Our history

George Fox founded the Quaker movement in the mid 17th century. Our name may have come from Fox telling a magistrate to tremble (or 'quake') at the name of God.


Quaker timeline

1647 George Fox recognises God's light is within everyone

1652 Birth of Quakerism in the North of England

1655 Margaret Fell shapes national Quaker organisation

1660 Restoration of the monarchy – systematic persecution of Quakers

1661 Quakers present their peace testimony to Charles II

1681 William Penn establishes the Quaker state of Pennsylvania

1689 Act of Toleration allows Quakers to worship legally

1755 Quaker marriage becomes legal

1758 Quakers begin campaigning to abolish slavery

1796 Quakers pioneer humane mental care at The Retreat, York

1813 Elizabeth Fry starts her prison reform work at Newgate Prison

1825 Quaker firms open first steam railway, 'Stockton & Darlington'

1870s Growth of Quaker chocolate makers Cadburys and Rowntrees

1890s Fair-trading Quaker banks Barclays and Lloyds thrive

1920 First conference of Quakers worldwide

1927 Friends House opens as the home of British Quakers

1938 Quakers evacuate children from Nazi Germany on Kindertransport

1947 Quakers awarded Nobel Peace Prize for their war relief work

1997 Quakers work at the UN to bring about Landmine Ban Treaty

2009 British Quakers campaign for same-sex marriage

2014 Quakers in Britain disinvest from fossil fuels

Famous Quakers

You may have heard of some of the following Quakers:

  • George Fox – founder of Quakers, 1624–1691
  • William Penn – friend of George Fox, founder of Pennsylvania, 1621–1670
  • John Woolman – American Quaker involved in the abolition of slavery, 1720–1772
  • John Dalton – British scientist who invented the atomic theory of matter, 1766–1844
  • Edward Pease – first Quaker member of Parliament, 1767–1858
  • Elizabeth Fry – British prison reformer, 1780–1845
  • Joseph Rowntree – Chocolate manufacturer, 1837–1925
  • George Cadbury – Chocolate manufacturer, 1839–1922
  • Arthur Eddington – physicist, 1882–1944
  • James Dean – actor, 1931–1955
  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell – astronomer, discoverer of pulsars, born 1943
  • Bonnie Raitt – musician, born 1949
  • Tom Robinson – musician, born 1950