A volunteer at the National Archives in London found the document among other papers seized from an American ship in 1776.

A flawed first copy — dashed off in an all-nighter in 1776 — endures as a template for democracy in action.

Nearly 250 years before the Declaration of Independence became one of the world’s most recognizable political documents, it was simply breaking news. According to the Harvard…

One of 11 surviving copies of ‘Exeter printing’ and only one known outside US was taken from American privateer ship

Michael Scurr, a volunteer at Britain’s National Archives, has discovered a rare early copy of the Declaration of Independence

LONDON (AP) — Michael Scurr has been volunteering at Britain’s National Archives for the last 11 years, spending his Thursday mornings painstakingly cataloging documents for the…

The document was attached to a report detailing the capture of the American privateer Dalton on Christmas Eve, 1776

Michael Scurr said he had to keep the discovery from fellow volunteers at the National Archives, as well as his friends and family.

Een vrijwilliger heeft in mei in een Brits archief een zeldzaam exemplaar gevonden van de Amerikaanse Onafhankelijkheidsverklaring. Het document werd geprint in de Verenigde…

A volunteer at the National Archives in London found the document among other papers seized from an American ship in 1776.

It is one of just 11 original copies of the so-called Exeter printing of the declaration that are known to exist.

La copie se trouvait parmi des documents saisis par la marine britannique lors de la capture d'un navire américain en 1776.

Listed simply as “another paper” in the Royal Navy inventory, the Declaration remained buried in British archives for 250 years.