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<p><b>Philadelphia</b> is the largest city in the <a href="/pages/w/113450242036931">Commonwealth</a> of <a href="/pages/w/105528489480786">Pennsylvania</a> and the <a href="/pages/w/118986031480507">sixth-most populous</a> city in the United States, with an estimated population of 1,567,872 and more than 6 million in the <a href="/pages/w/422562414497277">seventh-largest metropolitan statistical area</a>,. Philadelphia is the economic and cultural anchor of the <a href="/pages/w/104115169624433">Delaware Valley</a>a region located in the <a href="/pages/w/543544552380010">Northeastern United States</a> at the confluence of the <a href="/pages/w/104122379624668">Delaware</a> and <a href="/pages/w/104043592966894">Schuylkill</a> Rivers with 7.2 million people residing in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Combined_Statistical_Areas" class="wikipedia">eighth-largest combined statistical area</a> in the United States.</p><p>In 1682, <a href="/pages/w/103143076392618">William Penn</a>, an English <a href="/pages/w/115274635151547">Quaker</a>, founded the city to serve as capital of the <a href="/pages/w/137667292923869">Pennsylvania Colony</a>. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the <a href="/pages/w/112135105466046">American Revolution</a> as a meeting place for the <a href="/pages/w/111644182193012">Founding Fathers of the United States</a>, who signed the <a href="/pages/w/112590525418834">Declaration of Independence</a> in 1776 and the <a href="/pages/w/111758218841786">Constitution</a> in 1787. Several other key Philadelphia events during the Revolution include the <a href="/pages/w/108380322520106">First</a> and <a href="/pages/w/109273849091280">Second Continental Congress</a>, the preservation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bell%23Early_days_%281754%E2%80%931846%29" class="wikipedia">Liberty Bell</a>, the <a href="/pages/w/140003692691690">Battle of Germantown</a>, the <a href="/pages/w/248085451883633">Siege of Fort Mifflin</a>, and the <a href="/pages/w/102309536491138">Philadelphia Convention</a>. Philadelphia was one of the nation's <a href="/pages/w/106652506042326">capitals</a> in the <a href="/pages/w/108303929189663">Revolutionary War</a>, and served as temporary U.S. capital while <a href="/pages/w/108241789206971">Washington, D.C.</a>, was under construction. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became a major industrial center and railroad hub that grew from an influx of European <a href="/pages/w/107825519245861">immigrants</a>. The majority of European immigrants have come from Ireland, Italy and Germany—the three largest reported ancestry groups in the city. The city became a prime destination for <a href="/pages/w/111981608818084">African Americans</a> during the <a href="/pages/w/137206866299828">Great Migration</a> of the 20th century, as well as <a href="/pages/w/102554823132075">Puerto Ricans</a>, surpassing two million occupants by 1950.</p>