The Liberty Bell was recast for the second time by John Pass and John Stow in 1753.
The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly commissioned the bell in 1751, and it arrived in Philadelphia from the London firm Lester and Pack in 1752. The bell cracked during its first test strike, so local founders Pass and Stow melted it down and cast a replacement.
That first replacement produced an unsatisfactory sound and was recast again. The second recasting was completed in June 1753, and the bell was then hung in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall.
The Liberty Bell was not named during the founding era. The name became popular in the nineteenth century, especially among abolitionists. Its famous crack developed later, and the popular story that it cracked while announcing independence has no contemporary evidence.