Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.
In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be more than 1.54 million, while the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth largest. The city, which lies about 46 miles southwest of New York City, is the nation's fourth-largest urban area by population and its fourth-largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research. It is the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. Popular nicknames for Philadelphia include Philly and The City of Brotherly Love, from the literal meaning of the city's name in Greek, Modern Greek: "brotherly love", compounded from philos ("love"), and adelphos ("brother").
A commercial, educational, and cultural center, Philadelphia was once the second-largest city in the British Empire (after London), and the social and geographical center of the original 13 American colonies. It was a centerpiece of early American history, host to many of the ideas and actions that gave birth to the American Revolution and independence. It was the most populous city of the young United States, although by the first census in 1790, New York City had overtaken it. Philadelphia served as one of the nation's many capitals during the Revolutionary War and after. After the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the city served as the temporary national capital from 1790 to 1800 while Washington, D.C., was under construction.
History
Established: October 27, 1682.
William Penn made Philadelphia his capital in 1682, basing its plan on a grid with wide streets and public squares – a layout copied by many US cities. For a time the second-largest city in the British Empire (after London), Philadelphia became a center for opposition to British colonial policy. It was the new nation’s capital at the start of the Revolutionary War and again after the war until 1790, when Washington, DC, took over. By the 19th century New York City had superseded Philadelphia as the nation’s cultural, commercial and industrial center.