Portal:Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Portal
.jpg)
Philadelphia, colloquially Philly, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, and the sixth-most populous U.S. city with a 2019 estimated population of 1,584,064. Since 1854, the city has had the same geographic boundaries as Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the eighth-largest U.S. metropolitan statistical area, with over 6 million residents . Philadelphia is also the economic and cultural anchor of the greater Delaware Valley, located along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, within the Northeast megalopolis. The Delaware Valley's population of 7.2 million ranks it as the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.
Philadelphia is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States. William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city in 1682 to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 at the Second Continental Congress, and the Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Several other key events occurred in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War including the First Continental Congress, the preservation of the Liberty Bell, the Battle of Germantown, and the Siege of Fort Mifflin. Philadelphia remained the nation's largest city until being overtaken by New York City in 1790; the city was also one of the nation's capitals during the revolution, serving as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C. was under construction. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Philadelphia became a major industrial center and a railroad hub. The city grew due to an influx of European immigrants, most of whom initially came from Ireland and Germany—the two largest reported ancestry groups in the city . Later immigrant groups in the 20th century came from Italy (Italian being the third largest European ethnic ancestry currently reported in Philadelphia) and other Southern European and Eastern European countries. In the early 20th century, Philadelphia became a prime destination for African Americans during the Great Migration after the Civil War. Puerto Ricans began moving to the city in large numbers in the period between World War I and II, and in even greater numbers in the post-war period. The city's population doubled from one million to two million people between 1890 and 1950.
Selected image
Live Aid was a dual-venue benefit concert held on 13 July 1985, and an ongoing music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London (attended by 72,000 people) and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia (attended by about 100,000 people). On the same day, concerts inspired by the initiative happened in other countries, such as the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia and West Germany. It was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time; an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast.
Selected article
The Earle Mack School of Law is the law school of Philadelphia's Drexel University. The school, which opened in Fall 2006, was the first new law school in the area in over thirty years, and is the newest school within Drexel. Serving both undergraduate and graduate students, the school offers Juris Doctor degrees and requires all students to take part in their cooperative education program. The 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) complex features a moot courtroom, a two-floor library, a two-story atrium for meetings and casual conversation, faculty/staff offices, and several rooms for students to meet and work; the building also shares the campus-wide wireless Internet access. The permanent location for the law school, on the corner of 33rd and Chestnut Streets, is projected to be completed and open in 2012. The inaugural class of the Earle Mack School of Law began classes on August 16, 2006.
Selected biography
Al Wistert is a former All-Pro American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became the team's captain. He played college football for the University of Michigan Wolverines. He is one of the three Wistert brothers (Alvin, Francis) who were named All-American Tackles at Michigan and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame; they are three of only seven players who have had their numbers retired by the Michigan Wolverines football program. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl as an Eagle, the first Michigan alumnus to be so recognized. During most of his pro career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the league All-Pro team eight times. Wistert was inducted into the Eagles Honor Roll on September 29, 2009, along with Randall Cunningham. Wistert has an active petition campaign to pursue Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. After football, he became a successful life insurance salesman, over a 40-year career. Since retirement he has lived in California and Grants Pass, Oregon. He was married to his late wife Ellie for 61 years and has three daughters (Pam, Dianna and Kathy) and three grandchildren.
Related portals
Selected anniversaries - October
- October 4, 1777 - American Revolutionary War: British troops repel an attack by General George Washington at the Battle of Germantown.
- October 7, 1952 - Bandstand, later called American Bandstand, premieres on WFIL-TV.
- October 25, 1701 – William Penn issues the Charter of 1701, establishing Philadelphia as a city.
- October 25, 1918 - The Benjamin Franklin Parkway opens to automobile traffic for the first time.
Featured articles
Latest Featured Articles and Lists
Quotes
"Philadelphia is a city to be happy in...Everything is well conditioned and cared for. If any fault could be found it would be that of too much regularity and too nice precision."
Things you can do
Help and improve articles related to Philadelphia.
Philadelphia lists
Subcategories
Associated Wikimedia
Portals