A “vanishingly rare” copy of the American Declaration of Independence discovered by a volunteer at the UK’s National Archives will go on display to mark the 250th anniversary of its signing.
It is the only known example of its kind outside of the United States.
Retired insurance executive Michael Scurr made the discovery in February while sifting through letters written by an 18th-century Royal Navy captain during the American War of Independence.
Attached to a report on the capture of the American privately owned armed ship, the Dalton, on Christmas Eve 1776, was a document identified simply as “another paper.” …