Of the four signers from Massachusetts, Robert Treat Paine is lesser known today than John Hancock, John Adams, and Samuel Adams, yet he left a lasting mark on the founding of the United States.

Born on March 11, 1731, in Boston, Massachusetts, Paine was the son of a pastor-turned-merchant and descended from Mayflower settler Stephen Hopkins. He entered Harvard College at 14, graduating at 18, and pursued various careers—including teaching, preaching, and even whaling in Greenland—before turning to law. In 1761, he moved to Taunton and became a respected attorney. 

Paine’s legal prominence grew alongside his rival, John Adams. In 1770, the two faced off in the Boston Massacre trial, where Paine prosecuted British soldiers and Adams served as defense counsel. After six days in court, Paine lost the case.

Despite the loss, his performance earned him widespread recognition. In 1774, Paine was elected to the Continental Congress, and in 1776, he signed the Declaration of Independence.

Shortly thereafter, Paine was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he served as Speaker and helped draft the state constitution. He became the state’s first Attorney General, notably prosecuting Shays’ Rebellion, and from 1790 to 1804, served as a Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice.

Late in life, Paine co-founded the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He died in 1814, at the age of 83, and was buried in Boston’s Granary Burying Ground, also the resting place of the Boston Massacre victims.