Johan Printz (b.Sweden, 1592–1663), the 400-lb, hard-drinking, hard-swearing, and hard-ruling governor of New Sweden, was Pennsylvania's first European resident of note. The founder of Pennsylvania was William Penn (b.England, 1644–1718), a Quaker of sober habits and deep religious beliefs. Most extraordinary of all Pennsylvanians, Benjamin Franklin (b.Massachusetts, 1706–90), a printer, author, inventor, scientist, legislator, diplomat, and statesman, served the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and US governments in a variety of posts.
Only one native Pennsylvanian, James Buchanan (1791–1868), has ever become US president. Buchanan was a state assemblyman, five-term US representative, two-term US senator, secretary of state, and minister to Russia and then to Great Britain before entering the White House as a 65-year-old bachelor in 1857. As president, he tried to maintain the Union by avoiding extremes and preaching compromise, but his toleration of slavery was abhorrent to abolitionists and his desire to preserve the Union was obnoxious to secessionists. Dwight D. Eisenhower (b.Texas, 1890–1969) retired to a farm in Gettysburg after his presidency was over. George M. Dallas (1792–1864), Pennsylvania's only US vice president, was James K. Polk's running mate.
The six Pennsylvanians who have served on the US Supreme Court have all been associate justices: James Wilson (1742–98), Henry Baldwin (1780–1844), Robert C. Grier (1794–1870), William Strong (1808–95), George Shiras, Jr. (1832–1924), and Owen J. Roberts (1875–1955). Supreme Court nominee Robert Heron Bork (b.1927) served as a federal judge for many years, but his Supreme Court nomination was not confirmed.
Many other Pennsylvanians have held prominent federal positions. Albert Gallatin (b.Switzerland, 1761–1849), brilliant secretary of the treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, later served as minister to France and then to Great Britain. Richard Rush (1780–1859) was Madison's attorney general and John Quincy Adams's secretary of the treasury. A distinguished jurist, Jeremiah Sullivan Black (1810–83) was Buchanan's attorney general and later his secretary of state. John Wanamaker (1838–1922), an innovative department store merchandiser, served as postmaster general under Benjamin Harrison. Philander C. Knox (1853–1921) was Theodore Roosevelt's attorney general and William Howard Taft's secretary of state. Financier Andrew C. Mellon (1855–1937) was secretary of the treasury under Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. Recent Pennsylvanians in high office include Richard Helms (1913–2002), director of the US Central Intelligence Agency from 1966 to 1973, and Alexander Haig (b.1924), former commander of NATO forces in Europe, chief of staff under Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan's first choice for secretary of state.
Three US senators, Simon Cameron (1799–1889), Matthew Quay (1833–1904), and Boies Penrose (1860–1921), are best known as leaders of the powerful Pennsylvania Republican machine. Senator Joseph F. Guffey (1870–1959) sponsored legislation to stabilize the bituminous coal industry. After serving as reform mayor of Philadelphia, Joseph S. Clark (1901–1990) also distinguished himself in the Senate, and Hugh Scott (1900–94) was Republican minority leader from 1969 to 1977. Outstanding representatives from Pennsylvania include Thaddeus Stevens (1792–1868), leader of radical Republicans during the Civil War era; David Wilmot (1814–68), author of the proviso attempting to prohibit slavery in territory acquired from Mexico; and Samuel J. Randall (1828–90), speaker of the House of Representatives from 1876 to 1881.
Other notable historical figures were Joseph Galloway (b.Maryland, 1729?–1803), a loyalist; Robert Morris (England, 1734–1806), a Revolutionary financier; and Betsy Ross (Elizabeth Griscom, 1752–1836), the seamstress who allegedly stitched the first American flag. Pamphleteer Thomas Paine (England, 1737–1809), pioneer Daniel Boone (1734–1820), and General Anthony Wayne (1745–96) also distinguished themselves during this period. In the Civil War, General George B. McClellan (1826–85) led the Union army on the Peninsula and at the Battle of Antietam, while at the Battle of Gettysburg, Generals George Gordon Meade (b.Spain, 1815–72) and Winfield Scott Hancock (1824–86) both showed their military prowess.
Important state governors include John W. Geary (1819–73), Samuel W. Pennypacker (1843–1916), Robert E. Pattison (b.Maryland, 1850–1904), Gifford Pinchot (b.Connecticut 1865–1946), James H. Duff (1883–1969), George H. Earle (1890–1974), Milton J. Shapp (Ohio, 1912–88), William W. Scranton (b.Connecticut, 1917), George M. Leader (b.1918), and Richard L. Thornburgh (b.1932).
Pennsylvanians have won Nobel Prizes in every category except literature. General George C. Marshall (1880–1959), chief of staff of the US Army in World War II and secretary of state when the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) was adopted, won the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize. Simon Kuznets (b.Russia, 1901–85) received the 1971 Nobel Prize in economic science for work on economic growth, and Herbert A. Simon (b.Wisconsin, 1916–2001) received the 1978 award for work on decision making in economic organizations; in 1980, Lawrence R. Klein (b.Nebraska, 1920) was honored for his design and application of econometric models. In physics, Otto Stern (b.Germany, 1888–1969) won the 1943 prize for work on the magnetic momentum of protons. In chemistry, Theodore W. Richards (1868–1928) won the 1914 Nobel Prize for determining the atomic weight of many elements, and Christian Boehmer Anfinsen (1916–95) won the 1972 award for pioneering studies in enzymes. In physiology or medicine, Philip S. Hench (1896–1965) won in 1950 for his discoveries about hormones of the adrenal cortex, Haldane K. Hartline (1903–83) won in 1967 for work on the human eye, and Howard M. Temin (1934–94) was honored in 1975 for the study of tumor viruses.
Many other Pennsylvanians were distinguished scientists. Ebenezer Kinnersly (1711–78) studied electricity, and Benjamin Franklin's grandson Alexander Dallas Bache (1806–67) was an expert on magnetism. Caspar Wistar (b.Germany, 1761–1818) and Thomas Woodhouse (1770–1809) pioneered the study of chemistry, while William Maclure (b.Scotland, 1763–1840) and James Mease (1771–1846) were early geologists. David Rittenhouse (1732–96) was a distinguished astronomer. John Bartram (1699–1777) and his son William (1739–1823) won international repute as botanists. Benjamin Rush (1745–1813) was Pennsylvania's most distinguished physician. Philip Syng Physick (1768–1837) was a leading surgeon, and Nathaniel Chapman (b.Virginia, 1780–1853) was the first president of the American Medical Association. Rachel Carson (1907–64), a marine biologist and writer, became widely known for her crusade against the use of chemical pesticides. Noted inventors born in Pennsylvania include steamboat builder Robert Fulton (1765–1815) and David Thomas (1794–1882), the father of the American anthracite iron industry.
Pennsylvania played a large role in the economic development of the US. In addition to Mellon, outstanding bankers include Stephen Girard (b.France, 1750–1831), Nicholas Biddle (1786–1844), Anthony J. Drexel (1826–93), and John J. McCloy (1895–1985). Andrew Carnegie (b.Scotland, 1835–1919) and his lieutenants, including Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) and Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939), created the most efficient steel-manufacturing company in the 19th century. Wanamaker, Frank W. Woolworth (b.New York, 1852–1919), and Sebastian S. Kresge (1867–1966) were pioneer merchandisers.
Other prominent businessmen born in Pennsylvania are automobile pioneer Clement Studebaker (1831–1901), chocolate manufacturer Milton S. Hershey (1857–1945), and retired Chrysler chairman Lee A. Iacocca (b.1924).
Pennsylvania labor leaders include Uriah S. Stephens (1821–82) and Terence V. Powderly (1849–1924), leaders of the Knights of Labor; Philip Murray (b.Scotland, 1886–1952), president of the CIO; and David J. MacDonald (1902–79), leader of the steelworkers. Among economic theorists, Henry George (1839–97) was the unorthodox advocate of the single tax. Florence Kelley (1859–1932) was an important social reformer, as is Bayard Rustin (1910–1987).
Important early religious leaders, all born in Germany, include Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711–87), organizer of Pennsylvania's Lutherans; Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700–1760), a Morovian leader; and Johann Conrad Beissel (1690–1768), founder of the Ephrata Cloister. Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), born a Congregationalist, founded the group that later became Jehovah's Witnesses. Among the state's outstanding scholars are historians Henry C. Lee (1825–1909), John Bach McMaster (1852–1932), Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer (1868–1936), and Henry Steele Commager (1902–98); anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901–78); behavioral psychologist B(urrhus) F(rederic) Skinner (1904–1990); urbanologist Jane Jacobs (b.1916); and language theorist Noam Chomsky (b.1928). Thomas Gallaudet (b.1787–1851) was a pioneer in education of the deaf.
Pennsylvania has produced a large number of distinguished journalists and writers. In addition to Franklin, newspapermen include John Dunlap (b.Ireland, 1747–1812), Benjamin Franklin Bache (1769–98), William L. McLean (1852–1931), and Moses L. Annenberg (1878–1942). Magazine editors were Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (b.New Hampshire, 1788–1879), Cyrus H. K. Curtis (b.Maine, 1850–1933), Edward W. Bok (b.Netherlands, 1863–1930), and I(sidor) F(einstein) Stone (1907–89). Ida M. Tarbell (1857–1944) was perhaps Pennsylvania's most famous muckraker. Among the many noteworthy Pennsylvania-born writers are Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810), Bayard Taylor (1825–78), novelist and physician Silas Weir Mitchell (1829–1914), Charles Godfrey Leland (1824–1903), Owen Wister (1860–1938), Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916), Gertrude Stein (1874–1946), Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958), Hervey Allen (1889–1949), Christopher Morley (1890–1957), Conrad Richter (1890–1968), John O'Hara (1905–70), Donald Barthelme (1931–89), and John Updike (b.1932). James Michener (b.New York, 1907–97) was raised in the state. Pennsylvania playwrights include James Nelson Barker (1784–1858), Maxwell Anderson (1888–1959), George S. Kaufman (1889–1961), Marc Connelly (1890–1980), Clifford Odets (1906–63), and Ed Bullins (b.1935). Among Pennsylvania poets are Francis Hopkinson (1737–91), Philip Freneau (b.New York, 1753–1832), Thomas Dunn English (1819–1902), Thomas Buchanan Read (1822–72), and Wallace Stevens (1879–1955).
Composers include Stephen Collins Foster (1826–64), Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (1862–1901), Charles Wakefield Cadman (1881–1946), and Samuel Barber (1910–81). Among Pennsylvania painters prominent in the history of American art are Benjamin West (1738–1820), renowned as the father of American painting; Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827), who was also a naturalist; Thomas Sully (b.England, 1783–1872); George Catlin (1796–1872); Thomas Eakins (1844–1916); Mary Cassatt (1845–1926); Man Ray (1890–1976); Andrew Wyeth (b.1917); and Andy Warhol (1927–87). Outstanding sculptors include William Rush (1756–1833), George Grey Barnard (1863–1938), and Alexander Calder (1898–1976).
Pennsylvania produced and patronized a host of actors, including Edwin Forrest (1806–72) Lionel (1878–1954), Ethel (1879–1959), and John (1882–1942) Barrymore; W. C. Fields (William Claude Dukenfield, 1880–1946); Ed Wynn (Isaiah Edwin Leopold, 1886–1966); William Powell (1892–1987); Ethel Waters (1896–1977); Janet Gaynor (1906–84); James Stewart (1908–97); Broderick Crawford (1911–86); Gene Kelly (1912–96); Charles Bronson (Charles Buchinsky, b.1922); Mario Lanza (1925–59); Shirley Jones (b.1934); and comedian Bill Cosby (b.1937). Film directors Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909–93), Arthur Penn (b.1922), and Sidney Lumet (b.1924) and film producer David O. Selznick (1902–65) also came from Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania has produced outstanding musicians. Four important Pennsylvania-born vocalists are Marian Anderson (b.1897–1993), Blanche Thebom (b.1919), Marilyn Horne (b.1934), and Anna Moffo (b.1934). Pianists include the versatile Oscar Levant (1906–72) and jazz interpreters Earl "Fatha" Hines (1905–83) and Erroll Garner (1921–77). Popular band leaders include Fred Waring (1900–84), Jimmy Dorsey (1904–57) and his brother Tommy (1905–56), and Les Brown (b.1912). Perry Como (1913–2001), Daryl Hall (b.1949), and John Oates (b.New York, 1948) have achieved renown as popular singers. Dancers and choreographers from Pennsylvania include Martha Graham (1893–1991), Paul Taylor (b.1930), and Gelsey Kirkland (b.1952). Of the many outstanding athletes associated with Pennsylvania, Jim Thorpe (b.Oklahoma, 1888–1953) was most versatile, having starred in Olympic pentathlon and decathlon events and football. Baseball Hall of Famers include Honus Wagner (1874–1955), Stan Musial (b.1920), and Roy Campanella (b.1921–1993). Outstanding Pennsylvania football players include Harold "Red" Grange (1903–91), George Blanda (b.1927), John Unitas (1933–2002), Joe Namath (b.1943), and Tony Dorsett (b.1954). Other stars include basketball's Wilt Chamberlain (1936–99); golf's Arnold Palmer (b.1929), tennis's Bill Tilden (1893–1953); horse racing's Bill Hartack (b.1932); billiards' Willie Mosconi (1913–93); swimming's Johnny Weissmuller (1904–84); and track and field's Bill Toomey (b.1939).
Pennsylvania has also been the birthplace of a duchess—Bessie Wallis Warfield, the Duchess of Windsor (1896–1986)—and of a princess—Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco (1929–82).