William Penn
- Occupation: Lawyer and landowner
- Born: October 14, 1644 in London, England
- Died: July 30, 1718 in Berkshire, England
- Best known for: Founding the colony of Pennsylvania
What William Penn did to become famous?
William Penn became a Quaker when he was twenty-two. It was not easy for him. He was arrested for attending Quaker meetings, but was released because of his famous father. However, his father was not happy with him and forced him out of the house. He became homeless and lived with other Quaker families for a while.
What religious group did William Penn belong to?
William Penn wanted to create a society where there would be complete religious and equality between people. What religious group did William Penn belong to? Quaker faith William Penn, English religious and social reformer and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, was born on October 14, 1644, in London.
What did William Penn believe in?
William Penn believed deeply in religious freedom and tolerance. William Penn believed deeply in religious freedom and tolerance. He wanted the people of Pennsylvania to live together in harmony and if disputes did arise, that they would compromise like a healthy colony.
Does William Penn have any living relatives?
Young Penn inherited his father’s estates in England and Ireland and became, like his father, a frequenter of the court, where he enjoyed the friendship of King Charles II and his brother, the duke of York (later James II ). In 1672 Penn married Gulielma Springett, a Quaker by whom he had eight children, four of whom died in infancy.
How did William Penn became famous?
William Penn, (born October 14, 1644, London, England—died July 30, 1718, Buckinghamshire), English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe.
How did William Penn change the world?
William Penn (1644–1718), founder of Pennsylvania and one of the first champions of expressive freedoms in the American colonies, demonstrated how a free society could work and how individuals of different races and religions could live together in liberty and peace.
How was William Penn a hero?
William Penn was the first great hero of American liberty. He insisted that women deserved equal rights with men. He gave Pennsylvania a written constitution which limited the power of government, provided a humane penal code, and guaranteed many fundamental liberties.
Why was Thomas Penn important?
Thomas Penn (March 20, 1702 – March 21, 1775) was a hereditary proprietor of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania....Thomas PennThomas Penn (Arthur Devis, 1752)3rd Chief proprietor of PennsylvaniaIn office 1746–1775Preceded byWilliam Penn8 more rows
What did William Penn believe in?
Penn and other Quakers believed that everyone had to seek God in his or her own way. Penn also thought that religious tolerance – or “liberty of conscience” – would create stronger governments and wealthier societies.
Did William Penn help write the constitution?
William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and advocate of religious freedom, was born October 14, 1644*, 375 years ago. It was his influence that set the framework for not only Pennsylvania's Constitution, but also the U.S. Constitution.
What was William Penn's legacy as the founder of Pennsylvania?
On Penn's first visit to his colony, from 1662 to 1664, he began his "Holy Experiment," establishing his haven for Quakers. His laws guaranteed religious freedom and an elected government. He bought land from the Native Americans and established a peace treaty that lasted for 70 years.
Why is Philadelphia so important to American history?
The country's first World Heritage City, Philadelphia is also the birthplace of the United States, where our Founding Fathers met, discussed, debated and formed a new country. Lucky for 21st-century visitors, so much of Philadelphia's history has been preserved.
Why was the Pennsylvania Colony successful?
Peaceful relations with neighboring American Indian groups and fertile farmland helped Penn's experiment become a success. Philadelphia grew into one of the most important cities in colonial America, becoming the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution.
Who is Tom Penn?
Tom Penn is an American sports executive who is currently the president and co-owner of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Football Club. Penn is also an NBA TV analyst, former NBA executive and co-founder of the Sports Leadership Institute.
Does the Penn family still exist?
And over in England, William Penn has descendants born along a prestigious line. Thomas Penn's granddaughter, Mary Juliana, married the second Earl of Ranfurly. The last Earl of Ranfurly to descend from this line was the sixth, and he and his wife died about 20 years ago.
What was the Walking Purchase of 1737?
Walking Purchase, (Aug. 25, 1737), land swindle perpetrated by Pennsylvania authorities on the Delaware Indians, who had been the tribe most friendly to William Penn when he founded the colony in the previous century.
What was William Penn’s education?
William Penn received a classical education at the Chigwell grammar school in Essex, England, and then matriculated at the University of Oxford (16...
Where did William Penn grow up?
Having spent his early years in the Essex countryside, William Penn moved with his family to London and then to Ireland. After he was expelled from...
What was William Penn’s religion?
Penn rejected Anglicanism and joined the Quakers (Society of Friends), who were subject to official persecution in England. He was the author of a...
What is William Penn best known for?
William Penn was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom who oversaw the founding of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and ot...
Who was William Penn?
For other uses, see William Penn (disambiguation). William Penn (14 October 1644 – 30 July 1718) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, ...
What was the name of the state that William Penn sailed up?
This land included the present-day states of Pennsylvania and Delaware . Penn immediately set sail and took his first step on American soil, sailing up the Delaware Bay and Delaware River, (past earlier Swedish and Dutch riverfront colonies) in New Castle (now in Delaware) in 1682.
Why did Charles II give Penn his land?
In 1681, King Charles II handed over a large piece of his North American land holdings along the North Atlantic Ocean coast to Penn to pay the debts the king had owed to Penn's father, the admiral and politician Sir William Penn. This land included the present-day states of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Why did William Penn travel to Ireland?
In 1669, Penn traveled to Ireland to deal with many of his father's estates. While there, he attended many meetings and stayed with leading Quaker families. He became a great friend of William Morris, a leading Quaker figure in Cork, and often stayed with Morris at Castle Salem near Rosscarbery .
Why did Penn return home?
Penn returned home for the extraordinary splendor of the King's restoration ceremony and was a guest of honor alongside his father, who received a highly unusual royal salute for his services to the Crown. Though undetermined at the time, the Admiral had great hopes for his son's career under the favor of the King.
How did Philip Ford cheat William Penn?
Making matters worse from Penn's perspective, Philip Ford, his financial advisor, had cheated Penn out of thousands of pounds by concealing and diverting rents from Penn's Irish lands , claiming losses, then extracting loans from Penn to cover the shortfall. When Ford died in 1702, his widow Bridget threatened to sell Pennsylvania, to which she claimed title. Penn sent William to America to manage affairs, but he proved just as unreliable as he had been in England. There were considerable discussions about scrapping his constitution. In desperation, Penn tried to sell Pennsylvania to the Crown before Bridget Ford got wind of his plan, but by insisting that the Crown uphold the civil liberties that had been achieved, he could not strike a deal. Mrs. Ford took her case to court. At age 62, Penn landed in debtors' prison; however, a rush of sympathy reduced Penn's punishment to house arrest, and Bridget Ford was finally denied her claim to Pennsylvania. A group of Quakers arranged for Ford to receive payment for back rents and Penn was released.
What was the purpose of the Pennsylvania Frame of Government?
The democratic principles that he set forth in the Pennsylvania Frame of Government served as an inspiration for the members of the convention framing the new Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia in 1787. As a pacifist Quaker, Penn considered the problems of war and peace deeply.
Who Was William Penn?
William Penn was the son of an admiral and landowner, and he was educated in theology and the law. In his twenties, he converted to the Quaker religion and was jailed several times for his resistance to the Church of England. In 1681, he received a royal charter to form a new colony in America, to be named Pennsylvania; he envisioned this territory as a peaceful refuge for members of all religious beliefs.
Where was William Penn born?
William Penn was born in London, England, on October 14, 1644. His father, Sir William Penn, was an admiral and landowner who had been knighted by Charles II; his mother, Margaret Jasper Vanderschuren, was the daughter of a merchant.
What did William Penn do after settling the dispute with King Charles II?
After settling the dispute, using his legal knowledge and leadership skills, he was chosen to organize the founding of a Quaker colony in America. Penn petitioned King Charles II for additional land to the west of the Delaware River, and he received a charter for this territory in 1681.
What was the purpose of Penn's letter to the Free Society of Traders?
In some ways, Pennsylvania was a quick success: It attracted many Quakers from England and Europe, as well as members of other groups seeking religious tolerance.
Who was William Penn married to?
He also made missionary trips throughout England, and to Holland and Germany. Penn married a Quaker woman, Gulielma Maria Springett, in 1672; the couple had three children together.
Who was William Penn's second wife?
Later Years and Death. In 1696, Penn married his second wife, Hannah Callowhill, with whom he had seven children (his first wife had died in 1694). His wife assisted him in his proprietorship of Pennsylvania in his later years, especially after he suffered a stroke in 1712.
Who was William Wallace?
William Wallace. William Wallace, a Scottish knight, became a central early figure in the wars to secure Scottish freedom from the English, becoming one of his country's greatest national heroes. (c. 1270–1305) Person.
The son of Admiral Sir William Penn
William Penn was born on October 14, 1644 to a very wealthy English family of Anglican roots. The exact place of his birth was in Tower Hill, London. He was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn, who came by an incredible amount of wealth and standing in the country for his service to Cromwell during the conquest of Ireland.
Education and his dissenting religious views at Oxford University
Penn had his formative education in Essex before proceeding to Chigwell School and then later to Christ Church, Oxford University. While at Oxford, he was an active member of debate groups that expressed their dissent to established religious traditions. For those dissenting religious views of his, he often found himself in hot waters.
Expulsion from Oxford
At the University of Oxford, William Penn engaged in activities that spoke against Anglicanism. As a result, his stay in the university was short-lived, having been expelled in 1662, just two years after his admission.
William Penn and Thomas Loe
While managing his father’s estates in Ireland, he came to be influenced by Thomas Loe, a preacher from the Society of Friends (the Quakers). The Quakers, one of the religious minorities in Europe, were officially persecuted in England and other places in Europe.
Becoming a Quaker
After listening to a very eloquent speech by a Quaker, William Penn became convinced that non-conformist religion best suited him.
Promotion of Quakerism
Time spent in Paris did nothing to tone down his dissenting views as he continued to go against established religious traditions. His support for Quaker views was reinforced by his many interactions with leading Quaker figures of the time, including George Fox, the founder of the Quakers.
No Cross, No Crown (1669)
In 1669, while locked behind bars, Penn wrote one of his first critically acclaimed works, No Cross, No Crown. The work, which became very popular among Quakers, contained a number of criticisms against the Anglican faith.
What did William Penn do for New Jersey?
Penn promoted successful Quaker colonization in New Jersey, for which he designed the famous “Concession and Agreements,” his earliest governmental program.
What did William Penn do to the Crown?
Penn agreed to forgive the Crown its £16,000 debt due to the Penn family in exchange for land on which to build a colony for England’s persecuted minorities.
How did William Penn die?
William Penn died on July 30, 1718, in Ruscombe, Berkshire, England, following a series of strokes.
Why was Penn so respected?
Penn maintained peaceful relations with the Native Americans and was well-respected by the Susquehannocks, Shawnees, and Leni-Lenape for his courage because he would walk among them without guards or weapons, and was an incredible sprinter who could out-run Indian braves.
How many acres did the Duke of York give Penn Delaware?
In 1682, the Duke of York, later King James II of England, also gave Penn Delaware, a total of more than 16 million acres.
Why was William Penn expelled from Oxford University?
At age 17 William Penn was expelled from Oxford University for criticizing the elaborate ceremonies of the Anglican Church, protesting required chapel attendance, and visiting a professor who’d been dismissed for teaching tolerant Humanism.
What would happen if Penn was neglected?
In case of neglect on the part of Penn, the Crown could reclaim the colony.
Where was William Penn born?
Childhood & Early Life. William Penn was born on October 14, 1644, to English Admiral, Sir William Penn and Margaret Jasper, the daughter of a rich Dutch merchant. He studied at Chigwell School and in 1656 he entered a private school on Tower Street, London.
What was William Penn's first pamphlet?
Major Works. In 1668, William Penn authored a tract, ‘The Sandy Foundation Shaken’, which was a follow-up of his first pamphlet, ‘Truth Exalted’. This pamphlet criticized all religions except ‘Quakerism’ in harshly worded statements, which resulted in his imprisonment in the ‘Tower of London’.
Who owed William Penn money?
King Charles II owed a sum of £16,000 to Admiral Penn, the father of William Penn. In lieu of the sum, William Penn was granted land in the colony of England that constitutes present day Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Who owned Pennsylvania in 1681?
In 1681, King Charles II signed the charter that stated Penn’s ownership of Pennsylvania in return for £16000, which he owed to Penn's father. Penn struck a cordial relationship with the Native Americans and paid them some amount to legally own the land. He took charge of Pennsylvania as its Governor in 1682.
Who was Philip Ford?
Philip Ford, his manager in charge of his properties in England, tricked him into transferring the ownership of Pennsylvania to him and signed him to pay rent for the same.
Was Penn a democrat?
When the Charter of Pennsylvania was signed, it officially declared Penn as the owner of the province. Penn was a true democrat and he respected the feelings of the Native Americans and after obtaining legal claims from them, he formed a state of his own.
What is William Penn famous for?
Penn remains a beloved figure in the Keystone State and throughout the country. Here are a few things you might not have known about him. 1. HE HAD A FAMOUS FATHER. William Penn was the son of English Admiral Sir William Penn (1621-1670). The seaman, a national hero, took a circuitous path to fame and knighthood.
How long did William Penn live in Pennsylvania?
Cumulatively, William Penn spent less than four years of his life in Pennsylvania. After returning to London in 1684, he wouldn’t set foot in the New World again until 1699. During that interim, the Quaker kept himself busy. In 1693, he added a new published work to his bibliography.
Why did Admiral Penn leave Oxford?
A particular bone of contention for Penn was the school’s insistence that all students—regardless of their personal beliefs—attend a mandatory Anglican service every Sunday. Penn defiantly sat out. He also violated Oxford’s dress code, which required pupils to wear surplices, a type of religious garment. Instead, Penn wore simple clothes, drawing the ire of school officials. Fed up with his rebellious behavior, Oxford expelled him in 1662. Admiral Penn didn’t react well to this development; according to some sources, he punished the teen with a beating.
Why did William Penn name his country New Wales?
Originally, Penn wanted to call it New Wales, due to the hilly terrain which reminded him of the Welsh countryside. However, a Welsh-born secretary in England’s Privy Council took issue with this, forcing Penn to reconsider. His next suggestion was Sylvania, after the Latin word for forest. The Council then chose to tweak this new name a bit by adding the prefix “Penn” in an attempt to honor the late Admiral, William Penn’s father. At first, William Penn disapproved of the moniker and even tried bribing two undersecretaries to change it. When this failed, he resignedly gave up the fight, lest his protests be misconstrued as an act of vanity.
What did Penn do to the dress code?
Instead, Penn wore simple clothes, drawing the ire of school officials. Fed up with his rebellious behavior, Oxford expelled him in 1662.
How tall is the Quaker statue in Philadelphia?
Perched atop Philadelphia’s city hall is a 37-foot, 27-ton bronze likeness of the Quaker visionary. Hoisted into place in 1894, the statue represented the highest point in Philly for more than 90 years. According to legend, a gentlemanly agreement stipulated that no building in town would ever stand taller than the cap on Penn’s head.
Who was the Quaker who was invited to the Penn residence in Ireland?
HE WAS EXPELLED FROM OXFORD. One day around 1655, a prominent Quaker named Thomas Loe was invited to the Penn residence in Ireland. The man preached his faith with incredible fervor, at one point moving the Admiral to tears. It was an experience that would change the course of the younger William Penn’s life.
What was William Penn's occupation?
Occupation: Lawyer and landowner. Born: October 14, 1644 in London, England. Died: July 30, 1718 in Berkshire, England. Best known for: Founding the colony of Pennsylvania. Biography: Growing Up. William Penn was born on October 14, 1644 in London, England. His father was an admiral in the English navy and a wealthy landowner .
What did William Penn want?
He wanted freedom for all religions and a safe place for persecuted minorities to live. He also wanted peace with the Native Americans and hoped they could live together as "neighbors and friends.".
How did William Penn die?
William Penn died on July 30, 1718 in Berkshire, England from the complications of a stroke. Although he died poor, the colony he founded went on to be one of the most successful of the American colonies. The ideas he had for religious freedom, education, civil rights, and government would pave the wave for the democracy and constitution of the United States.
Why was William Penn arrested?
William Penn became a Quaker when he was twenty-two. It was not easy for him. He was arrested for attending Quaker meetings, but was released because of his famous father. However, his father was not happy with him and forced him out of the house. He became homeless and lived with other Quaker families for a while.
Why was Pennsylvania named after William Penn?
At first the land was called Sylvania, which means "woods", but it was later named Pennsylvania in honor of William Penn's father. William Penn envisioned Pennsylvania to not only be a Quaker land, but also a free land.
What ideas did William Penn have?
The ideas he had for religious freedom, education, civil rights, and government would pave the wave for the democracy and constitution of the United States. Interesting Facts about William Penn. Quakers refused to take off their hats to their social superiors.
Who established Philadelphia?
In 1682, William Penn and around one hundred Quaker settlers arrived in Pennsylvania. They established the city of Philadelphia. Penn had designed the city which had streets laid out in a grid. The city and the colony was a success. Led by Penn, the new government protected the rights of the citizens and maintained peace with the local Native Americans. By 1684, there were around 4,000 people living in the colony.
Overview
William Penn (14 October 1644 – 30 July 1718) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans.
Biography
William Penn was born in 1644 at Tower Hill, London, the son of English Admiral Sir William Penn, and Margaret Jasper, from the Netherlands and the widow of a Dutch captain and the daughter of a rich merchant from Rotterdam. Admiral Penn served in the Commonwealth Navy during the English Civil War and was rewarded by Oliver Cromwell with estates in Ireland. The lands were seized fro…
Legacy
According to Mary Maples Dunn:
Penn liked money and although he was certainly sincere about his ambitions for a “holy experiment” in Pennsylvania, he also expected to get rich. He was, however, extravagant, a bad manager and businessman, and not very astute in judging people and making appointments... Penn was gregarious, had many fri…
Posthumous honours
On 28 November 1984 Ronald Reagan, by Presidential Proclamation 5284 (authorized by an Act of Congress), declared William Penn and his second wife, Hannah Callowhill Penn, each to be an Honorary Citizen of the United States.
A bronze statue of William Penn by Alexander Milne Calder stands atop Philadelphia's City Hall. When installed in 1894, the statue represented the hig…
See also
• Penn–Calvert boundary dispute
• Nicholas More
Notes
1. ^ "New Castle History". New Castle Crier. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
2. ^ Murphy, Andrew R. (2019). William Penn : a life. New York, NY. p. 117–8. ISBN 9780190234249.
3. ^ See An Essay Towards the Present and Future Peace of Europe (1693). Penn is often remembered as the first to envisage a European Parliament. See Daniele Archibugi, William Penn, the Englishman who invented the European Parliament Archived 31 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine openDemocr…
Further reading
• Dunn, Mary Maples. William Penn: Politics and Conscience (1967)
• Dunn, Richard S. and Mary Maples Dunn, eds. The World of William Penn (1986), essays by scholars
• Endy, Jr., Melvin B. William Penn and Early Quakerism (1973)
External links
• Lesson Plan: William Penn's Peaceable Kingdom
• William Penn Appleton and Klos Biography
• The Life of William Penn by M. L. Weems, 1829. Full-text free to read and search version of Tim Unterreiner biography from 1829 original published in Philadelphia.