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From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium

George Fox (1625-1691) is widely regarded as the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers. Fox was raised in the Anglican Church but was dissatisfied with his spiritual growth. At the age of 19, he left home to wander the English countryside in search of a greater spiritual understanding. In 1647, Fox reported that he heard God speak to him, an event which radically changed his beliefs about man's relationship with God.

Although other religious dissenters were emerging at the time, Fox is generally credited with starting the Quaker movement in 1652 after a trip to Pendle Hill in which he received a vision that allowed him to "see in what places he had a great people to be gathered."