Question

From the following list, identify the Englishman who first scandalized his prominent English family by becoming a Quaker, but who later convinced the King, an old friend, to grant him land in the "New World" that would later be named for himself.

Answer 1

William Penn, son of Admiral Sir William Penn, founded the Province of Pennsylvania. He joined the Friends of Society or Quakers when he was 22 years old. The Quakers were strongly persecuted at the time so William Penn decided to travel to the New World. King Charles II of England owed the late Admiral Sir William Penn a large amount of money so as payment, William Penn asked for a tract of land in America. He was granted a large area west and south of New Jersey which he called Sylvania. King Charles II changed it to Pennsylvania in honor of the late Admiral Penn.