William Penn

William Penn is known as the founder of Pennsylvania

Born in London, England on October 14, 1644

William was married twice and had 8 children

The King of England at the time, King Charles II, owed William’s father a large some of money

William’s father passed away before the King was able to repay the debt

The King however decided to make the repayment to William instead!!

Instead of money, King Charles II gave William a large piece of land in North America

William Penn belonged to a religious group called the Quakers

English law said that everyone had to belong to the Church of England ... and William and the Quakers didn’t want to do this!!

So just like the Pilgrims, they wanted to leave England so they could choose to worship in their own way

So William wanted land where the Quakers could go to worship freely

William Penn called as his new colony Pennsylvania ... which means Penn’s Woods

He also designed the colonies main settlement of Philadelphia. Philadelphia means, “The City of Brotherly Love