Story Highlights
- historical event: William Penn and his wife Hannah are the founders of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, which was named after them. They were English Quakers who immigrated to America and received a large piece of land there (today’s Pennsylvania) from the King of England.
So far, only seven people in history have become honorary citizens of the United States. The first was Sir Winston Churchill. Beside him, only Mother Theresa was named one during her life, while the other five received this status after death. Those were: William Penn and his wife, Marquis de Lafayette (French fighter during the American War of Independence), Raoul Wallenberg (Swedish savior of Hungarian Jews) and Casimir Pulaski (a Pole who founded the American cavalry). William Penn and his wife Hannah are the founders of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, which was named after them. They were English Quakers who immigrated to America and received a large piece of land there (today’s Pennsylvania) from the King of England.
They founded the city of Philadelphia, which is still today the largest city in Pennsylvania. Quakers were known throughout history for their pacifism, simple dress code and opposition to alcohol. William and his wife were declared honorary citizens of the United States by President Ronald Reagan on this day in the year 1984.
