Penn, William 1644-1718
English Quaker reformer and colonialist, founder of Pennsylvania

He was born in London, the son of Admiral Sir William Penn (1621-70). He was sent down from Christ Church, Oxford, for refusing to conform to the restored Anglican Church, and his father sent him to the Continent, in the hope that the gaiety of French life would change him. He returned a polished man of the world, having served briefly in the Second Dutch War (1665-67). He studied law at Lincoln's Inn for a year, and in 1666 his father dispatched him to look after his estates in Cork. There he attended Quaker meetings, was imprisoned, and returned to England a convinced Quaker. In 1668 he was sent to the Tower for writing Sandy Foundation Shaken, which attacked the ordinary doctrines of the Trinity. While in prison he wrote the most popular of his books, No Cross, No Crown, and Innocency with her Open Face, which contributed to his liberation, obtained with the intervention of his father's friend, the Duke of York (the future James VII and II). In 1670 he was again imprisoned for preaching and in 1671 he was sent to Newgate Prison for six months. He took advantage of the Indulgence for making preaching tours, championing religious tolerance, and visited the Netherlands and Germany for the advancement of Quakerism. Meanwhile, as one of the Quaker trustees of the American province of West Jersey, he had drawn up the settlers' celebrated 'Concessions and Agreements' charter. In 1681 he obtained a grant of territory in North America, called 'Pensilvania' in honour of his father, intending to establish a home for his co-religionists. He sailed with his emigrants for the Delaware in 1682. In November he held his famous interview with the Native Americans on the site of Philadelphia. He planned the city, and for two years governed the colony wisely and tolerantly, within the restrictions of Puritanism. He returned to England (1684-99) to help his persecuted Quaker brethren. His influence with James VII and II and his belief in his good intentions were curiously strong and through his exertions, in 1686 all persons imprisoned on account of their religious opinions (including 1,200 Quakers) were released. After the accession of William III, Penn was accused of treasonable adherence to the deposed king, but was acquitted in 1693. In 1699 he returned to Pennsylvania, where his constitution had proved unworkable, and had to be much altered. He did something to mitigate the evils of slavery, but held black slaves himself. He departed for England in 1701. His last years were embittered by legal disputes and he spent nine months in the Fleet Street debtors' prison (1708). He was twice married, and wrote over 40 works and pamphlets.

Bibliography: Catherine O Peare, William Penn: A Biography (1957)