William Penn

William Penn was born on October 14, 1644 in London, England. His father was an admiral in the English navy and a wealthy landowner. He received an outstanding  education, firstly he attended the Chigwell School and later had private tutors. At the age of 16, in 1660, William attended the prestigious Oxford University. 


William Penn was the founder of Pennsylvania (Latin for Penn's Woods). He was also the leader of a Quaker religious community that all human beings were possessed by an "inner light" that allowed them to communicate directly with God. Quakers were very controversial and were disliked by the British government. However they were one of the only religious groups that allowed women to fully participate in the religious services. He became a leader of the Quaker movement at 22 to such an extent that he was arrested regularly and spent a lot of time in prison for his religious beliefs. He was only released from prison because of his famous father.

In 1667 Penn and the Quakers received a land grant from King Charles II in payment for a debt he owed to Penn's father. William Penn envisioned Pennsylvania to not only be a Quaker land, but also a free land. Penn wanted freedom for all religions and a safe place for persecuted minorities to live. He even wanted peace with the Native Americans and hoped they could live together as neighbours and friends. Penn developed a Frame of government through a democratic system with freedom of religion, fair trials and elected representatives of the people in power and a separation of powers. It is these ideas that would later form the basis of the American constitution.