U.S. · United Kingdom · Fortune Technology
A retired insurance executive flagged a dropped Declaration of Independence in Britain’s National Archives
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Michael Scurr has been volunteering at Britain’s National Archives for the last 11 years, spending his Thursday mornings painstakingly cataloging documents for the benefit of future researchers.
Key facts
- Researchers at the National Archives have since identified the document as a rare early copy of America’s founding document, printed days after the original was signed on July 4, 1776, to spread
- Captain Thomas Fitzherbert, commander of the 64-gun HMS Raisonnable, chased the Dalton for seven hours on Christmas Eve 1776 before capturing her off the coast of Portugal
- Michael Scurr has been volunteering at Britain’s National Archives for the last 11 years, spending his Thursday mornings painstakingly cataloging documents for the benefit of future researchers
- There, attached to a report on the capture of the American privateer Dalton on Christmas Eve 1776, was an enclosure identified only as “another paper
Summary
Then one day last May the retired insurance executive made a discovery of his own while sifting through the letters of an 18th-century Royal Navy captain. There, attached to a report on the capture of the American privateer Dalton on Christmas Eve 1776, was an enclosure identified only as “another paper.” Carefully unfolding the document, Scurr stopped when he saw the word “Declaration” printed across the top. “I thought, oh, right, OK, this is definitely a Declaration of Independence,” he told The Associated Press. Researchers at the National Archives have since identified the document as a rare early copy of America’s founding document, printed days after the original was signed on July 4, 1776, to spread the news that 13 rebellious North American colonies had severed ties with Britain.