William Penn (October 14, 1644 – July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Well ahead of his time, Penn wrote and urged for a Union of all the English colonies in what was to become the United States of America. The democratic principles that he set forth in the Pennsylvania Frame of Government served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution.
Sir William Penn (April 23, 1621 – September 16, 1670) was an English admiral, and the father of William Penn, founder of the colony of Pennsylvania. The state of Pennsylvania is named in his honor (and not, as is often supposed, in honor of his son, the Quaker leader.)