John Adams, prominent lawyer, ardent patriot and champion for independence and second president of the United States and was born on October 30, 1735. Adams represented Capt. Thomas Preston and the other British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre, drafted the Massachusetts Constitution, and was instrumental in persuading the Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain. After the war, he served as America’s first ambassador to England.
Adams passed away at his home in Quincy on July 4, 1826 on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. When told that it was the 4th of July Adams’ last words were: “Thomas Jefferson survives”. This was, in fact, not true as Thomas Jefferson had died only hours before.