Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III to distinguish him from his similarly-named relatives, was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence. He is sometimes referred to as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, although he was not involved in framing the United States Constitution. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Confederation Congress and later as first United States Senator for Maryland. He was the sole Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence - and the longest lived. Carroll was known contemporaneously as the "First Citizen" of the American Colonies, a consequence of his editorials in the Maryland Gazette. Carroll was the wealthiest, the longest-lived survivor, and possessed the highest formal education of all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. A product of his 17-year Jesuit education in France, Carroll spoke five languages fluently.
