Newark

Largest city and port of New Jersey, USA, on Newark Bay, 15 km/9 mi west of lower Manhattan; population (2000 est) 273,500. It is a commercial, financial, and industrial centre, with an international airport. Electrical equipment, machinery, chemicals, paints, beer, and canned meats are produced. Port Newark, a deep-water facility under the New York Port Authority, handles some aspects of New York harbour business. It was founded as Milford in 1666 by Puritans. The city is the seat of Essex county.

Location Newark is situated at the mouth of the Passaic River as it enters Newark Bay. Marshes extend to the east of the city; Newark Port being partly constructed on the tidal flatlands of the bay area.

Economy Newark developed as a major industrial centre specializing in leather. Following World War II, the city of Newark suffered from poverty and urban decay; racial disturbances driven by social tension and economic inequality erupted in 1967. Newark international airport, one of three airports serving greater New York, was upgraded and modernized in the 1970s to serve New York City. A third terminal was built in 1988, making it the twelfth largest airport in the USA. Airport buildings are among its 69 entries on the national register of historic places.

Urban renewal projects in the 1980s maintained Newark's position as a centre for business and finance. Newark is the third-largest insurance centre in the USA, after New York and Hartford. Rutgers-Newark University was founded here in 1946 and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1966.

Famous people It was the birthplace of Stephen Crane (1871–1900), author of The Red Badge of Courage 1895, a grim commentary on the Civil War.