Both served in the Continental Congress. Both signed the Declaration of Independence. Both served as U.S. Ministers in France. Both were U.S. Presidents, one elected the 2nd President and the other the 3rd. Download as PDF ... Once political enemies, they became close friends in later life. An awe swept America when they both died on the same day, JULY 4, 1826, exactly 50 years since they approved the Declaration of Independence. Their names were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson's handwritten Declaration of Independence used the wording "inalienable rights" as seen in the copies at the American Philosophical...