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is a city in Union County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 120,568, making it New Jersey's fourth largest city (by population). The population of Elizabeth was 126,179 as of the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate. It is the county seat of Union County.
Elizabeth was founded in 1664 by English settlers and was named for the wife of Sir George Carteret, not Queen Elizabeth I as many people assume. Originally called "Elizabethtown," and part of the Elizabethtown Tract, it was the first English speaking community formed in the new colony. It was also the first capital of New Jersey. During the American Revolutionary War, Elizabeth was constantly attacked by British forces based in Manhattan and Staten Island.
On March 13, 1855, the City of Elizabeth was created by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature, combining and replacing both Elizabeth Borough (which dated back to 1740) and Elizabeth Township (which had been formed in 1693), based on the results of a referendum held on March 27, 1855. On March 19, 1857, the city became part of the newly-created Union County. Portions of the city were taken to form Linden Township on March 4, 1861.
The first major industry, the Singer Sewing Machine Company came to Elizabeth and employed as many as 2,000 people. In 1895, it saw one of the first car companies, when Electric Carriage and Wagon Company was founded to manufacture the Electrobat, joined soon by another electric car builder, Riker. The Electric Boat Company got its start building submarines for the United States Navy in Elizabeth, New Jersey beginning with the launch of the USS Holland in the late 1800s. These pioneering naval craft as A-Class were developed at Lewis Nixon's Crescent Shipyard in Elizabeth between the years 1896-1903. Elizabeth grew in parallel to its sister city of Newark for many years, but has been more successful in retaining a middle class presence and was spared riots in the 1960s.