Philadelphia

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River port and chief city in Pennsylvania, USA, on the Delaware River at the junction with the Schuykill River; population (2000 est) 1,517,600. It is the world's largest freshwater port, the fifth largest city in the USA, and a financial, business, and research centre. Industries include oil-refining, food-processing, electronics, printing, publishing, and the production of iron, steel, chemicals, textiles, carpets, and transportation equipment, although manufacturing is less important than it was. Philadelphia was originally settled by Swedish settlers in 1682, and was the capital of the USA 1790–1800.

History
Founded by William Penn in 1682 as ‘the city of brotherly love’, a Quaker settlement, its religious tolerance made it the most populated city of the original 13 colonies. The scientist and diplomat Benjamin Franklin lived and published here, and the Constitution was drafted here in 1787. In 1876 Philadelphia held the Centennial Exposition, the first international trade fair in the USA. An inhabitant of Philadelphia, Katharine Drexel, who used her $20 million inheritance to found the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, was canonized in 2000, becoming the second US-born saint.

Blue is said to represent the bright sky. The star stands for freedom. Effective date: 12 October 1954. >>