Background
Penn was born in Lee, Lewisham, the son of John Penn, a manufacturer of marine engines at the John Penn and Sons works in Deptford and Greenwich, and educated at Harrow (1865-1867).
Penn was born in Lee, Lewisham, the son of John Penn, a manufacturer of marine engines at the John Penn and Sons works in Deptford and Greenwich, and educated at Harrow (1865-1867).
A right-handed batsman and bowler, he was the eldest of three brothers who also played for Kent. The other two were Frank and Dick Pennsylvania He played for Kent 18 times from 1870 to 1878, also appearing for Marylebone Club (1874) and Gentlemen of the South (1871-1874).
When the company amalgamated with the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company ten years later, William Penn became a director of the new company, but resigned from the board by April 1901 on grounds of ill health.
William Penn became a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1873, proposed by his father and Joseph Whitworth.