photo:
wikipedia.org
Founded and
developed by William Penn in 1682 as a colony based on
freedom and religious tolerance, Philadelphia is one of
America's most historic cities. Its name means "brotherly
love" in Greek. As the former capital of the United
States, Philadelphia was the site of the signing of the
1776 Declaration of Independence and birthplace of the
4th of July at Independence Hall. It was also the site
of the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. A year earlier,
the United States Marine Corps was founded in Philadelphia.
Much of Philadelphia was developed and inspired by Benjamin
Franklin. Not only did he start the first library in America
in Philadelphia, but he also discovered that lightning
was actually electricity during his famous kite experiment.
In addition, he founded the American Philosophical Society
and the University of Pennsylvania. Today, Philadelphia
is the largest city in Pennsylvania, and the sixth largest
in the nation. It is home to many major corporations as
well as the main operations center for the U.S. Mint -
the division of the government that manufactures coins.
