Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania and was founded by William Penn, an English Quaker, in 1682 to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. The US Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence here, and Philadelphia was one of the US capitals during the American Revolution. Throughout the nineteenth century, Philadelphia hosted a variety of industries and businesses, the largest industry being textiles. Its population expanded due to an influx of Irish, Italian, and German immigrants.

Parent Map

Alderson Family Emigration

Coordinates

Latitude: 39.952583900000
Longitude: -75.165221500000

View on the COVE Master Map

Timeline of Events Associated with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date Event Manage
May 1876

Grant’s Difference Engine

In May 1876, George Bernard Grant debuted his linear difference engine at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

Articles


Roger Whitson, “The Difference Engine: 1832, 1855, 1876, 1991, 2002, 2008″
Jan 1877

Fat and Blood and How to Make Them

photo of MitchellIn 1877, Philadelphia neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell published Fat and Blood, and How to Make Them, the medical text that popularized the infamous Rest Cure for nervous women. (Exact month of publication unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information.) Principle elements of the cure included bed rest, force feeding, isolation, massage, and electrical stimulation of muscles. Image: Photograph of Silas Weir Mitchell, 1881. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Anne Stiles, “The Rest Cure, 1873-1925″