John Hancock Life Insurance Company, U.S.A. is a Boston-based insurance company. Established April 21, 1862, it was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent American Patriot. In 2004, John Hancock was acquired by the Canadian multinational life insurance company Manulife Financial. It operates as an independent subsidiary. The company and the majority of Manulife's U.S. assets continue to operate under the John Hancock name. History On April 21, 1862, the charter of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company was approved by John A. Andrew, governor of Massachusetts. There was not always a standardization for how the company name has been referenced. For example, a John Hancock advertisement from 1912 refers to the company as "John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company," but some John Hancock advertisements and newspaper articles from the 1930s refer to it as the "John Hancock Life Insurance Company." However, 1940s sources again refer to the company as the "John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company." In 1972, Dr. Mary Ella Robertson was named as the first black woman and first female to serve on the John Hancock Board. In 2000, led by David F. D'Alessandro, the company "demutualized," meaning that "John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company" formally ceased to exist, and a new company named "John Hancock Financial Services, Inc." came into existence. Policyholders received shares in the new company in exchange for giving up ownership in the old. Life insurance continued to be sold by an entity known as the "John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company", a subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services Inc. On January 27, 2000, shares of Hancock stock started to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol JHF. On September 29, 2003, Manulife Financial of Canada announced its intent to acquire John Hancock for $10.4 billion. The merged entity would be led by D'Alessandro, but he would step down in June 2004. The sale also included a Canadian subsidiary of John Hancock, Maritime Life; it was integrated into Manulife's Canadian operations. Headquarters The headquarters and its 1,100 employees are based in 200 Berkeley Street, sometimes known as the "Old John Hancock Building" and 197 Clarendon Street. John Hancock no longer has a presence in the Back Bay tower at 200 Clarendon Street, still known by many Bostonians as the Hancock Tower. The company was headquartered at 601 Congress Street in the Seaport District from 2005 to 2018, when