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Newport News| Atlantic seaport and industrial city of southeast Virginia, USA, at the mouth of the James River on Chesapeake Bay; population (1996 est) 176,100. Situated on the north side of an extensive deepwater harbour at the southern end of the bay, it forms the Port of Hampton Roads with nearby Norfolk and Portsmouth. One of the chief US ports, it is a major coal-shipping centre, and contains one of the world's largest shipyards. Industries include shipbuilding, engineering, and wood-processing. Irish colonists founded the settlement in 1621. |
| In 1862, during the Civil War, the first battle between ironclad ships (the Monitor and the Merrimac) took place off Newport News at Hampton Roads. The port has been the terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway since 1880. |
| The ‘news’ of the arrival of Captain Christopher Newport, with supplies and additional colonists for nearby Jamestown, is believed to have inspired the town's name. |
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