William Penn, English businessman and philosopher, founded the Province of Pennsylvania (born 1644)

William Penn was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religious freedom, Penn was known for his amicable relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans who had resided in present-day Pennsylvania prior to European settlements there.

The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from Latin, meaning "Penn's Woods", a reference to William Penn's father Admiral Sir William Penn.