Penn, William
英國貴格會領導人、賓夕法尼亞州創立人。他因自己的新教信仰而被驅逐出牛津大學，被派到愛爾蘭管理家族產業，1667年在那裏加入了公誼會。他曾因出書、小冊子以及公開支持貴格會教義而四次遭囚禁，其中一次監禁成為「布歇爾案」的先例，建立了獨立的司法制度。在《良心自由的大問題》（1670）一書中，他支持宗教上的寬容並設想了一個建立在宗教和政治自由基礎上的殖民地。在其父去世後，他繼承了父親的遺產，並影響查理二世，查理二世賜予他德拉瓦河旁一大片土地以抵償他父親的債務。他在1682年到達賓夕法尼亞州，起草了一個政府草案，建立了信仰自由，規畫了費城城市藍圖，並同印第安人建立和平關係。1684年返回英國針對近鄰馬里蘭提出的要求而扞衞其利益。在他的朋友約克公爵詹姆斯二世繼承王位後，他釋放了所有被關押的貴格會教徒並發表「信教自由聲明」（1687），對宗教採取寬容政策。彭威廉後來返回賓夕法尼亞州（1699～1701），寫了「權利憲章」，批准議會更大的自治權。之後又返回英國，後來碰上經濟困難。
1644～1718年
Penn, William
English Quaker leader and founder of Pennsylvania. Expelled from Oxford for his Puritan beliefs, he was sent to manage the family estates in Ireland, where he joined the Society of Friends in 1667. He was imprisoned four times for publishing books and pamphlets and speaking in support of Quaker doctrines; one of his trials resulted in the precedent-setting Bushell's Case, which established the independence of juries. In The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience (1670) Penn advocated religious toleration and envisioned a colony based on religious and political freedom. On his father's death, he inherited his estates and influence with Charles II, who granted him a vast province on the Delaware River in payment for debts owed his father. He arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682. He drafted a Frame of Government that established freedom of worship, laid out the city of Philadelphia, and established peaceful relations with the Indians. In 1684 he returned to England to defend his interests against claims by neighboring Maryland. With the accession of his friend the duke of York as James II, he effected the release of imprisoned Quakers and the Declaration of Indulgence (1687), which permitted religious toleration. He returned to Pennsylvania (1699-1701) and wrote the Charter of Privileges, which allowed the assembly greater autonomy. He returned to England, where he later faced financial problems.
