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.
Some Quakers, like Thones Kunders, speak out against the inhumanity of slavery. Others, like Penn, struggle to reconcile ideals of human liberty with economic interests.
While never adopted, the plan is a precursor to the United States’ establishment -- although Penn thought colonial unification would better serve the crown, not rebel against it.
After a 15-year absence, Penn returns to America with his young family. They find a thriving Pennsylvania, boasting over 3,000 inhabitants in Philadelphia alone. However, lawlessness and strife abound.
To quell colonial anger at his absentee control, Penn drafts the Charter of Privileges for the Province of Pennsylvania and Charter of the City of Philadelphia, establishing the first democratically elected legislature in North America. Shortly after, he departs for England, never to return.
After a series of strokes, Penn is left debilitated. His second wife, Hannah, effectively runs the colony from England until her death in 1726. Some refer to her as Pennsylvania’s first -- and only -- female governor.
Penn dies penniless due to outstanding debts and bad business practices. He is buried in a simple grave on the grounds of the Jordans Quaker Meeting House in England.
Poor but ambitious, Franklin became the city’s (and country’s) most innovative civic engineer and politician.
Penn’s sons’ and former secretary’s deceitful ploy ends relatively peaceful relations between settlers and Indigenous peoples.
Quaker pacifists leave the Colonial government rather than administer Pennsylvania's role in the Seven Years' War.
With a population of about 23,000, it is a dense urban space, clustered mostly along the Delaware River. No longer a primarily religious colony, commerce dominates.
The Founding Fathers study Penn’s writings, notably an amendable constitution. Thomas Jefferson notes that Penn is “the greatest lawgiver the world has produced.”
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