William Penn was an English writer, theologian, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania. An advocate of democracy and religious freedom, Penn was known for h
All Hallows-by-the Tower Church in London, where Penn was baptized in 1644
1666 portrait of Penn at age 22
A plaque memorializing Penn's trial at Old Bailey; in 1688, Penn was imprisoned and held in solitary confinement in the Tower of London following his publication criticizing the practices of the Catholic Church and Church of England.
The Birth of Pennsylvania, a 1680 portrait by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, featuring Penn facing King Charles II
Admiral Sir William Penn was an English naval officer and politician who represented Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the House of Commons of England from 1660 to 1670. His son William Penn, the founder
William Penn
…of land corresponding to the present-day U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Delaware to offset debts he owed to Penn’s father, the admiral and politician Sir William Penn. Penn developed the land as a territory grounded in Quaker ideals of peace and equality alongside economic opportunity and representative government…
Portrait by Sir Peter Lely, 1665–1666
Penn's memorial in St Mary Redcliffe church in Bristol