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The coat of arms of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie. Pennsylvania's most populous city is Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of the state's namesake. Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden, a Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system, and religious pluralism.

Pennsylvania later played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire, hosting the First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which formed the Continental Army and elected George Washington as its commander in 1775, and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. In 1787, following the establishment of the nation's independence, the Constitution of the United States, now the world's oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution, was written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and was ratified in Philadelphia the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. (Full article...)

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Goldstein in 2008

Adam Michael Goldstein (March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009), known professionally as DJ AM, was an American DJ. Born in Philadelphia, Goldstein became interested in deejaying as a child after watching Herbie Hancock perform his 1983 single "Rockit". Goldstein developed a drug addiction as a teenager and was sent to the controversial rehabilitation center Straight, Incorporated. After he left the center, his drug problems became worse; he was addicted to crack cocaine for several years in his early twenties. After he attempted suicide in 1997, Goldstein became sober and later sponsored other addicts through Alcoholics Anonymous.

Goldstein began deejaying in clubs in Los Angeles and joined the band Crazy Town in 1999. He left the group in 2001 and focused on a career as a solo DJ. After he began dating Nicole Richie in 2003, his career skyrocketed. In 2006, he accepted a $1 million contract to perform weekly at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas strip and was also charging upwards of $10,000 for private events. In 2008, Goldstein and Travis Barker formed the duo TRV$DJAM. Barker and Goldstein were the only two survivors of the 2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash, which killed the other four people on board. (Full article...)

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Erie, officially the City of Erie, is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 at the 2020 census. The two-county Erie metropolitan area had a population of 270,876 in 2020. Erie is about 80 miles (130 km) from Buffalo, 90 miles (140 km) from Cleveland, and 120 miles (190 km) from Pittsburgh.

The city was named for the Native American Erie people who lived in the area until the mid-17th century. Its nicknames include "Gem City", a reference to its fine natural harbor, the "Gem of the Great Lakes"; and more recently, "Flagship City", from a local marketing effort to play up the homeport of Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship Niagara. (Full article...)

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Duncan & Miller Glass Company was a well-known glass manufacturing company in Washington, Pennsylvania. Items that were produced by the company are known as "Duncan glass" or "Duncan Miller glass." The company was founded in 1865 by George Duncan with his two sons and son-in-law in the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By 1890, the company joined other glass companies to form the United States Glass Company, a powerful glass trust. In 1892, the factory was destroyed in a fire, and the company was relieved of its trust relationship with the US Glass Company. After the fire, the second generation of the Duncan family moved operations to Washington, Pennsylvania. In 1900, John Ernest Miller, the company's long-time designer, became a full shareholder along with members of the Duncan family. By 1955, economic pressures from machine-produced glass forced the company to sell off its assets to the US Glass Company, who continued to produce Duncan-style glass until 1980. (Full article...)

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Cosby in 1969

William Henry Cosby Jr. (/ˈkɒzbi/ KOZ-bee; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy star, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". Since 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against him.

Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco in 1961, and primarily performed observational comedy in a conversational style. He released numerous standup specials starting with Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963) and starred in the comedy film Bill Cosby: Himself (1983). Cosby still holds the record for winning the most Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, with seven wins. His acting career began with a starring role in the NBC secret-agent show I Spy (1965–1968), which broke new ground for African Americans when he made history by winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first black actor to do so. (Full article...)

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State Facts
Pennsylvania's largest city Philadelphia
  • Nickname: The Keystone State
  • Capital: Harrisburg
  • Largest city: Philadelphia
  • Total area: 119,283 square kilometers (46,055 square miles)
  • Population (2000 census): 12,281,054
  • Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd)
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Mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower

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