William Penn William Penn was born on October 14, 1644 and spent most of his life in England. He is well known for his role he played in early American history. When he was twelve years old he heard a Quaker minister speak and later sought the authentic Christian message of the Quakers, not institutional religion. At 16 he attended Oxford University and it was there he rejected
Anglicanism and he was expelled for his religious views. He was sent to a
Protestant college is France, so he could complete his studies. At 23 he became a Quaker and he wrote a track called “Sandy
Foundations Shaken” which attacked the doctrines of the trinity and for this he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and during his imprisonment he wrote his greatest masterpiece, “No Cross, No Crown”.
He wrote numbers of books throughout his life about hid Quaker faith. One of the things William Penn is best known for his being proprietor of the colony of Pennsylvania. In 1681, Penn and 11 other
Quakers brought the proprietary rights to East New Jersey. Penn’s father was owed a debt from King Charles II so Penn persuaded King Charles II to grant him a vast province on the west bank of Delaware River and named it Pennsylvania. That means Penn’s Wood, after his father. Penn set out to implement a democratic system with all types of freedoms and rights too. Thomas Jefferson called William Penn “The greatest law­giver the world has produced.” Penn wanted to design a penal system that not only punished but reformed prisoners. He wanted public education to be available for all children. He hoped that Pennsylvania would become a profitable venture for himself and his family but the colony never turned a profit for Penn and at the time of death in 1718 he died penniless.

William Penn also respected and wanted peace with the Indians. It is believed he singed a treaty in 1682