he enrolled in Harvard University and received a bachelors degree in 1754. Upon graduation, he worked for his uncle and was trained for eventual partnership. From 1760 to 1761, John lived in England while building relationships with customers and suppliers of his uncle's shipbuilding business. In January 1763, his uncle made him a full partner. Because of his uncle's illness, John took the leading role in the business. In August 1764, his uncle died and John inherited the business, Hancock Manor, and he became one of the wealthiest men in America.<ref>Unger, pg. 68</ref>

==Early career==
While merchants in England routinely paid duties on imports, the colonies not only evaded duties, but smuggled cheap sugar and molasses from the French West Indies, an enemy country, undermining their countrymen in the British West Indies. Hancock smuggled an estimated 1.5 million gallons of molasses a year on which he should have paid £37,500 per year, but which corrupt customs officers only collected £2,000 per year.<ref>Unger, pg. 72</ref>

In 1765, he took his uncle's seat as one of Boston's five selectman.  He did not initially balk at the new taxes since he usually didn't pay them. His colonial trade business naturally led him to resist the Stamp Act. Financially, a British boycott could not come at a better time since his credit had run out in London and he could not buy any more goods if he wanted to.<ref>Unger, pg. 99</ref> When he told his London agents he would not repay them while the Stamp Act was in effect, his agents joined in protests against the Stamp Act. In May, 1766 one of Hancock's ships brought news to Boston that the Stamp Act had been repealed.

In May, Hancock was elected to the James Otis and Samuel Adams pushed through the assembly a bill which gave the rioters amnesty.

Parliament agreed to only impose external taxes; the Townshend Acts was passed which put duties on various imports. Hancock's proposal of a partial boycott on British imports was accepted. Hancock also won support for this proposal to begin local manufacture of items such as clothing and jewellery which the colonies had been prohibited from manufacturing. After the passage of the Townshend Act he stated that he would not allow custom officers to board his ships.

On May 1768, Hancock was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The House elected him each year to the Governor's Council, but the Governor rejected his appointments until 1771 when the Governor changed his mind. Hancock then turned down the position and said he was no longer interested in politics. In 1769, he was elected speaker pro tem.

The Boston Massacre occurred in March 1770. Afterwards, a meeting of citizens at Faneuil Hall appointed a committee, which included Hancock, to meet with Governor Hutchinson and Colonel Dalrymple to demand the removal of the troops.  Hancock warned the governor that "there are upwards of 4,000 men ready to take arms".<ref>Unger, pg. 144</ref> Hutchinson and Dalrymple knew it was a bluff, but Dalrymple agreed to remove both regiments to Castle Island.

Samuel Adams popularity declined after the Boston Massacre and in 1771 Hancock said that he would "never again connect himself with the Adams'".<ref>Unger, pg. 157</ref>

His regular merchant trade as well as his smuggling practices financed much of his region's resistance to British authority and his financial contributions led the people of Boston to joke that "Sam Adams writes the letters [to newspapers] and John Hancock pays the postage"<ref>Fradin & McCurdy, 2002</ref>.

==The ''Liberty'' affair==
thumb|right|200px|John Hancock, c. 1776
In May 1768, one of Hancock's ships, the ''Liberty'', arrived in Boston with a load of Madiera.  The custom officers did not inspect the ship until the next morning, when they found the ship was less than one-quarter full. The agents claimed that no wine had been unloaded during the night.  The next month, while the warship HMS Romney was in port, one of the custom officers now said that he had been forcibly held on the ''Liberty'' and was threatened with death if he told about it. The government seized the ship. A mob gathered at the homes of the custom officers, smashing their windows and threatening to attack the custom officers if they returned.<ref>Unger, pg. 120</ref>

Hancock was able to obtain the release of the ''Liberty'' until the case came up in court.  Otis and Adams accused Hancock of capitulating to the government, in response to which Hancock canceled his deal to recover the ship.  In August, the charges against Hancock were dropped, but his ship was ordered forfeited.  In November, after British troops had arrived, Hancock was again arrested for smuggling on the ''Liberty''. After three months, with no evidence or eyewitness testimony to his guilt being presented, he was acquitted. In February 1769, the events associated with the ''Liberty'' caused Parliament to order the Massachusetts Governor to apply the Treasons Act 1534, ordering those suspected of treason to be brought to England.

The ship was armed and roamed the coast looking for smugglers.  ''Liberty'''s searches and seizures infuriated merchants in Newport and they sent a mob to burn the ship to the waterline.<ref>Unger, pg. 124</ref>

== Revolution begins== 
At first only a financier of the growing rebellion, John Hancock later became a public critic of British rule. On minutemen"&mdash;soldiers who pledged to be ready for battle on short notice&mdash;and his boycott of tea imported by the British East India Company eventually led to the Boston Tea Party.

In April 1775 as the British intent became apparent, Hancock and General Thomas Gage ordered Hancock and Adams arrested for treason. Following the battle a proclamation was issued granting a general pardon to all who would demonstrate loyalty to the crown&mdash;with the exceptions of Hancock and Adams.

==Continental Congress==

thumb|200px|In [[John Trumbull's famous painting ''The Declaration of Independence'', Hancock, as presiding officer, is seated on the right as the drafting committee presents their work.]]

{{Film infobox
| tytuł_filmu = Hancock 
| image =
| oryginalny_tytuł = Hancock 
| gatunek_filmu= komedia
| kraj_produkcji=
| data_premiery= 2008
| czas_trwania=
| reżyseria= Peter Berg
| scenariusz= Vince Gilligan<br/>Vincent Ngo
| tłumaczenie=
| role= Will Smith<br/>Charlize Theron<br/>Jason Bateman
| dubbing=
| lektor=
| muzyka= John Powell
| zdjęcia=
| dzwięk=
| scenografia=
| kostiumy=
| montaż= Paul Rubell
| produkcja= Akiva Goldsman<br/>James Lassiter<br/>Michael Mann<br/>Will Smith
| dystrybucja= Columbia Pictures
| atelier=
| budżet=
| język= angielski
| od_lat=
| nagrody=
| filmweb_id= 200726
| imdb_id= 0448157
}}
''' Hancock''' to film komediowy z roku 2008. W głównych rolach występują Will Smith, Charlize Theron i Jason Bateman.

== Fabuła ==

Film opowiada o losach Hancocka (Will Smith), młodego Afroamerykańskiego pijaka obdarzonego nadludzkimi zdolnościami (umiejętność latania, nadludzka siła). Tytułowy bohater postanawia pomóc ludzkości w walce z przestępczością, lecz nie wychodzi mu to tak jak wszyscy by chcieli.