Kingston

City and port in southeastern Ontario, Canada, at the mouth of the St Lawrence River on Lake Ontario; seat of Frontenac County; population (1991) 56,600. It is an important shipping and manufacturing centre; industries include shipbuilding yards, engineering works, synthetic fibres, ceramics, and grain elevators.

The community was first established as a French trading post in 1673, growing up around a French fort, Fort Frontenac, which was captured by British forces in 1758. Kingston was claimed by United Empire Loyalists in 1783 and named after George III of England; it served as the capital of Upper Canada from 1841 to 1844. It was incorporated as a city in 1846.

The city is the seat of Queen's University at Kingston (1841), the Royal Military College of Canada (1876), the Canadian Army Staff College (1947), and the National Defence College (1948).