Pennsylvania: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 14:18, 28 March 2006
Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Admitted to the Union | December 12 1787 (2nd) |
| Capital | Harrisburg |
| Largest city | Philadelphia |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Ed Rendell (D) |
| • Upper house | {{{Upperhouse}}} |
| • Lower house | {{{Lowerhouse}}} |
| U.S. senators | Arlen Specter (R) Rick Santorum (R) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 12,281,054 |
| • Density | 274.0/sq mi (105.80/km2) |
| Language | |
| • Official language | None |
| Latitude | 39°43'N to 42°N |
| Longitude | 74°43'W to 80°31'W |
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is one of four states of the United States of America that is called a commonwealth, the others being Massachusetts, Virginia, and Kentucky. It has given its name to the Pennsylvanian time period in geology. Pennsylvania is called the Keystone State.
Although Swedes and Dutch were the first European settlers, the English Quaker William Penn named Pennsylvania for the Latin phrase meaning "Penn's Woods", in honor of his father. Penn's original choice of name had been "New Wales", as descriptions of the terrain and climate reminded him of Wales. The name was rejected due to protest from Welsh members of Parliament, who objected to the name of their region being applied to such a wild and uncivilized territory, especially one founded by Quakers. William Penn then suggested "Sylvania"- Latin for "woods" as an alternative. Charles II amended that name to "Pennsylvania". As the Quaker religion frowns on such acts of egotism, William Penn objected to the idea, but was placated by the King's proposal to name the state in honor of Admiral Sir William Penn- Penn's father and national hero, rather than William Penn himself. Today, two major cities dominate the state—Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and a thriving metropolitan area, and Pittsburgh, a busy inland river port and major center for educational and technological advances. The Pocono Mountains and the Delaware Water Gap provide popular recreational activities.
Pennsylvania is one of the U.S.'s most historic states. Philadelphia is often called the cradle of the American Nation. It was there that the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution were drawn up by the Founding Fathers.
The battleship USS Pennsylvania, damaged at Pearl Harbor, was named in honor of this state, as were several other naval vessels. It was repaired at the former Sun Ship Yard & Dry Dock in Chester City.
History
Before the state existed, the area was home to the Delaware (also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehanna, Iroquois, Eriez, Shawnee, and other Native American tribes.
In 1643, the southeastern portion of the state, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, was settled by Sweden as part of New Sweden, with a capital city of New Gothenburg built on Tinicum Island in the Delaware River, south of present-day Philadelphia, but control later passed to the Netherlands as part of New Netherland, and then to England (later Great Britain).
On March 4 1681, Charles II of England granted a land charter to William Penn for the area that now includes Pennsylvania. Penn then founded a colony there as a place of religious freedom for the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and named it for the Latin phrase meaning "Penn's woods".
Beginning in the early 1700's, large numbers of German immigrants began settling throughout Pennsylvania and for many generations, the German language dominated in many rural areas of the state. Individuals claiming German ancestry currently make up a majority of the ethnic composite of Pennsylvania.
A large tract of land north and west of Philadelphia, in Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties, was settled by Welsh Quakers and called the "Welsh Tract". Even today many cities and towns in that area bear the names of Welsh municipalities.
The western portions of Pennsylvania were among disputed territory between the colonial British and French during the French and Indian War. The French established numerous fortifications in the area, including the pivotal Fort Duquesne on top of which the city of Pittsburgh was built.
The colony's reputation of religious freedom also attracted significant populations of German and Scots-Irish settlers who helped to shape colonial Pennsylvania and later went on to populate the neighboring states further west.
In 1704 the "three lower counties" of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex gained a separate legislature, and in 1710 a separate executive council, to form the new colony Delaware.
Pennsylvania and Delaware were two of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution of 1776. Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on 12 December, 1787 (five days after Delaware became the first).
Pennsylvania also saw the Battle of Gettysburg, near Gettysburg. Many historians consider this battle the major turning point of the American Civil War. Dead from this battle rest at Gettysburg National Cemetery, site of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil (kerosene) industry was born in western Pennsylvania, which supplied the vast majority of U.S. kerosene for years thereafter, and saw the rise and fall of oil boom towns.
During the 20th century Pennsylvania's existing iron industries expanded into a major center of steel production. Shipbuilding and numerous other forms of manufacturing flourished in the eastern part of the state, and coal mining was also extremely important in many regions. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Pennsylvania received very large numbers of immigrants from Europe seeking work; dramatic, sometimes violent confrontations took place between organized labor and the state's industrial concerns.
Pennsylvania was hard-hit by the decline of the steel industry and other heavy U.S. industries during the late 20th century.
Law and government
Like all American states, Pennsylvania has a government which is separated into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary, the powers and duties of which are established by the Pennsylvania Constitution [1]. Since 1812, Harrisburg has served as the location of the State Capitol, and its adjoining buildings of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex.
Executive branch
The head of the executive branch is the Governor, who is currently Democrat Edward G Rendell, a former mayor of Philadelphia. The other elected officials composing the executive branch are the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor General, and State Treasurer. The Governor's cabinet consists of the eighteen appointed heads of Pennsylvania state agencies: the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Adjutant General, Secretary of Education, Insurance Commissioner, Secretary of Banking, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Health, State Police Commissioner, Secretary of Labor and Industry, Secretary of Public Welfare, Secretary of Revenue, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Community Affairs, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Environmental Resources, Secretary of General Services, Secretary of Aging, and the Secretary of Corrections.
Legislative branch
Pennsylvania has had a bicameral legislature since 1790. The Pennsylvania General Assembly consists of a Senate with 50 members and a House of Representatives with 203. Notable General Assembly members include Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer (R), Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill (R), Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow (D), Speaker of the House of Representatives John M. Perzel (R), House Majority Leader Samuel H. Smith (R), House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese (D), and Senate Minority Appropriations Chairman Vincent Fumo (D).
Judicial branch
Pennsylvania is divided into 60 judicial districts[2], most of which (save Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties) have magisterial district judges (formerly called district justices and justices of the peace), who preside mainly over minor criminal offenses and small civil claims. The Philadelphia Municipal Court and the Pittsburgh police magistrate court have similar jurisdiction, but are limited to those locations. As Philadelphia is coterminous with Philadelphia County, the Pittsburgh police magistrate court is the only true city-level court in the state. Philadelphia also has a separate traffic court which hears cases involving motor vehicle violations within the city.
The general trial courts in which most criminal and civil cases originate are the Courts of Common Pleas. They also serve as appellate courts to the district judges and for local agency decisions. The Courts of Common Pleas serving the larger Pennsylvania counties are divided into specialized divisions.
The state has two intermediate-level appellate courts: the Superior Court and the Commonwealth Court. The fifteen judges of the Superior Court hear all appeals from the Courts of Common Pleas not expressly designated to the Commonwealth Court or Supreme Court. It also has original jurisdiction to review warrants for wiretap surveillance. The jurisdiction of the nine-judge Commonwealth Court is limited to appeals from final orders of certain state agencies and certain designated cases from the Courts of Common Pleas. The Commonwealth Court also functions as a trial court in some civil suits, including cases that involve the state or its officers as parties, and cases regarding statewide elections.
Pennsylvania's entire judicial system is under the supervision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which is also the final appellate court for both the Superior Court and the Commonwealth Court. It also hears appeals directly from the Courts of Common Pleas in certain cases, including from murder convictions in which the death penalty has been imposed, the right to public office, criminal contempt, and any case in which the Court of Common Pleas ruled that a state law was unconstitutional. Like all judges in Pennsylvania, the seven justices of the Supreme Court are chosen by public election; the chief justice is the justice with the most seniority.
Representation in the federal government
Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators are Rick Santorum (Republican) and Arlen Specter (Republican). Pennsylvania's 19 representatives in the House are Robert Brady (D, 1st District); Chaka Fattah (D, 2nd District); Phil English (R, 3rd District); Melissa Hart (R, 4th District); John E. Peterson (R, 5th District); Jim Gerlach (R, 6th District); Curt Weldon (R, 7th District); Michael Fitzpatrick (R, 8th District); Bill Shuster (R, 9th District); Don Sherwood (R, 10th District); Paul E. Kanjorski (D, 11th District); John Murtha (D, 12th District); Allyson Schwartz (D, 13th District); Mike Doyle (D, 14th District); Charlie Dent (R, 15th District); Joe Pitts (R, 16th District); Tim Holden (D, 17th District); Tim Murphy (R, 18th District); and Todd Russell Platts (R, 19th District).
Politics in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is considered a swing state as its politics are not dominated by any single party. As of 2005, the Republican Party holds both houses of the state legislature, both United States Senate seats and a majority of the state's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, but the Democratic Party holds the governor's seat and their candidate has won the state in the past four presidential elections. A slight majority of the state's registered voters are Democrats. Bill Clinton carried the state twice, Al Gore won here in 2000 as did John Kerry in 2004 with a slim 50.9% of the vote. The state is divided into heavily left leaning areas along the sides.
Democrats dominate the state's two largest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In the east, Democrats also dominate in the Lehigh Valley, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. In the west, Democrats prevail in Johnstown and Erie. The northern and central part of the state, nicknamed the Republican 'T', is more rural and tends to be very conservative. James Carville, the outspoken Democratic strategist, summed up Pennsylvania politics as "Philadelphia on one end, Pittsburgh on the other, with Alabama in the middle."
Geography
Pennsylvania's nickname "The Keystone State" is quite apt, as the state forms a geographic bridge both between the Northeastern states and the Southern states, and between the Atlantic seaboard and the Midwest. It is bordered on the north and northeast by New York, on the east, across the Delaware River by New Jersey, on the south by Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia, on the west by Ohio, and on the northwest by Lake Erie. The Delaware, Susquehanna, Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers are the major rivers of the state. The Youghiogheny River and Oil Creek are smaller rivers which have played an important role in the development of the state. The capital is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is 180 miles (290 km) north to south and 310 miles (500 km) east to west. The total land area is 44,817 square miles (119,283 km²), 739,200 acres (2,990 km²) of which are bodies of water. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States. The highest point of 3,213 feet (979 m) above sea level is at Mount Davis. Its lowest point is at sea level on the Delaware River. Pennsylvania is in the Eastern time zone.
The western third of the state can be considered a separate large geophysical unit, distinctive enough that itmay best be described on its own. Several important, complex factors set Western Pennsylvania apart in many respects from the east, such as the initial difficulty of access across the mountains, rivers orientated to the Mississippi drainage system, and above all, the complex economics involved in the rise and decline of the American steel industry centered around Pittsburgh. Other factors, such as a markedly different style of agriculture, the rise of the oil industry, timber exploitation and the old wood chemical industry, and even, in linguistics, the local dialect, all make this large area sometimes seem a virtual "state within a state".
Pennsylvania is bisected diagonally by ridges of the Appalachian Mountains from southwest to northeast. To the northwest of the folded mountains is the Allegheny Plateau, which continues into southwestern and south central New York. This plateau is so dissected by valleys that it also seems mountainous. The Plateau is underlain by sedimentary rocks of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age, which bear abundant fossils, as well as natural gas and petroleum. In 1859 near Titusville Edwin L. Drake drilled the first oil well in the USA into these sediments. Similar rock layers also contain coal to the south and east of the oil and gas deposits. In the metamorphic (folded) belt, anthracite (hard coal) is mined near Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. These fossil fuels have been an important resource to Pennsylvania. Timber and dairy farming are also sources of livelihood for midstate and western Pennsylvania. Along the shore of Lake Erie in the far northwest are orchards and vineyards.
Pennsylvania has 89 miles of shoreline along the Delaware River estuary but is a landlocked state with no coastline bordering the Atlantic Ocean. (The difference between the coast (the shore of an ocean) and the shore (a protected bay, bayou, estuary, or sound) and how these concepts are measured is explained at length in an extended footnote under "Miscellaneous" in the article on New Hampshire.) Pennsylvania is the only truly landlocked state of the original thirteen states, although Connecticut, located on the Long Island Sound, also has no actual coastline.
Pennsylvania has one of the largest seaports in the U.S. on its narrow shore, the Port of Philadelphia. In the west the Port of Pittsburgh is also very large and even exceeds Philadelphia in rank by annual tonnage, due to the large volume of bulk coal shipped by barge down the Ohio River. Chester, downstream from Philadelphia, and Erie, the Great Lakes outlet on Lake Erie in the Erie Triangle, are smaller but still important ports.
Pennsylvania has been the site of some of the most horrendous ecological disasters experienced in the USA. In 1889 the South Fork Dam, impounding a recreational mountain lake for sportsmen, burst after a heavy rain and destroyed the downstream factory town of Johnstown, killing over 2,200 inhabitants in the notorious Johnstown Flood (the town was later rebuilt and is a reasonably large community today in the central mountains). In 1961 an exposed seam of coal at Centralia, Pennsylvania caught fire and forced eventually almost the entire community to abandon their settlement; the coal fire is still burning today and is estimated to last 100 years more. Finally, in 1979 the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Incident near the state capital of Harrisburg, while not as destructive to the community, nevertheless cost close to $1 billion to clean up and changed the national public perception of nuclear power to a much less favorable viewpoint.
The Pennsylvania Dutch region
The Pennsylvania Dutch region in south-central Pennsylvania is another favorite for sightseers. The Pennsylvania Dutch, including the Old Order Amish, the Old Order Mennonites and at least 15 other sects, are common in the rural areas around the cities of Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg, with smaller numbers extending northeast to the Lehigh Valley and up the Susquehanna River valley. There are actually more Old Order Amish in Holmes County, Ohio and there are plain sect communities in at least 47 states but many Mennonites remain, particularly in Lancaster County. Some adherents eschew modern conveniences and use horse-drawn farming equipment and carriages, while others are virtually indistinguishable from non-Amish or Mennonites. Descendants of the plain sect immigrants who do not practice the faith may refer to themselves as Pennsylvania German.
Note: The term "Dutch" is, modernly, a misnomer. Originally, all of the peoples of the Holy Roman Empire - including the Belgians, Dutch, Austrians, Swiss, etc., were called "Dutch" - from the Low German "Duutsch," meaning "German" (or, very literally, "of the people"). The words "German" (which means "related" or "similar") and "Dutch" were used interchangeably in a generic ethno-cultural context until the years following World War II.
Economy
Pennsylvania's 2001 total gross state product was $408.4 billion, up from 383 billion in 1999. This ranks Pennsylvania 6th in the nation. If taken individualy, Pennsylvania's economy would rank as the 28th largest in the world, ahead of Pakistan, but behind the Phillipines. The 2003 Per Capita Personal Income was $31,988, 16th in the nation, up from 19th place in 1999. Its agricultural outputs are dairy products, poultry, cattle, nursery stock, mushrooms, hogs, and hay. Its industrial outputs are food processing, chemical products, machinery, and electric equipment. Tourism is a very big industry in the state, ranking as the 7th most visited state in the union, and 7th in tourism expenditures with $15.9 billion. Only California, Florida, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Nevada ranked higher.
Pennsylvania has a large, diverse group of manufacturing companies and within this group are some whose products have come to be household words. Among these products are Hershey bars from the The Hershey Company in Hershey, Pennsylvania; Heinz ketchup and Heinz-57 sauce from the H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh; Crayola products from Binney & Smith, Inc., in Easton; and Zippo lighters from Zippo Manufacturing in Bradford.
Other corporations based in Pennsylvania are : Alcoa, Comcast, United States Steel, Rohm and Haas, CIGNA, Sunoco, Pep Boys, Utz/ Herr's/ Wise Potato Chips, and many others, especially insurance, pharmaceutical, and steel corporations.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is well known for its quality wood products such as furniture, sheds, gazebos and play sets. Most of these are produced by Amish and Mennonite craftsmen and are shipped all over the country and throughout the world.
On Lake Erie some freshwater commercial fishing exists, the principal catch being yellow perch.
Taxation
The two largest sources of state revenue are income taxes on individuals and businesses and the state sales tax. In addition, the state imposes other taxes and fees on businesses and collects fees for various licenses and permits. There is also an inheritance tax, taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and taxes and fees on certain other goods and services. There is also a tax on the transfer of real property.
Pennsylvania is one of only five American states to employ a flat tax on personal income. Unlike the others, Pennsylvania's is a pure flat tax with no personal exemptions. As of 2005, the income tax rate for individuals is 3.07% of earned income.
The state assesses a 6% sales tax on taxable goods and services. Philadelphia and Allegheny counties charge an additional 1% on the same goods and services. Items such as unprepared food (not ready-to-eat), "everyday" clothing (not sports gear or formalwear), shoes, drugs, textbooks, and residential heating fuels are exempt from sales tax.
The state government does not levy or collect taxes on real estate or personal property. Most counties, municipalities, and school districts do levy taxes on real estate. In addition, some local bodies assess a wage tax on personal income. Generally, the total wage tax rate is capped at 1% of income but some municipalities with home rule charters may charge more than 1%. Thirty-two of the state's sixty-seven counties levy a personal property tax on stocks, bonds, and similar holdings.
In addition to taxes collected on liquor, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is the sole retail distributor of liquor in the state through its government owned Wine and Spirits Stores. Profits from these retail operations are used to fund a number of programs including the Pennsylvania State Police.
(Source: PA Dept. of Revenue)
Demographics
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Pennsylvania has an estimated population of 12,429,616, which is an increase of 35,145, or 0.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 148,562, or 1.2%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 87,600 people (that is 761,887 births minus 674,287 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 74,458 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 102,470 people, and migration within the country produced a net decrease of 28,012 people.
The Commonwealth has one of the fastest growing Asian and Hispanic populations in the nation. Most of the Asian immigrants are Indian, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Arab. The Hispanic population consists mostly of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Dominican, and Cuban immigrants. The West Indian population is also growing very fast, as mainly Haitians and Jamaicans move to the state.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Pennsylvania grew sluggishly. In the 1990s and into 2000, more people from other states (migrants) started moving to Pennsylvania. Foreign immigration has also picked up for the first time since World War II.
| Historical populations | |
|---|---|
| Census year |
Population |
| 1790 | 434,373 |
| 1800 | 602,365 |
| 1810 | 810,091 |
| 1820 | 1,049,458 |
| 1830 | 1,348,233 |
| 1840 | 1,724,033 |
| 1850 | 2,311,786 |
| 1860 | 2,906,215 |
| 1870 | 3,521,951 |
| 1880 | 4,282,891 |
| 1890 | 5,258,113 |
| 1900 | 6,302,115 |
| 1910 | 7,665,111 |
| 1920 | 8,720,017 |
| 1930 | 9,631,350 |
| 1940 | 9,900,180 |
| 1950 | 10,498,012 |
| 1960 | 11,319,366 |
| 1970 | 11,793,909 |
| 1980 | 11,863,895 |
| 1990 | 11,881,643 |
| 2000 | 12,281,054 |
Pennsylvania is mainly white in certain areas such as the far northeast, north central, and some areas around Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia Metro and the surrounding counties and the state as a whole are a true melting pot with large numbers of Blacks, Europeans, Hispanics, South Asians, East Asians, and Arabs.
Race and ancestry
The racial makeup of the state in 2000, with a population of 12,281,054, is:
- 84.1% White
- 10.0% Black
- 3.2% Hispanic
- 1.8% Asian
- 0.1% Native American
- 1.2% Mixed race
The five largest ancestry groups in Pennsylvania are: German (25.4%), Irish (16.1%), Italian (11.5%), African American (10%), English (7.9%). 5.9% of Pennsylvania's population were reported as under 5, 23.8% under 18, and 15.6% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.7% of the population.
Ancestry
Pennsylvanians of German ancestry live in most areas of the state outside of Philadelphia. Until the 1950s, Pennsylvania was bilingual with both English and German as its official languages. Northeastern Pennsylvania has residents of British ancestry on the New York border and there are many Polish-Americans in the Scranton area. Philadelphia has a black plurality and smaller black populations are located in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. Irish-Americans are the single largest ancestry group in Delaware County and the overall Philadelphia metropolitan area. Pennsylvania has more Slovaks and Welsh than any other state. Pennsylvania also has among the largest populations of Germans, Irish, Italians, Poles, and Russians of any state, and the most Ukrainians of any state besides New York. Also the state has one of the largest African American, Puerto Rican, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Jamaican populations in the nation.
Religion
Historically, the Quakers pursued a policy of religious toleration at the founding of Penn's colony (Pennsylvania), which benefited other older groups, such as Lutherans from the New Sweden settlement, and which also attracted religious refugees from the European continent, such as Amish and Mennonites. Other groups also settled, including the Moravian Bretheren, who founded and named today's large city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who settled on the frontier. This was a fairly diverse group of denominations by Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century standards, and testifies to the benign administration of Penn.
Later, after industrialization, immigrants from the Catholic countries of Europe started coming in large numbers to Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia today stands a shrine to and the burial place of Saint John Neumann, himself a Czech immigrant, who worked for the betterment of the new arrivals and who founded the American parochial school system. Pennsylvania has one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, with about 440,000. Immigration to Pennsylvania in the past 20 years has brought large numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs to the state.
The current religious affiliations of the people of Pennsylvania are:
- Christian – 83%
- Protestant – 55%
- Methodist – 10%
- Baptist – 10%
- Lutheran – 9%
- Presbyterian – 5%
- United Church of Christ – 2%
- Amish/Pietist – 1%
- Other Protestant or general Protestant – 18%
- Roman Catholic – 27%
- Other Christian – 1%
- Protestant – 55%
- Jewish (religious only) – 2%
- Other Religions – 2%
- Non-Religious – 13%
Culture
Food
- Pennsylvania claims to have the most restaurants per capita of any state, but with 2.53 restaurants per 1000 residents, they're actually in 20th place, only slightly ahead of the national average of 2.41.
- Pennsylvania may be the snack food capital of the world. Utz, Herr's, and Wise have headquarters in the state and manufacturing potato chips, pretzels and other salty snacks in Pennsylvania factories. The US chocolate industry is centered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
- Among the regional foods associated with Pennsylvania are the Philadelphia Cheesesteak and the Hoagie, the soft pretzel, Italian water ice, Scrapple, and the Stromboli. The H. J. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh invented tomato ketchup.
- Ethnic cuisine is common, especially in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas. Many restauranteurs offer Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai. Turkish, Pakistani, Russian and Amish dining.
Entertainment
- Pennsylvania has several notable amusement parks, including Dorney Park in Allentown, Hershey Park in Hershey, Knoebels in Elysburg, Sesame Place in Middletown Township, Kennywood in West Mifflin (one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, completed in 1898), and Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster.
Important cities and municipalities
Pennsylvania has only one incorporated town, Bloomsburg, the county seat of Columbia County. All other municipalities are incorporated as cities, boroughs or townships. It is technically incorrect to refer to any municipality in Pennsylvania other than Bloomsburg as a town.
Major cities and boroughs:
The area including Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton is sometimes referred to as the "ABE tri-town area", from which derives the IATA airport code for Lehigh Valley International Airport, formerly Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton International Airport.
Top and bottom 10 locations by per capita income:
Education
Colleges and universities
Public Schools
Firsts
- First United States Capital - York, PA. Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation here to become a nation.
- First anti-slavery resolution - 1688, Germantown.
- The first public school in the American Colonies was established at Philadelphia - 1698.
- First public library - 1731, Philadelphia.
- First institution devoted to science - The American Philosophical Institution, 1743.
- First school of anatomy in North America - Dr. William Shippen, Philadelphia,1762.
- First medical school - 1765 in The College and Academy of Philadelphia (now The University of Pennsylvania.)
- First Pharmacy school - 1821 as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (now part of University of Sciences in Philadelphia.)
- First (and only) surrender by George Washington - Fort Necessity, 1758.
- First abolition law -1780.
- First United States Mint - Philadelphia, 1782.
- First pretzel factory - Julius Sturgis, Lititz, Lancaster County, 1784.
- The first vessel ever moved by steam - Delaware River, at Philadelphia, by John Fitch, 1786.
- The first Stock Exchange in America - Philadelphia, 1790.
- First African-American church - Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, Philadelphia, 1794.
- First suspension bridge - 1796 at Uniontown by James Finley.
- The first art institution in America - The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1805.
- World's first wire cable suspension bridge -1816 near Philadelphia, by Josiah White and Erskine Hazard.
- First national convention for the Republican Party - 1856, Pittsburgh.
- First oil well - 1859, Titusville (Edwin L. Drake).
- First Civil War battle north of the Mason-Dixon Line - Hanover, J.E.B.Stuart v. George Armstrong Custer.
- First zoo - 1874, Philadelphia (chartered in 1859).
- First World's Fair - 1876, Centennial International Exhibition.
- First department store opened - Wannamaker's, 1877, in Philadelphia.
- First community illuminated by electricity - Philipsburg, 1881.
- First taxi service - 1884, Philadelphia.
- First US escalator installed - 1901, Philadelphia.
- First World Series - 1903, Pittsburgh Pirates.
- First Thanksgiving Day Parade - 1919, Philadelphia.
- First municipal airport - Clarion.
- First woman to serve as Speaker of a State House of Representatives - 1924, Alice M. Bentley.
- First totally air conditioned building - PSFS Building in Philadelphia, 1932.
- First baseball stadium built for a Black team - Greenlee Stadium in Pittsburgh, 1933.
- First coast-to-coast highway - (Lincoln Highway).
- First African-American woman to be elected a State Legislator - 1938, Crystal Bird Fauset.
- First non-reservation school for indians - Carlisle Indian School, Carlisle.
- First air pollution disaster - October 27, 1948, Donora.
- First successful siamese twin separation - 1974, Clara and Altagracia Rodriguez, at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
- First African-American to serve as Speaker of a State House of Representatives - 1977, K. Leroy Irvis.
- First bridge to be named for a woman - The Betsy Ross Bridge, Philadelphia.
- First museum for young children - The "Please Touch Museum for Children" in Philadelphia.
- First indoor zoo - National Aviary, Pittsburgh.
- First Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security - January 24, 2003, Tom Ridge.
- First to have cable television.
- First to have HBO
State symbols
- State animal: White-tailed Deer
- State beverage: Milk
- State cookie: Chocolate Chip
- State bird: Ruffed Grouse
- State capital: Harrisburg
- State dog: Great Dane
- State fish: Brook Trout
- State flower: Mountain Laurel
- State fossil: the trilobite Phacops rana
- State insect: Firefly
- State number: 2
- State song: Pennsylvania
- State tree: Hemlock
- State toy: Slinky
- State ship: United States Brig Niagara
- State electric locomotive: Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 #4849 Locomotive
- State steam locomotive: Pennsylvania Railroad K4s Locomotive
- State beautification plant: Crown vetch
Inventions
- Bifocal glasses (1784 by Ben Franklin}
- Daylight Savings Time (Ben Franklin)
- Odometer (Ben Franklin)
- Zipper (Lewis Walker)
- Ferris Wheel (1892/1893 by George Ferris of Pittsburgh)- at the World's Fair (Columbian Exposition) in Chicago.
- Accordion - patented in 1854 by Anthony Faas.
- Root beer - 1876.
- Cream cheese - in Concordville.
- Pencil with an attached eraser - 1858 by Hyman L. Lipma.
- Paper towels - 1931 by Arthur Scott of Philadelphia.
- Typewriter - 1881, Kittanning - by J.D. Daugherty.
- Revolving door - 1888 by Theophilus Van Kannel.
- Chlorine (bleaching powder) - 1847 by Charles Lennig.
- Carborundum (silicon carbide) - 1891 by E.G. Acheson of Monongahela City.
- Zippo lighter - 1932 by George G. Blaisdell in Bradford.
- Banana split - 1904, by Dr. David Strickler, a pharmacist at Strickler's Drug Store in Latrobe.
- Bingo - 1920's, Pittsburgh, by Hugh J. Ward. (Copyrighted in 1924.)
- Bubble gum - 1928, Philadelphia, by Walter E. Diemer.
- Slinky - 1945, Richard James, Philadelphia (now made in Hollidaysburg)
- Automatic snow-making machine - 1956 by John Guresh.
- Diabetic "dip and read" tests - 1956 by Helen Murray Free (born in Pittsburgh, 1923), and Alfred Free.
- Big Mac - 1967, in Uniontown, by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald's franchise holder. (The Big Mac went nationwide in 1968).
Notable Pennsylvanians
- Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) one of the more important figures in Pennsylvania and United States history. Although he was born in Boston, Massachusetts he came to Philadelphia as a young man. He founded the University of Pennsylvania in 1742, had the distinction of signing both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution and is buried with his wife Deborah in Christ Church Cemetery in Philadelphia.
- Stephen Foster was born in Pittsburgh on July 4, 1826. He was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of his era. Many of his songs, such as "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", and "Beautiful Dreamer", are still popular over 150 years after their composition.
- James Buchanan (1791–1868) was born and lived in Pennsylvania until his death. He was the 15th President of the United States and the only President from that state.
- George M. Dallas (1792–1864) of Philadelphia served as the 11th Vice President of the United States under James K. Polk and is the only Pennsylvanian to hold the office. He also served as U.S. Minister to Great Britain and Russia, as Mayor of Philadelphia and in the Senate.
- Thaddeus Stevens (1792–1868) was a key Pennsylvania state legislator in establishing and maintaining Pennsylvania's early system of public education. As a U.S. Congressman and leading "Radical Republican", he helped draft the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing "equal protection of the laws" to all Americans.
- Rachel Carson (1907–1964) born near Springdale, was a pioneer environmentalist and author of Silent Spring
- Winfield Scott Hancock (1824–1886) was born in Montgomery Square. He commanded Union troops during the American Civil War, most notably during the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Ida Tarbell (1857–1944) was born in Erie and was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris. She was a pioneering "muckraker" journalist and one of the few female journalists in the country during her time. In 1906, she joined with Lincoln Steffens and Ray Stannard Baker to establish the radical American Magazine. She also wrote several books on the role of women including The Business of Being a Woman (1912) and The Ways of Women (1915).
- Smedley Butler (1880–1940) born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Was a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps and, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. Butler was awarded the Medal of Honor twice during his career
- Pop artist Andy Warhol (1928–1987) was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh. The Andy Warhol Museum is located in Pittsburgh's North Side, and he is buried in nearby Bethel Park.
- Kurt Angle (1968—) was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Angle won the Gold Medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, before signing with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment, where he has won the WWE Championship on four different occasions. Angle is one of only two wrestlers in the WWE to have participated in the Olympics, and is the only one to have won gold medals.
- General of the Army George C. Marshall (1880–1959) of Uniontown, led the United States Army as Chief of Staff during the Second World War. He later served as Secretary of State and authored the Marshall Plan.
- Prince Demetrius Gallitzin (1770–1840) A Russian prince turned Roman Catholic missionary priest known as Apostle of the Alleghenies. He emigrated to the United States in 1792 and studied theology under Bishop John Carroll. In 1795, he became the first Catholic to receive all the orders of priesthood in the United States. In 1799 he used his own fortune to purchase 20,000 acres in Cambria County to form a Catholic community, the nucleus of the modern Roman Catholic Church west of the Allegheny Mountains. A prolific writer and apologist, he was declared a Servant of God in 2005, the first step on the road toward possible canonization.
- Tom Ridge, The former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (1945-), was Governor of Pennsylvania between 1995 and 2003. Prior to that, he was a US Representative from Erie between 1982 and 1995.
- Eugene W. Hickok, The former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education from 2004–2005, and prior to that, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education from 1995–2001.
- Marian Anderson, of Philadelphia, world-renowned contralto, who, after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let her sing at Constitution Hall because she was African-American, was famously invited to sing at the Lincoln Memorial by Eleanor Roosevelt.
- James J. Davis, U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1921 to 1932 and U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1946.
- Daniel Boone (1734–1820) was born in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. He was the frontier explorer who was primarily responsible for establishing the Wilderness Road, the first viable route through the Cumberland Gap of the Appalachians into Kentucky. According to folklore, he named his Kentucky settlement, Boonesborough, in honor of his birthplace.
Movies set and filmed in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has been the setting for dozens of major films, including The Philadelphia Story (1940), The Blob (1958), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Rocky (1976) series, The Deer Hunter (1978), Dawn of the Dead (1978), All the Right Moves (1983), Flashdance (1983), Witness (1985), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Fallen (1996), That Thing You Do! (1996), Beloved (1997), The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), The Mothman Prophecies (2001}, Signs (2002), The Italian Job (2003), Jersey Girl (2004), The Village (2004), and National Treasure (2004).
Notable Musicians from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has given birth to some of the nation's leading blues, Hip Hop, Rock, and Pop artists including:
- Anti-Flag - Pittsburgh
- Breaking Benjamin - Wilkes-Barre
- Christina Aguilera - Wexford
- Frankie Avalon - Philadelphia
- Beanie Sigel - Philadelphia
- The Bloodhound Gang - Quakertown
- Boyz II Men - Philadelphia
- Vanessa Carlton - Milford
- Chubby Checker - Philadelphia
- Cinderella - Philadelphia
- CKY - West Chester
- Stanley Clarke - Philadelphia
- The Clarks - Pittsburgh
- Perry Como - Canonsburg
- Jim Croce - Drexel Hill
- Dead Milkmen - Philadelphia
- Eve - Philadelphia
- Freeway - Philadelphia
- Fuel - Harrisburg
- Hall & Oates - Philadelphia
- Bill Halley & The Comets - Upland
- The Hooters - Philadelphia
- DJ Jazzy Jeff - Philadelphia
- Jedi Mind Tricks -Philadelphia
- Joan Jett -Philadelphia
- The Juliana Theory- Latrobe
- Live - York
- Patti LaBelle - Philadelphia
- Philly's Most Wanted - Philadelphia
- Pink - Doylestown
- Poison - Harrisburg
- Trent Reznor - Mercer
- The Roots - Philadelphia
- Todd Rundgren - Upper Darby
- Rusted Root - Pittsburgh
- Jill Scott - Philadelphia
- Shanice - Pittsburgh
- Will Smith - Philadelphia
- Bobby Vinton - Canonsburg
- Young Gunz - Philadelphia
Notable Actors from Pennsylvania
- F. Murray Abraham - Pittsburgh
- Kevin Bacon - Philadelphia
- Chuck Barris - Philadelphia
- Ethel Barrymore - Philadelphia
- John Barrymore - Philadelphia
- Lionel Barrymore - Philadelphia
- Peter Boyle - Philadelphia
- David Brenner - Philadelphia
- Charles Bronson - Ehrenfeld
- Bill Cosby - Philadelphia
- Broderick Crawford - Philadelphia
- Tina Fey - Upper Darby
- W.C. Fields - Philadelphia
- Larry Fine - Philadelphia
- Richard Gere - Philadelphia
- Scott Glenn - Pittsburgh
- Seth Green - Philadelphia
- Russell Johnson - Ashley
- Shirley Jones - Charleroi
- Michael Keaton - Pittsburgh
- Gene Kelly - Pittsburgh
- Grace Kelly - Philadelphia
- Jamie Kennedy - Upper Darby
- Daniel Dae Kim - Easton
- Jack Klugman - Philadelphia
- Jayne Mansfield - Bryn Mawr
- Henry Mancini - Aliquippa
- Bam Margera - West Chester
- Mary McDonnell - Wilkes-Barre
- Larry Mendte - Lansdowne
- Mary Lou Metzger - Philadelphia
- Dennis Miller - Pittsburgh
- Cheri Oteri - Upper Darby
- Jack Palance - Lattimer Mines
- M. Night Shyamalan - Philadelphia (immigrated from India as a child)
- George A. Romero (director) - Pittsburgh
- Will Smith - Philadelphia
- Jimmy Stewart - Indiana
- Fred Rogers - Latrobe
- David O. Selznick - Pittsburgh
- Sharon Stone - Meadville
- Fritz Weaver - Pittsburgh
- Mark Weber - Philadelphia
Notable Athletes from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has given birth to some of the greatest athletes in American sports history, athletes such as:
- Joe Amato - Old Forge
- Kurt Angle - Pittsburgh
- Lavar Arrington - Pittsburgh
- Fred Biletnikoff - Erie
- Kobe Bryant - Philadelphia
- Wilt Chamberlain - Philadelphia
- Kerry Collins - Lebanon
- Chuck Daly - Kane
- Ken Griffey, Sr. - Donora
- Ken Griffey, Jr. - Donora
- Richard Hamilton - Coatesville
- Marc Jackson - Philadelphia
- Eddie Jones - Philadelphia
- Jim Kelly - Bradys Bend Township
- Ty Law - Aliquippa
- Kyle Lowry - Philadelphia
- Dan Marino - Pittsburgh
- Christy Mathewson - Factoryville
- Aaron Mckie - Philadelphia
- Cuttino Mobley - Philadelphia
- Joe Montana - New Eagle
- Shane Mosely - Philadelphia
- Stan Musial - Donora
- Mike Munchak- Scranton
- Joe Namath - Beaver Falls
- Jameer Nelson - Chester
- Malik Rose - Philadelphia
- Stephen A. Smith - Philadelphia
- Jimmy Spencer - Berwick
- Rasheed Wallace - Philadelphia
- Johnny Unitas - Pittsburgh
Notable Writers from Pennsylvania
See also
- List of Pennsylvania-related topics
- List of people from Pennsylvania
- List of Pennsylvania counties
- List of hospitals in Pennsylvania
External links
- Official state government site
- Penna. Dept. of Transportation
- Pennsylvania Visitor's Guide
- Pennsylvania Obituary Links Page
- GenealogyBuff.com - Pennsylvania Library Files
- Pennsylvania News, Searches, Sources, and Reference.
- Road Atlases of Pennsylvania
- Historical Maps of Pennsylvania
- U.S. Census Bureau
