Greenwich

Greenwich, borough, Greater London, England

Greenwich (grĭn`īj, grĕn`–), outer borough (1991 pop. 200,800) of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. Manufactures include telephone equipment and underwater cable. The system of geographic longitude and time-keeping worked out at the famous Royal Observatory there have become standard in most countries of the world; the prime meridian, or long. 0°, passes through the observatory. The functions of the observatory were transferred to Herstmonceux, Sussex in 1946, and later to Cambridge (1990). Greenwich has nearly 9 mi (14.5 km) of river frontage; the huge Millennium Dome, constructed to celebrate the year 2000, is on the waterfront. Nearby Woolwich's docks and shipbuilding facilities were important from the 16th to the mid-19th cent. The Royal Naval College is in the borough. The college building, partially designed by Christopher Wren, was originally a home for disabled sailors. On the site of the present structure (begun in the late 17th cent.) stood a palace that was the birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I; Edward VI died there. Greenwich's National Maritime Museum is partly housed in a building designed by Inigo Jones for Anne of Denmark. The Royal Military Academy was at Woolwich until 1947, when it merged with the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Both Greenwich and Woolwich are mentioned in documents dating from the 10th cent. and appear in the Domesday Book.

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Greenwich, town, United States

Greenwich (grĕn`ĭch), residential town (1990 pop. 58,441), Fairfield co., SW Conn., on the Mianus and Byram rivers and Long Island Sound; settled 1640, inc. 1955. This attractive suburban community is noted as the home of many New York City executives. The town is located near an active and growing business community and contains many corporate headquarters. Greenwich was long inhabited by farmers and oystermen. In the American Revolution it was plundered (1779) by the British; a house (built 1731) from which Gen. Israel Putnam supposedly made a dramatic escape is still preserved. In the late 19th cent., Greenwich began to attract artists and summer residents. Comprised of numerous villages (including Greenwich, Riverside, Quaker Ridge, Old Greenwich, and Cos Cob), it has over 32 mi (52 km) of shoreline on Long Island Sound, with many harbors, beaches, and small islands. Of interest are the Bruce Museum and the Audubon Center.

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Greenwich

Outer borough (pop., 2001: 214,403), Greater London, on the southern bank of the River Thames. The meridian that passes through the borough serves as the basis for standard time as well as for reckonings of longitude throughout the world. Greenwich Park was enclosed by the duke of Gloucester in 1433; it was the site of the Royal Observatory (founded 1675). Other historic buildings include the Queen's House, now part of the National Maritime Museum, and the Royal Naval College (1873–1998). These and other historic places were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. The Millennium Dome, constructed in the 1990s, was used for millennial celebrations to usher in the year 2000.

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Greenwich

a Greater London borough on the Thames: site of a Royal Naval College and of the original Royal Observatory designed by Christopher Wren (1675), accepted internationally as the prime meridian of longitude since 1884, and the basis of Greenwich Mean Time; also site of the Millennium Dome. Pop.: 223 700 (2003 est.). Area: 46 sq. km (18 sq. miles)