Button Gwinnett ( baptized : April 10 , 1735 â `` May 19 , 1777 ) , was second of the signatories ( first signature on the left ) on the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia . Button Gwinnett ( 1735 -- May 19 , 1777 ) was an English-born American political leader who , as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress , was the second of the signatories ( first signature on the left ) on the United States Declaration of Independence .