William Penn (redirected from Billy Penn)

Penn, William 

Born Oct. 14, 1644, in London; died July 30, 1718, in Ruscombe, Berkshire. English political figure.

Penn was a Quaker. In 1681 he received a charter from King Charles II granting the right of feudal possession of a sizable territory in North America. Here he founded a colony later known as Pennsylvania. An assembly of colonists helped administer the colony, in which religious tolerance was proclaimed. After 1684, Penn lived chiefly in England.