John Carter
American, 1745 - 1814
John Carter (1745–1814) was a Philadelphia-born printer who apprenticed under Benjamin Franklin before moving to Rhode Island, where he became the sole proprietor of the Providence Gazette in 1768. Operating from his "Shakespeare’s Head" headquarters on Meeting Street, Carter managed the printing press, a bookstore, and the city’s post office, ultimately producing over 40 percent of all late 18th-century Rhode Island imprints. A staunch Patriot, he removed the British crown header from his newspaper and published the full text of the Declaration of Independence on its front page on July 13, 1776. As the official state printer, Carter was commissioned by the Rhode Island General Assembly in October 1779 to print wartime legislation, including the military broadside "An Act for the better forming, regulating and conducting the military Forces of this State" to reorganize local militias against British occupation