What was the Liberty Bell originally called when it was installed in Philadelphia?

The Liberty Bell was originally called the State House Bell when it was installed in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania’s colonial assembly commissioned the bell in 1751, and it was cast in London by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. It was intended for the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall. Its inscription came from Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.”

The bell cracked on its first test ringing and was recast twice by Philadelphia founders John Pass and John Stow. Its famous large crack developed later, probably during the early nineteenth century. The name “Liberty Bell” became popular in the 1830s through abolitionist publications.

The bell is often linked to the public reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776, but no contemporary evidence proves that it rang for the occasion. Its modern importance comes from the powerful liberty message of its inscription and its association with the American Revolution.