Thomas Holme (1624–1695) was an English surveyor and soldier who became the first Surveyor General of Pennsylvania under William Penn. Appointed in 1682, he was responsible for laying out the plan of Philadelphia, translating Penn’s vision of an orderly, healthful “greene country towne” into a formal survey. His 1683 map, A PORTRAITURE OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA IN THE PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA, was the first published map of the city and established the grid, squares, and street layout that shaped Philadelphia’s development for centuries. Holme’s work remains one of the most influential pieces of early American urban planning
