Jan 25, 2005 — Before 1600: When first discovered by Europeans, Pennsylvania is inhabited by American Indians, people of Mongoloid ancestry unaware of European culture. Some American Indians formed confederacies such as the League of the Five Nations, which was made up of certain New York-Pennsylvania groups of Iroquoian speech. York County's Susquehannocks were part of this confederacy.

1644: William Penn is born in London, the son of Admiral Sir William Penn. Despite a high social position and an excellent education, he shocks his upper-class associates by his conversion to the beliefs of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, then a persecuted sect.

1675: Quakers hold their first meeting at Upland (now Chester) and come to Pennsylvania in great numbers after William Penn received a charter for the colony six years later.

1681: The king of England signs the Charter of Pennsylvania on March 4. The king named the new colony, which means Penn's Woods, in honor of William Penn's father.

1682: William Penn arrives in Pennsylvania on the ship Welcome. He visits Philadelphia, just laid out as the capital city, creates the three original counties of Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks, and summons a General Assembly to Chester.


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