Philadelphia (city, Pennsylvania) is the largest city of Pennsylvania and the fifth largest city in the United States, coextensive with Philadelphia County. Philadelphia is situated in the southeastern corner of the state, at the junction of the Delaware River and Schuylkill River. A leading port, the city lies about 160 km (about 100 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean and is located about halfway between New York City and Washington, D.C. The birthplace of the nation-both the Declaration of Independence and also the Constitution of the United States were drafted here-Philadelphia has been a major commercial, industrial, and cultural center of the United States throughout its history.
The Delaware people actually inhabited the current site of Philadelphia. It was later settled by Swedes as early as the 1640s. In 1681 the land was granted by Charles II of England to William Penn, a popular Quaker. Desiring to found a colony where religious freedom would be guaranteed, Penn arrived on the site in 1682 and with his surveyor general, Thomas Holme, helped plan the city he named Philadelphia (Greek for "brotherly love"). The city had been laid out on a systematic plan stretching amongst the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It consisted of a 22-by-8 block grid pattern including four public squares (today parks) that defined each of the city's sectors, along with a central square (currently the site of City Hall). In 1683 the city was made the capital of the newly created colony of Pennsylvania, a position it held until 1799. The settlement prospered from the time of its foundation. Almost all early settlers were Quakers, or Friends, however as the city developed into a successful center of colonial trade and crafts, increasing numbers of German, Dutch, Scottish, and Irish immigrants arrived. The community was incorporated as a city around 1701, and through 1720 it obtained about 10,000 inhabitants.
In 1729 Benjamin Franklin, who had transferred to Philadelphia from Boston six years earlier, started out publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin subsequently played a vital role in the intellectual life of the city, helping to transform it into the cultural center of the British colonies in America. He was influential in founding here the colonies' first free library, hospital, as well as learned society. During this time period the city also became a foremost commercial and industrial center.
As the most populated community in the British colonies, Philadelphia thought prominently in the events leading to the American Revolution (1775-1783). The Continental Congress met in the city from 1774 to 1776, and the Declaration of Independence was signed there during 1776. Important battles, including the Battle of the Brandywine and also the Battle of Germantown (both in 1777), have been fought close to Philadelphia. After the war the Constitution of the United States was drafted through 1787, and the city served as the national capital from 1790 to 1800. The first official U.S. census in 1790 counted a total of 28,552 residents. Commerce and industry, notably the production of iron and textiles, grew rapidly, and in 1854 the city restricts were extended to the county boundaries and also a number of surrounding settlements were annexed. By 1860 the city obtained over half a million inhabitants. Philadelphia was an early center of the abolitionist movement, and throughout the American Civil War (1861-1865) it was a leading industrial supplier for the Union. Following the war the city's economy continued to grow at an accelerated pace, luring emigrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, along with other European countries. In 1876 Philadelphia hosted the centenary of American independence, the very first international fair held in the United States.
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