Bridgeport

City and port in southwestern Connecticut, USA, on the shore of Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Pequonnock River, 100 km/62 mi northeast of New York City; population (2000) 139,500. Industries include metal goods, electrical appliances, and helicopters, but many factories closed in the 1970s. Bridgeport was settled in 1639 and was incorporated as a city in 1836.

It is the seat of several colleges: Bridgeport Engineering Institute (1924), University of Bridgeport (1927), and Sacred Heart University (1963). P T Barnum was a former mayor of Bridgeport, and there is a Barnum Museum of circus memorabilia and a Tom Thumb statue.