On this day in 1707, a signer of the Declaration of Independence is born. You probably don’t recognize his name, but maybe you remember seeing his shaky signature on the Declaration? Stephen Hopkins was 69 years old when he signed the Declaration, and he was afflicted with a palsy (maybe Parkinson’s) that caused his hand to quiver as he wrote. Legend has it that, as he signed the Declaration, he asserted: “My hand trembles, but my heart does not!” As a delegate to the Continental Congress, H...
