Pennsylvania (PA).

• Region: Northeast
• Population: 12,972,008 (ranked 5th) (2022 estimate)
• Capital: Harrisburg (pop. 50,183) (2022 estimate)
• Largest city: Philadelphia (pop. 1,567,258) (2022 estimate)
• Number of counties: 67
• State nickname: Keystone State
• State motto: Virtue, Liberty, and Independence
• State flag: Blue field with state coat of arms

One of the original thirteen colonies, Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 as a refuge for persecuted Quakers, and became the second state to enter the Union on December 1, 1787. The state played an important role in the early history of the United States, and is therefore home to a number of significant historic sites. Both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed in Philadelphia, a city that is often referred to as “the birthplace of the United States.” Today, Pennsylvania is an important manufacturing and industrial center, and although it is among the smallest states, it ranked fifth in population as of 2022. One of the four states officially known as a “commonwealth,” Pennsylvania is located in the Middle Atlantic region, and is bordered by New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and Lake Erie.

State Name: The name Pennsylvania, which is Latin for “Penn’s Woodland,” was coined by King Charles II of England in honor of Admiral William Penn, the father of the colony’s founder, William Penn. The state’s official nickname, the “Keystone State,” refers to its central location in the midst of the original thirteen American colonies. Pennsylvania is also referred to as the “Quaker State,” because Penn and the original settlers of the colony were Quakers in search of a land free of religious persecution.

Capital: Before Harrisburg became the state capital in 1812, Chester, Lancaster, and Philadelphia all served as Pennsylvania’s capital at various times. Located in Dauphin County in the south-central part of the state, on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, Harrisburg was originally founded by an Englishman named John Harris, who operated a trading post and ferry service on the site and commenced settlement of the area as early as 1717. Today, the city’s economy revolves around service activities, including those of the state and local government, in addition to various real estate, financing, meatpacking, and manufacturing businesses.

Flag: The Pennsylvania state flag was adopted in 1907, and features the state coat of arms flanked by two horses on a blue field. The coat of arms, also used as the state seal, depicts sheaves of wheat, a plow, and a sailing ship, with an olive branch to the right and a corn stalk to the left of the shield. An eagle perches at the crest of the shield, and the state motto, “Virtue, Liberty, and Independence,” appears on the flag beneath the entire image.

Official Symbols

• Flower: Mountain laurel
• Bird: Ruffed grouse
• Tree: Eastern hemlock
• Animal: White-tailed deer
• Fish: Brook trout
• Song: “Pennsylvania” by Ronnie Bonner and Eddie Khoury

State and National Historic Sites

• Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (Gallitzin)
• Brandywine Battlefield Park (Chadds Ford)
• Daniel Boone Homestead (Birdsboro)
• Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site (Philadelphia)
• Eisenhower National Historic Site (Gettysburg)
• Ephrata Cloister (Ephrata)
• Fort Necessity National Battlefield (Farmington)
• Friendship Hill National Historic Site (Point Marion)
• Gettysburg National Military Park (Gettysburg)
• Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (Elverson)
• Independence National Historic Park (Philadelphia)
• Steamtown National Historic Site (Scranton)
• Valley Forge National Historic Park (Valley Forge)
• Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (along the Delaware River)

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Population: 12,972,008 (ranked 5th) (2022 estimate)
• Population density: 290.6/sq mi (2020 estimate)
• Urban population: 76.5% (2020 estimate)
• Rural population: 23.5% (2020 estimate)
• Population under 18: 20.2% (2022 estimate)
• Population over 65: 19.6% (2022 estimate)
• White alone: 80.8% (2022 estimate)
• Black or African American alone: 12.2% (2022 estimate)
• Hispanic or Latino: 8.6% (2022 estimate)
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 0.4% (2022 estimate)
• Asian alone: 4.1% (2022 estimate)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1% (2022 estimate)
• Two or More Races: 2.4% (2022 estimate)
• Per capita income: $37,725 (ranked 19th; 2021)
• Unemployment: 4.4% (2022 annual average)

American Indians: When Europeans first arrived in the Pennsylvania area in the seventeenth century, there were approximately fifteen thousand American Indians living in the region. Historically, two major language groups—the Algonquian and Iroquoian—have been represented in the state, including the Conoy, Nanticoke, Shawnee, Delaware (also know as Lenni-Lenape), and Susquehannock peoples. As in other parts of the country, American Indian groups were killed, dislocated, or otherwise disrupted as White settlement spread throughout the state.

ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY

• Total area: 46,054 sq mi (ranked 33rd)
• Land area: 44,743 sq mi (97.2% of total area)
• Water area: 1,312 sq mi (2.8% of total area)
• National parks: 19
• Highest point: Mount Davis (3,213 feet)
• Lowest point: Delaware River (sea level)
• Highest temperature: 111° F (Phoenixville, July 9–10, 1936)
• Lowest temperature: –42° F (Smethport, January 5, 1904)

Topography: Pennsylvania’s landforms began taking shape 500 million years ago, when sediments were deposited in the basin of a large lake that stretched from present-day New York to Alabama, resulting in the formation of sandstone, limestone, and shale, and laying the foundation for Pennsylvania’s coal deposits. About 250 million years later, the roots of the Appalachian Mountains were formed by shifting tectonic plates, and the mountains were subsequently shaped by erosion and volcanic activity. These same features dominate the landscape of Pennsylvania today.

The Delaware River and Lake Erie form natural boundaries on opposite sides of Pennsylvania, and the state’s varied landscape can be divided into several distinct land regions from the southeast to the northwest. The Atlantic Coastal Plain refers to the flat land on the banks of the Delaware River, and is principally occupied by the city of Philadelphia. The Piedmont is a hilly region stretching approximately one hundred miles west of the plain, and is dominated by the fertile farmland of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

The Blue Ridge region, also known as South Mountain, smaller mountains, is an extension of the New England Upland. This region of smaller mountains gradually climbs into the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, which is home to the Blue, Bald Eagle, and Tuscarora Mountains of the Appalachian Mountain system. The Susquehanna River divides the region’s Great Valley into two parts. More than half of Pennsylvania’s area is covered by the Appalachian Plateau, which features the Pocono and Allegheny Mountains, as well as the state’s highest point, Mount Davis. This region, in the western and northern parts of the state, has an average elevation of between 1,200 and 2,000 feet. The plateau slopes downward into a flat, narrow strip along the shores of Lake Erie, in the state’s northwestern corner, known as the Great Lakes Plain.

Major Lakes

• Allegheny Reservoir
• Conemaugh River Lake
• East Branch Clarion River Lake
• Lake Erie
• Lake Wallenpaupack
• Pymatuning Reservoir
• Raystown Lake
• Shenango Reservoir
• Tionesta Lake
• Youghiogheny River Lake

Major Rivers

• Allegheny River
• Beaver River
• Clarion River
• Conemaugh River
• Delaware River
• Juniata River
• Lackawanna River
• Lackawaxen River
• Lehigh River
• Monongahela River
• Ohio River
• Schuykill River
• Susquehanna River
• Youghiogheny River

State and National Parks: There are more than 120 state parks and over 2 million acres of state and national forests in Pennsylvania. One of the largest is Allegheny National Forest, located in Warren in the northwestern part of the state. It covers more than 510,000 acres, and includes a wide variety of animal and plant life, as well as a range of recreational facilities and the 87-mile-long North Country National Scenic Trail. Other large state parks and forests include Susquehannock State Forest in Coudersport, Elk State Forest in Emporium, Bald Eagle State Forest in Laurelton, Pymatuning State Park in Crawford County, and White Clay Creek Preserve in Chester County. Pennsylvania also has a vast network of hiking, bicycle, snowmobile, and ski trails, totaling almost thirteen thousand miles in length.

Natural Resources: Once the top mineral-producing state in the country, Pennsylvania remains among the top ten mineral suppliers today. It is one of the top coal-producing states, and mines in the eastern part of the state are the sole US suppliers of anthracite, or hard coal. Western Pennsylvania mines also produce a large amount of bituminous coal, used in generating electric power. Other common mined resources, found mainly in the southeastern part of the state, include limestone, sandstone, shale, clays, mica, tripoli (a type of silica), as well as iron ore, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, and other metallic minerals. Gold and silver are also found in small amounts.

Deposits of natural gas and petroleum have been found in the Appalachian Plateau region of the state. In addition, Pennsylvania’s lumber industry has grown as the state’s second- and third-growth forests reach maturity. The state produces mostly hardwood timber, which is used primarily in furniture making.

Plants and Animals: In 2021 forests covered 57 percent of Pennsylvania, which was once almost entirely wooded. Wooded areas in the northern part of the state are comprised mostly of maple, hemlock, beech, and white pine trees. Common hard- and softwood trees found in the southern forests include hickory, cherry, white and chestnut oak, poplar, ash, birch, sycamore, and black walnut. Several varieties of ferns cover the forest floor, along with flowering shrubs such as mountain laurel, rhododendron, and azalea. Berries and wildflowers, including black-eyed Susan, violet, and honeysuckle, are found in the countryside.

Although the black bear population in Pennsylvania’s north and west mountain regions has declined in recent years, the bears remain popular game animals, along with deer, which are plentiful in wooded areas. Smaller animals are found in large numbers throughout Pennsylvania, and the populations of beaver, otter, fox, raccoon, opossum, skunk, rabbit, squirrel, and woodchuck have remained virtually unchanged for decades. Ducks, wild turkeys, geese, quail, pheasant, and other small game birds are abundant, and attract thousands of hunters to the state each year. Rivers, streams, and ponds are home to a wide variety of fish, including trout, salmon, bass, pickerel, and walleyed pike, many of which are stocked by state and federal wildlife agencies.

Climate: Pennsylvania has a continental climate, with prevailing winds coming from the west, despite its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. As is typical of the Middle Atlantic region, Pennsylvania usually enjoys warm summers, cold winters, and sufficient precipitation year-round. Temperatures are cooler in Erie, in the northwestern part of the state.

Average annual precipitation, including rain, melted snow, and other forms of moisture, varies and typically includes enough rainfall to sustain typical temperate zone crops. Snowfall averages are lower in the southeast and highest in the northwest. Because of climate change, heavy rains are falling more often. Summer thunderstorms are common. Tropical storms and hurricanes also sometimes hit in summer.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Major Colleges and Universities

• Allegheny College (Meadville)
• Arcadia University (Glenside)
• Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr)
• Bucknell University (Lewisburg)
• Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh)
• Drexel University (Philadelphia)
• Duquesne University (Pittsburgh)
• Eastern University (St. Davids)
• Gannon University (Erie)
• Haverford College (Haverford)
• La Salle University (Philadelphia)
• Lehigh University (Bethlehem)
• Lincoln University (Lincoln University)
• Marywood University (Scranton)
• Pennsylvania State University (University Park)
• St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia)
• Susquehanna University (Selinsgrove)
• Swarthmore College (Swarthmore)
• Temple University (Philadelphia)
• Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia)
• University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
• University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
• University of Scranton (Scranton)
• Ursinus College (Collegeville)
• Villanova University (Villanova)
• Westminster College (New Wilmington)

Major Museums

• Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Philadelphia)
• Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh)
• Carnegie Museums (Pittsburgh)
• Drake Well Museum (Titusville)
• Franklin Institute (Philadelphia)
• Landis Valley Museum (Lancaster)
• Mercer Museum of the Bucks County Historical Society (Doylestown)
• Museum of Anthracite Mining (Ashland)
• Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia)
• State Museum of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg)
• Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia)
• Rodin Museum (Philadelphia)

Major Libraries

• American Philosophical Society Library (Philadelphia)
• The Athenaeum of Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library (Pittsburgh)
• Free Library of Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
• Library Company of Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
• State Library of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg)
• Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)

Media

Pennsylvania’s largest papers include the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Philadelphia Tribune, whose circulation is one of the widest of any Black American newspaper in the United States. The American Weekly Mercury, the fourth newspaper published in the American colonies, and the first to be published in Pennsylvania, was established in 1719, and was followed nine years later by the Pennsylvania Gazette. In addition to newspapers, hundreds of periodicals are published in the state. The first American magazine, The American Magazine, or A Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies, was published in Philadelphia in 1741.

The state’s first radio station, KDKA, began broadcasting out of Pittsburgh on November 2, 1920. It was one of the first commercial radio stations in the world, and the first to broadcast on a daily schedule. By 2023, Pennsylvania was home to hundreds of licensed commercial and public radio stations and about three dozen licensed television stations, including pioneering educational broadcaster WQED. The state’s first television station, Philadelphia’s KYW-TV, began operation in 1941.

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Gross domestic product (in millions $USD): 923,088.8 (ranked 6th) (2022)
• GDP percent change: 2.1%

Major Industries: Historically known for its steel production, Pennsylvania’s economy has benefited in the twenty-first century from the health-care, education, technology, and financial services industries. The largest single industry in Pennsylvania’s economy in 2022 was finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, which accounted for 17.7 percent of the state’s GDP. The second largest industry was professional and business services, which accounted for 13.7 percent of the GDP.

With manufacturing centers in Pittsburgh, known for its steel and iron mills, and in the port city of Philadelphia, which is also an important cultural and commercial center, Pennsylvania remains one of the country’s leading manufacturing states, despite declines in the steel industry since the 1970s due to rising costs and increasing foreign competition. Other goods manufactured in Pennsylvania include chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, and computers and electronics.

With heavy industry losing some of its economic importance, service industries now account for the largest portion of Pennsylvania’s economy. Service activities including the government, wholesale and retail trade, food service, health care, business and finance, and education are the state’s largest employment sectors. Many aspects of Pennsylvania’s service industries are related to the state’s tourism business.

Since the construction of the country’s first mechanized flour mills in the Brandywine valley in the late 1700s, food processing has been an important part of Pennsylvania’s economy. Today, the volume of dairy farming conducted in the state has led to an increase in the production of dairy products. At the center of this business is the world famous Hershey Foods Corporation, whose North American chocolate manufacturing operation was established in the town of Hershey in 1905.

Tourism: One of the state’s key industries, tourism-related business provides many jobs for Pennsylvania’s workforce. Philadelphia’s status as one of America’s first cities makes it a popular tourist destination. The city offers such attractions as the US Mint and Independence National Park, which is home to the Liberty Bell and other historical objects. Another heavily-visited area is Lancaster County, which offers a glimpse of rustic Pennsylvania Dutch culture as preserved by the region’s Amish and Mennonite communities. Resort areas in the Pocono Mountains and along Lake Erie attract vacationing families looking for outdoor recreation year-round.

Energy Production: Pennsylvania is a leading East Coast supplier of coal, nuclear power, and petroleum products in the United States. In 2022 Pennsylvania was the second-largest producer of natural gas in the United States. The state is among the top ten consumers of coal, natural gas, electricity, and petroleum products. The state contains some of the most productive underground coal mines east of the Mississippi River, and over 20 percent of the coal mined in the state is exported to other nations. At the same time, as coal-fired plants and demand for coal-powered electricity decreased overall, the state’s coal production had begun to decline by 2023.

There are five nuclear power plants in operation at four sites throughout Pennsylvania, making it one of the top nuclear energy producing states in the country. However, the worst nuclear disaster in US history occurred near Harrisburg in 1979, when the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor experienced a partial meltdown. The accident released a substantial amount of radioactive material into the atmosphere, causing the evacuation of more than 100,000 people. Although the meltdown was eventually contained, and the station's other unit continued to operate until 2019, the incident spurred the debate over the safety of nuclear power and resulted in the decommissioning of many nuclear facilities and slowed the development of new nuclear power plants in the US.

Agriculture: Although agriculture was once the driving force behind Pennsylvania’s economy, farmland accounts for less than a quarter of the state’s land area in the twenty-first century. Despite those potential shortcomings, improvements in farming technology have actually lead to an increase in farm production.

Pennsylvania boasts some of the most fertile soil in the world, particularly in Lancaster County and the Piedmont region. Its farms were so productive during the late 1600s that Pennsylvania was often called “the breadbasket of America,” but today the state’s farmers devote their resources to specialized agriculture. Pennsylvania is one of the top among US states in the production of dairy products and eggs.

Hay is the most significant crop grown in Pennsylvania and is used as feed for animals. The state is an important supplier of corn, soybeans, apples, tobacco, and grains, such as winter wheat, oats, barley, and rye. Other high-volume fruit crops include peaches and pumpkins. In addition, about half of the mushrooms produced in the US come from Pennsylvania.

Airports: Pennsylvania is served by two international air hubs: Philadelphia International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport. Smaller airports, which provide regional and some international service, are located in Erie, Harrisburg, State College, and elsewhere.

Seaports: Oceangoing vessels reach Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s busiest port, by traveling up the Delaware River. The inland port of Pittsburgh is accessible via the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. Another of the region’s busy ports is located on Lake Erie, which may be reached by the St. Lawrence seaway.

GOVERNMENT

• Governor: Josh Shapiro (Democrat)
• Present constitution date: 1968
• Electoral votes: 19
• Number of counties: 67
• Violent crime rate: 389.5 (per 100,000 residents) (2020 estimate)
• Death penalty: Yes

Constitution: Pennsylvania’s current constitution was adopted in 1968, significantly modernizing the state government and replacing the previous 1874 version. Earlier constitutions had been adopted in 1776, 1790, and 1838.

Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of both houses of the state legislature, and approved again by the next legislature. The amendment is then voted on in a general election. Amendments may also be proposed by a constitutional convention, which must be approved by the legislature as well as the state’s voters.

Branches of Government

Executive: The state’s governor is elected to a four-year term, and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor general, and state treasurer are all elected by popular vote. The governor appoints the secretary of state and other state-level officials with the approval of the legislature, and has the power to fill vacancies when the assembly is not in session. All of these executive branch officials serve for four years, and may serve an unlimited number of terms, as long as no more than two are consecutive.

Legislative: Pennsylvania’s bicameral legislature, also called the General Assembly, consists of a 50-seat Senate and a 203-seat House of Representatives. State Senators are elected to four-year terms, while Representatives serve for two years. The governor has the power to call special sessions of the legislature; otherwise, both houses convene on the first Tuesday in January. The legislature is required by law to be reapportioned after each US census, in order to ensure equal representation based on population distribution.

Judicial: The state’s highest court, the supreme court, consists of seven justices, and the member with the most seniority also serves as chief justice. Justices are elected to ten-year terms, and may be reelected at the end of each term.

The superior court, with fifteen judges, and the commonwealth court, with nine, act as the state’s intermediate appellate courts. Judges are elected to ten-year terms. Trial courts and other minor courts are divided into sixty districts.

HISTORY

1608 Virginia captain John Smith visits the Susquehannock peoples on his voyage up the Susquehanna River.

1609Henry Hudson, an English sailor working for the Dutch, sails into present-day Delaware Bay aboard the “Half Moon.”

1610 Virginia Captain Samuel Argall names Delaware Bay in honor of the governor of Virginia, Lord de la Warr.

1616 Following fellow Dutch explorer Cornelius Mey, Cornelius Hendricksen sails up the Delaware River to the site of what is now known as Philadelphia.

1638 Settlers of the New Sweden Company build a fort at present-day Wilmington, Delaware, near Philadelphia. It is the first European settlement in the Delaware Valley.

1643 The capital of New Sweden is established at Tinicum Island, in present-day Pennsylvania. Governor Printz State Park was named in honor of the first governor of New Sweden.

1655 New Sweden is absorbed by Governor Peter Stuyvesant’s New Netherlands colony.

1664 The English wrest control of the Pennsylvania region from the Dutch, seizing Dutch possessions in the name of the Duke of York (later King James II), younger brother of Charles II.

1676 The “Duke of York’s Laws” are imposed upon Pennsylvania, introducing English-style law and government to the region. Many modern state laws are descended from these original colonial laws.

1681 King Charles II grants William Penn the Charter of Pennsylvania, as payment of a debt owed Penn’s father by the king. Penn’s cousin, William Markham, is appointed deputy governor and sent to take control of the territory.

1682 Penn founds his new colony as a “holy experiment,” advertising cheap land and religious freedom. Colonists flock to Pennsylvania, and its population swells to thirty thousand by 1700.

1688 James II is overthrown and Penn, due to his friendship with the deposed monarch, is accused of treason and loses control of Pennsylvania.

1701 William Penn issues the Charter of Privileges, which serves as Pennsylvania’s constitution until 1776. Considered the most liberal of all colonial constitutions, it ensured religious freedom as well as granting other progressive-minded rights.

1716 Thomas Rutter builds Pool Bloomery Forge, the first ironworks to take advantage of Pennsylvania’s significant iron ore deposits, in present-day Pottstown.

1718 William Penn dies.

1719American Weekly Mercury, the state’s first newspaper, begins publication in Philadelphia.

1723Benjamin Franklin arrives in Philadelphia from Boston. Four years later, he founds the Junto Society, a civic association dedicated to “mutual improvement.” The organization eventually evolved into the American Philosophical Society.

1731 The Library Company of Philadelphia, the first subscription library in the American Colonies, is founded by Benjamin Franklin, et al.

1732 Benjamin Franklin prints the first issue of Poor Richard’s Almanack in Philadelphia. The almanac is published annually until 1758.

1753 The Liberty Bell is hung in the new Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall.

1754 The French and Indian War begins when French Canadians construct Fort Duquesne on British territory, near present-day Pittsburgh. The war ends in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, tightening Great Britain’s grip on the colonies.

1763 Ottawa chief Pontiac leads a rebellion against the British, citing the colonizers’ atrocities against American Indians. Dubbed Pontiac’s Rebellion, the fighting lasted until 1765, but the tribal forces were dealt a crushing defeat at the August 1763 Battle of Bushy Run in western Pennsylvania.

1774 The First Continental Congress takes place in September in Philadelphia. Comprised of delegates from the thirteen American colonies, the congress was called to protest British taxation and to prepare colonists for armed conflict in defense of their rights.

1775 The Second Continental Congress is convened in Philadelphia in May, and begins to take on the characteristics of a provisional government.

1776 On July 4, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell was rung to commemorate the occasion. The same year, Pennsylvania adopts its first state constitution.

1777 The British defeat Washington’s troops at the Battle of the Brandywine on September 11. The victory paves the way for the British army’s occupation of Philadelphia.

1780 The state legislature approves a measure to gradually emancipate every enslaved person in Pennsylvania, which was accomplished well before 1860.

1787 The Constitutional Convention takes place in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is the second state to ratify the US Constitution, on December 1.

1792 The northwest “Erie triangle” is added to Pennsylvania’s borders, expanding the state’s area to its present-day boundaries.

1794 Pennsylvania farmers protest federal taxes on whiskey in the Whiskey Rebellion. The uprising was suppressed by fifteen thousand militiamen.

1812 Harrisburg becomes the capital of Pennsylvania.

1813 On September 10, US naval forces defeat a squadron of British ships in the Battle of Lake Erie, an important engagement in the War of 1812.

1854 The Ashmun Institute, renamed Lincoln University in 1866, opens in Chester County. It is the first US school chartered exclusively for the education of Black American students.

1856 The Republican Party holds its first national convention in Philadelphia, nominating John C. Fremont to run against Democrat James Buchanan.

1857 Mercersburg native James Buchanan becomes the fifteenth president of the United States.

1861–65 More than 350,000 Pennsylvanians, including more than 8,000 Black American volunteers, serve in the Union Army during the Civil War.

1863 The largest battle ever fought in the United States, and one of the most important engagements of the Civil War, is fought at Gettysburg on July 1–3. Union and Confederate forces lose approximately twenty thousand men each in the Battle of Gettysburg. In November, President Lincoln dedicates a national cemetery at the site, and delivers his Gettysburg Address.

1864 Confederate forces invade Pennsylvania in July, and set fire to the town of Chambersburg.

1868 A group of Irish American coal miners, known as the Molly Maguires, mount a resistance campaign against mine owners and police in Pennsylvania’s anthracite region, in an effort to improve working conditions. The group organizes the Workingmen’s Benevolent Association, which gives rise to the United Mine Workers union.

1877 During the Great Railroad Strike in response to the collapse of the US railroad industry, riots break out in Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania cities when soldiers are brought in to break up striking workers.

1889 More than one thousand people are killed in the Johnstown Flood in southwestern Pennsylvania.

1901 The United States Steel Corporation, built around the Pennsylvania-based Carnegie Steel Company, is founded. It is the United States’ first billion-dollar corporation.

1905 The Hershey Chocolate plant opens in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

1941–45 During World War II, one of every seven soldiers enlisted in the US military is a Pennsylvania resident. In all, the state contributes approximately 1.25 million people to the war effort.

1940 The Pennsylvania Turnpike opens. The first four-lane highway in the United States, it is the forerunner to the country’s modern interstate system.

1957 The Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the first electricity-generating nuclear-powered facility in the United States, opens near Pittsburgh.

1964 The Pennsylvania Commission for Women is created to ensure equal opportunity for the women in the state. That summer, race riots erupt in north-central Philadelphia after incidents of escalating violence surrounding civil rights demonstrations.

1967 The state holds its first constitutional convention since 1873. The revised state constitution, adopted the following year, features several civil rights amendments.

1971 The new state constitution is amended by popular vote to include provisions for equal rights regardless of gender.

1972 Hurricane Agnes kills fifty-five people and causes more than $2 billion in damage, mostly in Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre.

1979 The nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island malfunctions, resulting in the worst nuclear accident in US history. The $1 billion cleanup effort begins in 1981, and residents of the surrounding area suffer radiation-related health problems for decades afterward.

1984 Philadelphia elects its first Black American mayor, W. Wilson Goode.

1985 Eleven people, including five children, are killed and sixty-one Philadelphia homes are destroyed in a fire caused by the recklessness of city police, in their attempt to bomb the headquarters of radical antigovernment group MOVE.

1988 The largest inland oil spill in the history of the United States occurs in January, when one million gallons of diesel oil leak from an Ashland Oil storage tank in Floreffe into the Ohio and Monongahela Rivers.

2001 During the September 11 terrorist attacks, United Airlines Flight 93 crashes in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It is believed that terrorists intended to fly the plane into the Capitol in Washington, DC, but were thwarted by the flight’s passengers.

2010 Casino gambling is legalized in Pennsylvania.

2011 A sex-abuse scandal rocks the campus of Penn State University and results in the firings of several staff members, including the legendary coach Joe Paterno.

2014 On May 20, 2014, a US federal district court judge rules that Pennsylvania’s statutory ban on marriage between same-sex couples is unconstitutional, thus making marriage between same-sex couples legal in the state.

2018 A grand jury reveals allegations of child sexual abuse by more than three hundred Pennsylvania Catholic priests and coverups in nearly every diocese over eight decades.

Movita Johnson-Harrell becomes the first Muslim woman elected as a representative to the Pennsylvania legislature.

2019 Pennsylvania makes Juneteenth National Freedom Day a special state holiday. Juneteenth remembers the day when people in the farthest part of the South heard that the Civil War had ended and that enslaved people were free.

2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden continues to make Pennsylvania, traditionally a swing state, a key state in his campaign, including holding his final rally there before the 2020 election, which he went on to win.

2022 Democrat John Fetterman wins election to the US Senate in the state's midterm elections, one of the battles considered the most important for Democrats to maintain control of the upper legislative chamber.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Louisa May Alcott, 1832–88 (Germantown) , Author, Little Women (1868).

Marian Anderson, 1897–1993 (Philadelphia) , Contralto.

John Barrymore, 1884–1942 (Philadelphia) , Actor.

Donald Barthelme, 1931–89 (Philadelphia) , Journalist; author.

Daniel Boone, 1734–1820 (Reading) , Frontiersman.

Kobe Bryant, 1978–2020 (Philadelphia) , Basketball player.

James Buchanan, 1791–1868 (Mercersburg) , Fifteenth president of the United States.

Alexander Calder, 1898–1976 (Philadelphia) , Sculptor; painter.

Rachel Carson, 1907–64 (Springdale) , Environmentalist; marine biologist.

Mary Cassatt, 1845–1926 (Allegheny) , Impressionist painter.

Bill Cosby, 1937– (Philadelphia) , Comedian; actor.

W. C. (William Claude) Fields, 1879–1946 (Philadelphia) , Entertainer; comedian; actor.

Alexander M. Haig, 1925–2010 (Philadelphia) , US Army general; politician.

Lee Iacocca, 1924–2019 (Allentown) , Automobile executive; chairman of the Chrysler Corporation.

Reggie Jackson, 1946– (Wyncote) , Baseball player.

Robinson Jeffers, 1887–1962 (Pittsburgh) , Poet.

Gene Kelly, 1912–96 (Pittsburgh) , Dancer; actor; choreographer.

Patti LaBelle, 1944– (Philadelphia) , Singer; choreographer.

Mario Lanza, 1921–59 (Philadelphia) , Tenor.

George C. Marshall, 1880–1959 (Uniontown) , US Army administrator, US Secretary of State.

George McClellan, 1826–85 (Philadelphia) , Civil War general.

Margaret Mead, 1901–78 (Philadelphia) , Anthropologist; author, Male and Female (1949).

Andrew Mellon, 1885–1937 (Pittsburgh) , Financier; industrialist; US secretary of the treasury.

Arnold Palmer, 1929–2016 (Youngstown) , Professional golfer.

Robert E. Peary, 1856–1920 (Cresson) , Arctic explorer; US naval officer.

Man Ray, 1890–1976 (Philadelphia) , Artist; Dadaist painter.

Fred Rogers, 1928–2003 (Latrobe) , Children’s television pioneer; host of the public television show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Betsy Ross, 1752–1836 (Philadelphia) , Seamstress who reportedly sewed the first American flag.

B. F. (Burrhus Frederic) Skinner, 1904–90 (Susquehanna) , Psychologist.

Will Smith, 1968– (Philadelphia) , Actor; film producer; rapper.

Gertrude Stein, 1874–1946 (Allegheny) , Author, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933).

James Stewart, 1908–97 (Indiana) , Actor.

John Updike, 1932–2007 (Shillington) , Writer; literary critic.

Honus Wagner, 1874–1955 (Carnegie) , Baseball player, nicknamed the “Flying Dutchman.”

August Wilson, 1945–2005 (Pittsburgh), Playwright, Fences, The Piano Lesson.

William Julius Wilson, 1935– (Derry Township): Sociologist.

Andrew Wyeth, 1917–2009 (Chadds Ford) , Artist; painter.

TRIVIA

• The first US department store, the Grand Depot, opened in Philadelphia in 1876.
• The ice cream soda was invented by Robert M. Green in Philadelphia in 1874.
• The American colonies’ first magazine, The American Magazine, or a Monthly View of the British Colonies, began publication in Philadelphia in 1741.
• Fallingwater, one of the most acclaimed buildings designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was built over a waterfall during the 1930s in Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh.
• For one football season during World War II, 1943, Pennsylvania’s two NFL teams, the Steelers and the Eagles, merged to form the Steagles.
• According to state law, the penalty for catching fish with one's mouth in Pennsylvania is $100. It is also against state law to catch fish with one's bare hands.
• The Eastern hellbender salamander became Pennsylvania’s official state amphibian in 2019. It is also called a devil dog, lasagna lizard, mud devil, or snot otter.

Bibliography

“Economic Profile for Pennsylvania.” Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Dept. of Commerce, 31 Mar. 2023, apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2023.

Kennedy, John J. Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests, 1950–2004. UP of America, 2005.

“Media Bureau Filing Systems and Databases.” Federal Communications Commission, www.fcc.gov/media/filing-systems-and-databases. Accessed 31 July 2020.

Merrell, James H. Into the American Woods: Negotiations on the Pennsylvania Frontier. Norton, 1999.

“The Mineral Industry of Pennsylvania.” National Minerals Information Center, USGS, US Dept. of the Interior, www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/mineral-industry-pennsylvania. Accessed 30 Aug. 2019.

“Pennsylvania.” Quick Facts, US Census Bureau, 1 July 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/PA/PST045222. Accessed 13 Sept. 2023.

“Pennsylvania: 2020 Census.” US Census Bureau, 25 Aug. 2021, www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/pennsylvania-population-change-between-census-decade.html. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.

“Pennsylvania State Profile and Energy Estimates.” US Energy Information Administration, 17 Nov. 2022, www.eia.gov/state/?sid=PA. Accessed 13 Sept. 2023.

“2022 State Agriculture Overview: Pennsylvania.” National Agricultural Statistics Service, US Dept. of Agriculture, www.nass.usda.gov/Quick‗Stats/Ag‗Overview/stateOverview.php?state=PENNSYLVANIA. Accessed 13 Sept. 2023.

James Ryan