Larry's Planetary Express

On this date, 236 years ago, the proposed ‘Declaration of Independence’ was presented to the Second Continental Congress.

On June 28, 1776, a five-man committee presented the proposed Declaration for debate before Congress.  The event twas immortalized in John Trumbull’s portrait, which is often misidentified as depicting the signing of the document. The five-man committee, seen standing near the center of the painting, consisted of (l-r) John Adams (Massachusetts), Roger Sherman (Connecticut), Robert Livingston (New York), author Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), and Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), the inventor of the stove!  The congress would spend the next week debating the language of the document, before voting to approve it.