He catches smallpox as a child, and his family moves to the countryside. When he later establishes Pennsylvania, greenspace and openness remain important.
In 1660, Penn arrived at the University of Oxford. He was expelled just two years later for religious nonconformity.
He is jailed and disowned by his father. Homeless, he lives with Quaker families, preaching and writing pamphlets defending the religion.
A group of Quakers -- including Penn -- purchased West New Jersey in the 1670s, several years before the founding of Pennsylvania. Penn also gained control of the Lower Delaware Counties, creating the colony of Delaware, in 1682 as an addition to his land grant for Pennsylvania.
To settle a debt to Penn’s late father and promote settlement in North America, the King makes Penn sole proprietor of the largest colony in the New World.
Penn’s vision for Pennsylvania includes trial by jury, free elections, protection from unjust imprisonment, and liberty of consciousness (religion).
According to historical tradition, the Quakers and Lenape enter into the first land-purchase agreement in Pennsylvania as a sign of respect and friendship.
The grid layout with wide, orderly streets and squares for green space fostered rapid, structured settlement and a model for other U.S. cities.
The Penn family’s summer home was built on the Delaware River near present-day Levittown, on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At least 12 enslaved individuals also resided here, laboring year-round.
While Penn loses his monetary and political power back in England, his colony continues to grow. German, Swiss, Dutch, Welsh, and other immigrants make Philadelphia their home.
