The coat of arms of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic , Northeastern , Appalachian , and Great Lakes regions of the United States . It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie. Pennsylvania's most populous city is Philadelphia . The state capital is Harrisburg . Among all states, Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous with over 13 million residents as of the 2020 United States census , the ninth-highest by population density , and the 33rd-largest by land area. The largest metropolitan statistical area is the southeastern Philadelphia metropolitan area , centered on Philadelphia , the state's most populous and nation's sixth-most populous city. The second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Pittsburgh , is centered in and around Pittsburgh , the state's second-largest city.
Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn , the son of the state's namesake . Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden , a Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system , and religious pluralism . Pennsylvania played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire , hosting the First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia , the latter of which formed the Continental Army commanded by George Washington in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War , unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution .
The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in July 1863 around Gettysburg , was the deadliest battle of the American Civil War with over 50,000 Union and Confederate fatalities, and resulted in a repulsion of the Confederacy's invasion of the North. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, the state's steel production and manufacturing-based economy contributed to the development of much of the nation's early infrastructure, including key bridges, skyscrapers, and military hardware used in U.S.-led victories in World War I , World War II , and the Cold War . (Full article...
This is a Featured article , which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.. Oliver Christian Bosbyshell United States Mint at Philadelphia from 1889 to 1894. He claimed to have been the first Union soldier wounded by enemy action in the Civil War , stating that he received a bruise on the forehead from an object thrown by a Confederate sympathizer while his unit was marching through Baltimore in April 1861.
Bosbyshell was born in Mississippi of an old Philadelphia family, residing temporarily in the South, and raised in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania . He enlisted in the Union cause on the outbreak of war. He served in the Union army during the American Civil War with the 25th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment for three months and then the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry for three years. He saw action in several key battles of the Eastern theater and was promoted to the rank of major . He led African American troops during the Battle of the Crater that suffered over 400 casualties. (Full article...
Downtown Lock Haven at night at the intersection of East Main Street and North Grove Street
Lock Haven city in, and the county seat of, Clinton County , in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania . Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek , it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area , itself part of the Williamsport –Lock Haven combined statistical area . At the 2020 census , Lock Haven's population was 8,108.
Built on a site long favored by pre-Columbian peoples, Lock Haven began in 1833 as a timber town and a haven for loggers, boatmen, and other travelers on the river or the West Branch Canal . Resource extraction and efficient transportation financed much of the city's growth through the end of the 19th century. In the 20th century, a light-aircraft factory, a college, and a paper mill, along with many smaller enterprises, drove the economy. Frequent floods, especially in 1972, damaged local industry and led to a high rate of unemployment in the 1980s. (Full article...
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Scranton, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Philadelphia Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Allentown, Pennsylvania Lancaster, Pennsylvania State College, Pennsylvania Warren, Pennsylvania DuBois, Pennsylvania Erie, Pennsylvania Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Juniata County, Pennsylvania Pithole, Pennsylvania Larrys Creek State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania) Pennsylvania Route 563 Hull Creek (Lackawanna River tributary) Little Fishing Creek Ganoga Lake Mahoning Creek (Susquehanna River tributary) Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania Roaring Brook (Lackawanna River tributary) Pennsylvania Route 463 Kettle Creek (Pennsylvania) Spanish Hill West Branch Fishing Creek West Creek (Pennsylvania) Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 White Deer Hole Creek Plunketts Creek (Loyalsock Creek tributary) Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania) Kinzua Bridge Quehanna Wild Area Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Levittown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike Pocono Mountains Altoona, Pennsylvania
This is a Good article , an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards. From left to right, Towers A, B, and C
Litchfield Towers, University of Pittsburgh 's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , United States. Litchfield Towers is both the largest and tallest residence hall at the University of Pittsburgh, housing approximately 1,850 students.
Designed by the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, the complex was completed in 1963 and was named for former chancellor Edward Litchfield following his death in an airplane crash in 1968. The complex consists of three towers, which during construction were designated A, B, and C in the architectural plans . The names stuck after the towers were completed, and the towers are still so named today. (Full article...
Interstate 95 I-95 ) is a major north–south Interstate Highway that runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida , north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine . In the state of Pennsylvania , it runs 43.4 miles (69.8 km) from the Delaware state line near Marcus Hook in Delaware County in the southeastern part of the state northeast to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge at the New Jersey state line near Bristol in Bucks County , closely paralleling the New Jersey state line for its entire length through Pennsylvania.
From the Delaware state line north to exit 40, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway but is officially named the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway . North of exit 40, I-95 follows the easternmost portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike ; this portion of road is not signed as part of the turnpike. I-95 parallels its namesake Delaware River for its entire route through the city of Philadelphia and its suburbs. It is a major route through the city and the Delaware Valley metropolitan area, providing access to locally important landmarks such as Subaru Park , Philadelphia International Airport , the South Philadelphia Sports Complex , Penn's Landing , and Franklin Mall . (Full article...
Category puzzle Select [►] to view subcategories
State Facts
Pennsylvania's largest city Philadelphia Nickname: The Keystone State Capital: Harrisburg Largest city: Philadelphia Total area: 119,283 square kilometers (46,055 square miles)Population (2000 census): 12,281,054Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd )
State symbols
Mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower
The following are images from various Pennsylvania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Philadelphia International Airport , the busiest airport in the state and the
21st-busiest airport in the nation with over 13 million passengers in 2023 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 2 The locomotive
Tioga in
Philadelphia in 1848; Pennsylvania was an important railroad center throughout the 19th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 3 Pennsylvania population density map (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 5 2024 U.S. presidential election results by county in Pennsylvania
Democratic
Republican
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 7 The
Statue of Benjamin Franklin on the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania in
West Philadelphia , which pays tribute to
Benjamin Franklin , a
Founding Father who founded the university, now an
Ivy League institution and one of the world's top universities, in 1740 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 8 Simon Cameron of
Maytown was
Secretary of War and head of Pennsylvania's
Republican Party , whose party machine controlled Pennsylvania into the 20th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 9 The
Köppen climate types of Pennsylvania based on 1991–2020
climate normals (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 10 The Birth of Pennsylvania , a portrait of
William Penn (standing with document in hand), who founded the
Province of Pennsylvania in 1681 as a refuge for
Quakers after receiving a royal deed to it from
King Charles II (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 11 The
Gettysburg campaign , which culminated in the
Battle of Gettysburg , was a major turning point in the
American Civil War and the war's bloodiest battle with an estimated 46,000 to 51,000 casualties (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 12 A map of
New Netherland (in magenta) and
New Sweden (in blue) in the 17th century; New Sweden was later absorbed by New Netherland and then the
British in the
Second Anglo-Dutch War . (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 13 On November 19, 1863,
President Abraham Lincoln (center, facing camera) traveled to present-day
Gettysburg National Cemetery and delivered the
Gettysburg Address , a 271-word address considered one of the most famous speeches in American history. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 14 Pat's King of Steaks in
South Philadelphia is widely credited with inventing the
cheesesteak in 1933. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 16 Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 17 Pennsylvania's unemployment rate between 1976 and 2021
The U.S. unemployment rate during these years
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 18 Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom 's
Steel Force and
Thunderhawk roller coasters in
Allentown ; Steel Force is the eighth-longest
steel roller coaster in the world with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). Founded in 1884, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is the fifth-oldest amusement park in the nation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 19 One of only two confirmed photos of
Abraham Lincoln (sitting in center, facing camera, without his traditional top hat) at
Gettysburg a few hours prior to giving the
Gettysburg Address at
Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. The address, which was only 271 words in length, ranks among the most famed speeches in American history. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 21 The
Battle of Gettysburg , an 1887 portrait by
Thure de Thulstrup depicting the
Battle of Gettysburg , fought over three days from July 1 to July 3, 1863, in
Gettysburg , which was the
deadliest battle in both the Civil War and all of American military history. The
Union army 's victory at Gettysburg proved the
Civil War's turning point , paving the way for the
Union 's ultimate victory two years later and the nation's preservation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 22 Citizens Bank Park in
South Philadelphia , home of the
Philadelphia Phillies , the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in American professional sports (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 23 The
Stonycreek Township crash site of
Flight 93 , one of four planes hijacked in the
September 11 attacks ; the site is now a
national memorial . Flight 93 passengers wrestled with
al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers for control of the plane, preventing it from being flown into the
White House or
U.S. Capitol . (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 26 Stephen Decatur , a 19th-century
naval commander who served in the
War of 1812 and other engagements (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 30 An
Amish family riding in a traditional
Amish buggy in
Lancaster County . As of 2024, Pennsylvania has an Amish population of 92,660, the
largest of any state in the nation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 32 The
colonial possessions of
Britain (in pink),
France (in blue), and
Spain (in orange) as of 1750. The French later lost their possessions in
North America to Britain following its defeat in the
French and Indian War , fought from 1754 to 1763 (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 34 Pittsburgh Steelers ' fans waving the
Terrible Towel , a tradition that dates back to
1975 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 35 Bethlehem Steel in
Bethlehem was one of the world's leading steel manufacturers for most of the 19th and 20th century. In 1982, however, it discontinued most of its operations, declared bankruptcy in 2001, and was dissolved in 2003. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 38 Shelter House in
Emmaus , constructed in 1734 by
Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest continuously occupied building structure in the
Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in Pennsylvania (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 40 The
Philadelphia Eagles are presented with the
Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 4, 2018, after winning
Super Bowl LII , in which they defeated the
New England Patriots 41–33. (from
Pennsylvania )
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
