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William Penn
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Engraved portrait of William Penn wearing a dark coat, white cravat, and wide-brimmed hat, with shoulder-length curly hair. Land granted to William Penn and his daughter Jean Leon Gerome Ferris: The Landing of William Penn Painting by Benjamin West depicting William Penn standing and shaking hands with a group of Native Americans as settlers and Indigenous people gather around during Penn's treaty in Pennsylvania.
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Engraved portrait of William Penn wearing a dark coat, white cravat, and wide-brimmed hat, with shoulder-length curly hair.
William Penn English Quaker leader William Penn.

William Penn

English religious leader
Written by
Frederick B. Tolles
Howard M. Jenkins Professor of Quaker History and Research, 1954–70; Director, Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, 1941–70. Author of The Witness of William Penn and others.
Frederick B. Tolles
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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William Penn (born October 14, 1644, London, England—died July 30, 1718, Buckinghamshire) was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe. William was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn. He acquired the foundations of a classical education at the Chigwell grammar school in the Essex countryside, where he came under Puritan influences....

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