Within its compact borders, Connecticut has forested hills, new urban
skylines, shoreline beaches, white-steeple colonial churches, and historic
village greens. There are classic Ivy League schools, modern expressways,
great corporate offices, and small farms. Connecticut is a thriving center
of business, as well as a vacation land. It is both a New England state,
and suburban to New York City.
(See MAP )
Name of State: Connecticut
Statehood: January 9, 1788 (5th state)
Nickname/Official Designation: "The Constitution State" was adopted by Act of the Legislature, 1959.
Name Origin/Indian: Quinnehtukqut -- Mohegan for "Long River Place" or "Beside the Long Tidal River"
Capitol: Hartford, the sole Capital City since 1875
Governor: John G. Rowland
State Motto: Qui Transtulit Sustinet -- "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains"
Population: The population of Connecticut was 3,287,116 according to the 1990 U.S. Official Census. The most recent population estimate from the Connecticut Department of Public Health is 3,274,238 as of July 1, 1996.
Cities with largest population (1990):
Bridgeport, 141,686
Hartford, 139,739
New Haven, 130,474
Waterbury, 108,961
Stamford, 108,056
Area: 5,018 square miles
Counties: 8
Towns: 169
Cities: 21
Boroughs: 9
Famous For: Inventors (Charles Goodyear, Elias Howe, Eli Whitney, Eli Terry), Inventions, Watchmaking, Typewriters, Insurance, Submarines
The emblems of the State are as follows:
The State Seal was provided for in the Constitution, 1818.
The State Flag was adopted by Act of the Legislature, 1897.
The State Flower, the Mountain Laurel, was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1907.
The State Bird, the Robin, was adopted by Act of the Legislature, 1943.
The State Tree, the White Oak, was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1947.
The State Animal, the Sperm Whale, Physeter Catodon, was adopted by
Act of the Legislature, 1975.
The State Insect, the Praying Mantis, Mantis Religiosa, was adopted
by Act of the Legislature, 1977.
The State Mineral, the Garnet, was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1977.
The State Song, "Yankee Doodle," was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1978.
The State Ship, USS Nautilus, was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1983.
The State Hero, Nathan Hale, was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1985.
The State Shellfish, the Eastern Oyster, was adopted by Act of the
Legislature, 1989.
The State Composer, Charles Edward Ives was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1991.
The State Fossil, Eubrontes Giganteus, was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1991.
The State Heroine, Prudence Crandall, was adopted by Act of the Legislature,
1995.
The State Tartan was adopted by Act of the Legislature, 1995.
For More Information:
See the Miscellaneous section of the Connecticut State Register and
Manual
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Connecticut's Historical Firsts
1639 -- first constitution adopted, establishing representative government
1656 -- first municipal public library in America, a bequest to the
"towne of New Haven"
1670 -- first survey for the first turnpike in America, between Norwich
and New London
1729 -- first medical diploma, granted by Yale University
1764 -- first newspaper, "The Hartford Courant" published since October
29, 1764
1775 -- first submarine
1783 -- first dictionary, published by Noah Webster, born in West Hartford
1784 -- first law school in America, Litchfield Law School
Graduates included John C. Calhoun, Aaron Burr, Horace Mann,
Oliver Wolcott, Jr. and Noah Webster
1788 -- first State House in America, built after the Federal Constitution
ratification
1794 -- first cotton gin, Eli Whitney of New Haven patented this invention
1803 -- first town library, tax-supported and organized in Salisbury
1806 -- first factory town in America, planned and established in Seymour
1808 -- first movable parts mass production in use, making clocks
1810 -- first insurance company, ITT Hartford Group, Inc.
Officially opened for business and people were able to take insurance for
the
"loss of life or personal injury while journeying by railway or steamboat"
1819 -- first industrial training school, established by Josiah Holbrook
in Derby
1836 -- first revolver
1842 -- first public art museum
1843 -- first portable typewriter
1844 -- first use of anesthesia
1846 -- first sewing machine, Elias Howe procured a patent for the
first practical
sewing machine in 1846
1853 -- first ice-making machine
1858 -- first can opener
1861 -- first Ph.D. Degree, Yale University awarded in Philosophy
1868 -- first tape measure
1877 -- first pay phone
1877 -- first telephone exchange, established in Bridgeport
1892 -- first collapsible toothpaste tube
1895 -- first hamburger, served at Louie's Lunch in New Haven
1900 -- first submarine
1907 -- first permanent public planning body in America,
Hartford's Commission on the City Plan
1908 -- first lollipop
1920 -- first Frisbee, Yale students discovered empty pie plates from
Mrs. Frisbie Pies
in Bridgeport could be sailed across the New Haven Green
1933 -- first vacuum cleaner
1934 -- first Polaroid camera
1939 -- first FM radio station, WDRC-FM began broadcasting in Hartford
1939 -- first helicopter, Igor Sikorsky designed the first successful
helicopter in the
Western Hemisphere
1948 -- first color television
1949 -- first ultra high frequency UHF television station to operate
on a daily basis,
KC2XAK in Bridgeport
1954 -- first nuclear submarine, launched in New London
1982 -- first artificial heart, Dr. Robert K. Jarvik, a Stamford native,
invented the world's first artificial heart