The Liberty Bell was originally called the State House Bell when it was commissioned in 1752.
Pennsylvania's Provincial Assembly ordered the bell for the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall. The London firm Lester and Pack cast it, and the bell arrived in Philadelphia in 1752.
The bell cracked during an early test and was recast twice by Philadelphia founders John Pass and John Stow. Their names appear on the bell alongside the famous inscription from Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.”
The name “Liberty Bell” became widely used in the nineteenth century, especially after abolitionist groups adopted the bell as a symbol. It is often linked to the Declaration's public reading on July 8, 1776, but no contemporary record proves that this particular bell rang then.