William Penn (Quaker): Difference between revisions
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'''William Penn''' (1644-1718), the son of Sir William Penn, was a prominent English [[Quaker]], prolific writer, and the founder of Pennsylvania. | |||
== Life == | |||
William Penn was born 14 October 1644, the son of [[William Penn (Admiral)|William Penn]], at that time a captain in the parliamentary navy, and Margaret Penn, who was half-Irish, half-Dutch. His father, who rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral, was given an estate in [[Munster]], and William was brought up partly in [[Essex]] and partly in [[Ireland]]. In 1660 he went up to Christ Church College, Oxford. There he was fined for nonconformity, and, in 1662, expelled. His father then sent him on a continental tour and afterwards to study law at [[Lincoln's Inn]], before arranging him to have a government post at Kinsale, where he could live on Sir William's new estate at Shangarry. While in Ireland he again met the Quaker preacher Thomas Loe, whom he had encountered twice before (once as a child) and he started to attend Quaker meetings. This led to a temporary break with his father, who recalled him to London. His mother privately supported him.<ref>Graham, J W. William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania. The Swarthmore Press. 1917 chs 1 - 2</ref> | |||
In 1668 he began as a Quaker minister and produced the first of 58 publications. Controversy and persecution followed. The legal proceedings in which Penn became involved indirectly produced one of the major developments of English law. In 1670 he and William Mead were charged with riot for speaking in the street, Gracechurch Street Meeting House (in London) having been closed under the Second Conventicle Act. The jury refused to convict and were fined. The judges of the Court of Common Pleas held that a jury could not be punished for its verdict.<ref>Braithwaite, W C. The Second Period of Quakerism. Cambridge University Press. 2nd edition prepared by H J Cadbury 1961, pp 66-73</ref> | |||
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Revision as of 13:18, 23 January 2013
William Penn (1644-1718), the son of Sir William Penn, was a prominent English Quaker, prolific writer, and the founder of Pennsylvania.
Life
William Penn was born 14 October 1644, the son of William Penn, at that time a captain in the parliamentary navy, and Margaret Penn, who was half-Irish, half-Dutch. His father, who rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral, was given an estate in Munster, and William was brought up partly in Essex and partly in Ireland. In 1660 he went up to Christ Church College, Oxford. There he was fined for nonconformity, and, in 1662, expelled. His father then sent him on a continental tour and afterwards to study law at Lincoln's Inn, before arranging him to have a government post at Kinsale, where he could live on Sir William's new estate at Shangarry. While in Ireland he again met the Quaker preacher Thomas Loe, whom he had encountered twice before (once as a child) and he started to attend Quaker meetings. This led to a temporary break with his father, who recalled him to London. His mother privately supported him.[1]
In 1668 he began as a Quaker minister and produced the first of 58 publications. Controversy and persecution followed. The legal proceedings in which Penn became involved indirectly produced one of the major developments of English law. In 1670 he and William Mead were charged with riot for speaking in the street, Gracechurch Street Meeting House (in London) having been closed under the Second Conventicle Act. The jury refused to convict and were fined. The judges of the Court of Common Pleas held that a jury could not be punished for its verdict.[2]