Skip to main content

Primary sourceDocument

Signature of Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry's handwritten autograph signature, the kind found on his official commissions and letters.

This is Henry's own handwritten signature, the kind found on his official commissions and correspondence.

Ask Patrick Henry about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black ink cursive signature on a white background, with a long underline stroke beneath it. The signature reads as a stylized name with a large looping flourish extending upward and to the right.
Patrick Henry's signature.

About this source

What it is

This image shows Patrick Henry's personal signature, a cursive autograph with a long flourish, taken from the Commons file recorded as his Wikidata signature.

Why it matters

A signature like this appears on official documents such as gubernatorial commissions and personal correspondence written during Henry's lifetime. Signatures are small but direct physical traces of a historical figure's own hand, used by archivists and historians to verify documents and letters as genuinely connected to him.

Look closer

  • What can the style of handwriting and the flourish tell you about how people presented themselves in writing at this time?
  • Why do historians use signatures to check whether a document is authentic?
  • What can a signature alone NOT tell you about the person who wrote it?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Patrick Henry on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Patrick Henry sources

Meet the AI Patrick Henry →
Black-and-white lithograph of a legislative chamber with Patrick Henry standing center, one arm raised, addressing seated and standing men in period dress. Other delegates raise their hands, and a man in a robe sits at left. A printed document labeled 'Proceedings of the Virginia Assembly' lies on the floor. Caption below reads 'Give me liberty, or give me death!'Speech

Secondary source

Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!

Patrick Henry · 23 March 1775 (text reconstructed 1817)

Document

Primary source

Virginia Stamp Act Resolves

Patrick Henry · 29 May 1765

Speech

Primary source

Speeches Against Ratification at the Virginia Ratifying Convention

Patrick Henry · June 1788

Letter

Primary source

Letter from Patrick Henry to Robert Pleasants on Slavery

Patrick Henry · 18 January 1773

Aged, yellowed parchment page with handwritten calligraphy in brown ink. The heading reads 'Congress of the United States' in large script, followed by the opening lines of the document below.Document

Primary source

Bill of Rights

25 September 1789

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Patrick Henry now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions