Copy of US Declaration of Independence - kept by the only Catholic Founding Father Charles Carroll in 1776 - sells for £3.2m after being found in Scottish attic of his descendants //

Charles Carroll of Carollton gave document to grandson-in-law John MacTavish
It then descended into the Scottish family and ended up in their attic
It was found by a specialist from Edinburgh-based auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull
The owners of the home where it was found wished to remain anonymous //

The signer's copy, one of only six known to still be in private hands, is a representation of the original 1776 document that declared the independence of Britain's 13 American colonies. //

After extensive research we confirmed it was indeed one of the 201 copies made by William Stone, of which only 48 of them are known to still exist. Being able to identify to whom the copy belonged made it even more exciting and rare.' //

The 200 first copies were made by printer John Dunlap on the night the document was signed.

It was then distributed throughout the North American colonies the following morning to be read aloud to the colonists and their militia. //

January 10, 1776: Thomas Paine published a booklet entitled Common Sense.

It outlined his vision of a government in which the people, through their elected representatives, would have supreme power.

Paine was the first to openly suggest independence from Britain.

Common Sense was read by many, including George Washington.

The work was to have a massive influence on Thomas Jefferson in his writing of the Declaration of Independence.

May: Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, receives Richard Henry Lee's resolution urging the colonies to become free and independent states.

June 11: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston are appointed to a committee to draft a declaration of independence.

June 12-27: Jefferson is chosen to write the first draft, of which only a fragment exists. Jefferson's clean copy - the 'original Rough draught' - is reviewed by the committee. Both documents are in the manuscript collections of the Library of Congress.

July 1-4: Congress debates and revises the declaration.

July 2: Congress declares independence. John Hancock, President of the Congress and Charles Thomson, the secretary, signed the document.

July 4, 1776: The United States is officially born.