Newport News
Newport News | ||
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Location in Virginia | ||
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Basic data | ||
Foundation : | 1621 | |
State : | United States | |
State : | Virginia | |
County : | District-free city | |
Coordinates : | 37 ° 4 ′ N , 76 ° 29 ′ W | |
Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | |
Inhabitants : - Metropolitan Area : |
180,719 (status: 2010) 1,672,319 (status: 2010) |
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Population density : | 1,021.6 inhabitants per km² | |
Area : | 308.3 km² (about 119 mi²) of which 176.9 km² (about 68 mi²) is land |
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Height : | 4.5 m | |
Postcodes : | 23601 - 23609, 23612, 23628 (US Army) | |
Area code : | +1 757 | |
FIPS : | 51-56000 | |
GNIS ID : | 1497043 | |
Website : | www.nngov.com | |
Mayor : | McKinley L. Price | |
Post office and courthouse in 1941 |
Newport News is an independent city in the US state of Virginia and stretches along the James River between Williamsburg and Norfolk . It is located in the north of the Hampton Roads region and with about 175 km² is the fourth largest city in terms of area and with 180,719 inhabitants in 2010 the fifth largest city in Virginia.
history
The city was founded in 1621. The origin of the name has not yet been clearly established. An interesting explanation is the following: When the first English settlers from Jamestown wanted to sail back to England after a period of famine in 1610 , they met the ship of Captain Christopher Newport at what is now Newport News , which arrived with supplies and reinforcements. They didn't have to give up Jamestown because of Newport's good news . A more mundane explanation is found in the Old English word news , which means new location . The place was originally called Newport's News . Since 1866 the name has been used by the American Post as Newport News .
On July 1, 1958, the city of Warwick was merged with Newport News.
The Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard is based here. The city's university is named after Christopher Newport ( Christopher Newport University ).
Three US Navy ships have been named after the city : the freighter Newport News (AK-3) , the heavy cruiser Newport News (CA-148) and the currently in service nuclear submarine Newport News (SSN-750) .
Newport News is home to the Mariners' Museum, the largest maritime museum in North America and one of the largest in the world.
Population development
year | Inhabitants¹ |
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1980 | 144.903 |
1990 | 171,439 |
2000 | 180,150 |
2010 | 180.719 |
¹ 1980–2010: Census Results
Town twinning
- Neyagawa , Japan
- Taizhou , People's Republic of China
- Greifswald , Germany since 2007
sons and daughters of the town
- Harvey Boone (≈1898–1939), jazz musician
- John Van Ryn (1905-1999), tennis player
- Ward Pinkett (1906-1937), jazz trumpeter
- Pearl Bailey (1918–1990), actress and singer
- Tiny Grimes (1916–1989), guitarist and singer
- Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996), jazz singer
- Howard Boatwright (1918–1999), composer, violinist, musicologist and author
- William Styron (1925-2006), novelist
- Hazel R. O'Leary (born 1937), politician
- Queen Esther Marrow (born 1941), singer
- Edmund M. Clarke (1945–2020), computer scientist and Turing Prize winner
- Howard Siler (1945-2014), bobsledder
- Frankie Faison (born 1949), actor
- Steve Riddick (* 1951), sprinter and Olympic champion
- Mark Gordon (* 1956), film producer
- Billy Drummond (born 1959), jazz drummer
- Sonja Sohn (* 1964), actress
- Orlando Serrell (* 1969), island talent
- Mike Tomlin (* 1972), football coach
- David Hornsby (born 1975), actor
- Richard Kelly (* 1975), director and screenwriter
- Martha Madison (born 1977), actress
- Tripp Phillips (born 1977), tennis player
- Michael Vick (born 1980), football player
- Nick Thompson (* 1981), martial artist
- Elton Brown (born 1983), basketball player
- Christine Marshall (* 1986), swimmer
Web links
- Official website of Newport News (English)