State Trivia
Population: 13.002 million
Capital: Harrisburg
Statehood: Dec. 12, 1787
Total area: 46,041.7 square miles
Land area: 44,729.9 square miles
Water area: 1,311.8 square miles
Location: 40.276N, 076.884W
Governor: Josh Shapiro
State animal: White-tailed deer
State beverage: Milk
State dog: Great Dane
State fish: Brook trout
State flagship: U.S. Brig Niagara
State flower: Mountain laurel
State tree: Eastern hemlock
State game bird: Ruffed grouse
State amphibian: Eastern hellbender
State motto: Virtue, liberty and independence
Origin of state name: State founder William Penn named the state in honor of his father, Admiral William Penn.
Nickname: Keystone State. Keystones are wedge-shaped stones in the center of arches that hold all the other stones in place. Pennsylvania served as a keystone in the economic, social and political development of the United States.
Famous for: Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall
Famous Pennsylvanians: Louisa May Alcott, Mary Roberts Rinehart, John Updike (novelists); Samuel Barber, Stephen Foster (composers); Daniel Boone (frontiersman); James Buchanan (president); Gene Kelly, James Stewart (actors); Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey (bandleaders); W.C. Fields (comedian); Robert Fulton (inventor); Grace Kelly (actress, princess of Monaco); Reggie Jackson (baseball player); George McClellan (general); Andrew Mellon (financier); Arnold Palmer (golfer); Robert Peary (explorer); Betsy Ross (flag maker); Andrew Wyeth (painter); and Taylor Swift (singer/songwriter).
