William Penn

1644-1718. William Penn was born into a well-to-do Anglican family but became a Quaker at 22. In 1677, prominent Quakers were given the province of West New Jersey, and in 1681, after Penn's father's death, King Charles II granted Penn a large area west and south of New Jersey, which Penn called Sylvania and Charles renamed Pennsylvania. The charter of liberties Penn constructed for these two provinces contained many of the founding principles later drafted into the US Constitution. Learn more about William Penn at Wikipedia.