Lancaster County,sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country,is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census,the population was 552,984,making it Pennsylvania's sixth-most populous county. Its county seat is Lancaster. Lancaster County comprises the Lancaster,Pennsylvania metropolitan statistical area.
Lancaster is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County,Pennsylvania,and one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 census,it is the 10th-most populous city in the state. The Lancaster metropolitan area population is 552,984,making it the second-largest in the South Central Pennsylvania area.
Thaddeus Stevens was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania,being one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of slavery and discrimination against black Americans,Stevens sought to secure their rights during Reconstruction,leading the opposition to U.S. President Andrew Johnson. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee during the American Civil War,he played a leading role,focusing his attention on defeating the Confederacy,financing the war with new taxes and borrowing,crushing the power of slave owners,ending slavery,and securing equal rights for the freedmen.
The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818,it is the 8th largest school district in the nation,by enrollment,serving over 190,000 students.
Millersville University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Millersville,Pennsylvania. It is one of the fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). Founded in 1855 as the first Normal School in Pennsylvania,Millersville is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is a public technical college in Lancaster,Pennsylvania. It offers twenty-two academic programs for about 1,200 students. It was named for Thaddeus Stevens,a nineteenth-century statesman. The college was founded in 1905 and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. is an American politician,lobbyist,and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party,he previously served as the attorney general of Pennsylvania on two occasions.
Francis Bernard McClain was the 11th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1915 to 1919.
Robert C. Wonderling was a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate who represented the 24th District from 2003 to 2009. The district he represented includes portions of Montgomery,Berks,Lehigh and Northampton Counties and includes the population centers of Easton,Lansdale,and Emmaus. He resigned his seat on July 28,2009,to become president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.
Bryan Dean Cutler is an American politician and former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A Republican,Cutler represents the 100th legislative district of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2006,defeating incumbent Gibson C. Armstrong. He was elected House Majority Leader after the 2018 elections,and he became Speaker on June 22,2020,after the resignation of Mike Turzai.
There are numerous elementary,secondary,and higher institutions of learning in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,which is home to 500 public school districts,thousands of private schools,many publicly funded colleges and universities,and over 100 private institutions of higher education.
Thomas Westerman Wolf is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business,The Wolf Organization,and later as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from April 2007 to November 2008.
Vicki Phillips is an American education consultant and former executive vice president and chief education officer of National Geographic who previously served as the director of education for the College Ready program of the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation and as the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Gerald L. Zahorchak is an American educator and the former Secretary of Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education,a position he held from 2006 to 2010. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s,Zahorchak worked at various Pennsylvania public school districts in a number of positions,including teacher,football coach,principal,federal programs director,strategic planning coordinator and personnel director. Zahorchak worked as superintendent of the Greater Johnstown School District in Cambria County from 1997 to 2003,when he was chosen to be Deputy Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education for the state. Governor Ed Rendell appointed him Secretary of Education in 2005.
The 2014 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania,concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on November 8,2016,to elect the 18 U.S. representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the House of Representatives,elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on April 26.
The 2018 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania,concurrently with the election of Pennsylvania's Class I U.S. Senate seat,as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various local elections. Incumbent Governor Tom Wolf won re-election to a second term by a double-digit margin,defeating Republican challenger Scott Wagner and two third-party candidates from the Green Party,Paul Glover and Libertarian Party,Ken Krawchuk. The primary elections were held on May 15. This was the only Democratic-held governorship up for election in 2018 in a state Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election.
James Pyle Wickersham was an American educator and author in the state of Pennsylvania. He also served as the US Chargéd'Affaires in Denmark in 1882.
The 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 8,2022,to elect the governor of Pennsylvania and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro defeated State Senator Doug Mastriano by 14.8 percentage points to succeed term-limited incumbent Governor Tom Wolf (D). Primaries were held on May 17,2022. Shapiro won the Democratic nomination after running unopposed and Mastriano won the Republican nomination with 44% of the vote. Mastriano's nomination drew attention due to his far-right political views.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in March 2020. As of October 7,2021,the Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed 1,464,264 cumulative cases and 29,814 deaths in the state. As of September 1,2021,Pennsylvania has administered 6,238,812 partial vaccinations,and 5,983,128 full vaccinations.
