examples:
Samuel Adams
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
William Dawes
American patriot who rode with Paul Revere to warn that the British were advancing on Lexington and Concord (1745-1799)
Benjamin Franklin
printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity (1706-1790)
Nathan Hale
a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy by the British; his last words were supposed to have been `I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country' (1755-1776)
John Hancock
American revolutionary patriot who was president of the Continental Congress; was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence (1737-1793)
Patrick Henry
a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799)
Francis Hopkinson
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; a signer of the Declaration of Independence (1737-1791)
Samuel Huntington
American revolutionary leader who signed the Declaration of Independence and was president of the Continental Congress (1731-1796)
Henry Laurens
leader of the American Revolution and president of the Continental Congress (1724-1792)
Richard Henry Lee
leader of the American Revolution who proposed the resolution calling for independence of the American Colonies (1732-1794)
Robert R. Livingston
American Revolutionary leader who served in the Continental Congress and as minister to France (1746-1813)
George Mason
American Revolutionary leader from Virginia whose objections led to the drafting of the Bill of Rights (1725-1792)
Robert Morris
leader of the American Revolution who signed the Declaration of Independence and raised money for the Continental Army (1734-1806)
Thomas Paine
American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and supported the French Revolution (1737-1809)
Robert Treat Paine
American Revolutionary leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1731-1814)
William Patterson
American Revolutionary leader (born in Ireland) who was a member of the Constitutional Convention (1745-1806)
Josiah Quincy
American patriot who presented the colonists' grievances to the English king (1744-1775)
Paul Revere
American silversmith remembered for his midnight ride (celebrated in a poem by Longfellow) to warn the colonists in Lexington and Concord that British troops were coming (1735-1818)
Benjamin Rush
physician and American Revolutionary leader; signer of the Declaration of Independence (1745-1813)
Haym Salomon
American financier and American Revolutionary War patriot who helped fund the army during the American Revolution (1740?-1785)
Roger Sherman
American Revolutionary leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution (1721-1793)
Jonathan Trumbull
American Revolutionary leader who as governor of Connecticut provided supplies for the Continental Army (1710-1785)
James Wilson
American Revolutionary leader who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (1742-1798)
John Witherspoon
American Revolutionary leader and educator (born in Scotland) who signed of the Declaration of Independence and was president of the college that became Princeton University (1723-1794)