American colonial governor, descendant of William Penn; born in London on the 14th of July 1729; completed his education in Geneva, Switzerland; and, proceeding to America, entered the executive council in 1753, was a member of the Colonial Congress, held at Albany, 1754, returned to England, but in 1763 went back to the colony as lieutenant-governor, managed the negotiations with the Indians at Fort Stanwix, which ended their proprietary rights in the colony. He was called to England on the death of his father, and returned to Pennsylvania in 1773 as governor. In the pre-Revolutionary days he endeavored to accommodate both sides; the newly-constituted assembly ignored his authority, and the governor acquiesced. In 1777 he was arrested on the capture of Philadelphia by Howe, to prevent him from becoming a British hostage, but was released the following year. He died in Bucks County, PA, on the 9th of February 1795, his remains being subsequently removed to England.
