Kingston:1 City (1990 pop. 23,095), seat of Ulster co., SE N.Y., on the Hudson River at the mouth of Rondout Creek; inc. as a village 1805, and as a city through the union (1872) of Kingston and Rondout. A tourist hub for the Catskill-Shawangunk resort area, it has plants that make data acquisition and control systems, ships, conveyors and separators for sand and gravel, hydraulic and filter systems, electronics, machines, boilers, and draperies and textiles. The city is also a market for nearby fruit and vegetable farms (especially apples).

The first permanent settlement (called Wiltwyck) was established in 1652. Kingston served as the first capital of New York state until it was burned by the British in Oct., 1777. Its growth in the early 19th cent. was stimulated by the Delaware and Hudson Canal. Among notable landmarks are many old Dutch stone houses; the senate house (1676), meeting place of the first New York state legislature; the old Dutch church (1659) and cemetery (1661); the burial place of James Clinton; and nearby "Slabsides," the former cottage of John Burroughs.

2 Borough (1990 pop. 14,507), Luzerne co., NE Pa., on the Susquehanna River opposite Wilkes-Barre; settled 1769, inc. 1857. Although chiefly residential, it has food-products, textiles and apparel, machinery, and furniture industries.

Kingston, city (1991 pop. 56,597), S Ont., Canada, on Lake Ontario, near the head of the St. Lawrence River and at the end of Rideau Canal from Ottawa. Kingston has probably the best harbor on the lake. Industries include the manufacture of locomotives, ships, mining equipment, textiles, aluminum products, synthetic yarn, and ceramics.

On the site stood Fort Frontenac, which was of great importance in the French and Indian War. The present city was founded by United Empire Loyalists in 1783 and prospered during the War of 1812 as the Canadian naval base for operations against the Americans. From 1841 to 1844 it served as the capital of Canada. Fort Henry, built during the War of 1812 and rebuilt from 1832 to 1836, is now a museum. Kingston is the seat of Queen's Univ. (1841), of the Royal Military College, of a campus of St. Lawrence College, and of Anglican and Roman Catholic bishoprics and cathedrals.

Kingston upon Thames, outer borough (1991 pop. 130,300) of Greater London, SE England. Mainly residential, it has light engineering works and manufactures electronic equipment. It also contains one of the largest shopping centers in outer London. In the 10th cent. several Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned at Kingston upon Thames; the stone believed to have been used during the coronations is preserved in the marketplace. Modernization of the area began in the early 19th cent. Kingston College of Further Education and Kingston Polytechnic are in the borough. Kingston Grammar School was founded in 1561.

Kingston •baton, batten, fatten, flatten, harmattan, Manhattan, Mountbatten, paten, patten, pattern, platen, Saturn, slattern •Shackleton • Appleton •Hampton, Northampton, Rockhampton, Southampton, Wolverhampton •Canton, lantern, Scranton •Langton, plankton •Clapton •Aston, pastern •Gladstone •Caxton, Paxton •capstan • Ashton • phytoplankton •Akhenaten, Akhetaten, Aten, Barton, carton, Dumbarton, hearten, Parton, smarten, spartan, tartan •Grafton •Carlton, Charlton •Charleston • kindergarten •Aldermaston •Breton, jetton, Sowetan, threaten, Tibetan •lectern •Elton, melton, Skelton •Denton, Fenton, Kenton, Lenten, Trenton •Repton •Avestan, Midwestern, northwestern, Preston, southwestern, western •sexton •Clayton, Deighton, Leighton, Paton, phaeton, Satan, straighten, straiten •Paignton • Maidstone •beaten, Beaton, Beeton, Cretan, Keaton, neaten, Nuneaton, overeaten, sweeten, uneaten, wheaten •chieftain •eastern, northeastern, southeastern •browbeaten • weatherbeaten •bitten, bittern, Britain, Briton, Britten, handwritten, hardbitten, kitten, Lytton, mitten, smitten, underwritten, witan, written •Clifton •Milton, Shilton, Stilton, Wilton •Middleton • singleton • simpleton •Clinton, Linton, Minton, Quinton, Winton •cistern, Liston, piston, Wystan •brimstone • Winston • Kingston •Addington • Eddington •Workington •Arlington, Darlington •skeleton •Ellington, wellington •exoskeleton •cosmopolitan, megalopolitan, metropolitan, Neapolitan •Burlington • Hamilton • badminton •lamington • Germiston • Penistone •Bonington • Orpington • Samaritan •Carrington, Harrington •sacristan • Festschriften •Sherrington • typewritten •Warrington • puritan • Fredericton •Lexington • Occitan • Washington •Whittington • Huntington •Galveston • Livingstone •Kensington •Blyton, brighten, Brighton, Crichton, enlighten, frighten, heighten, lighten, righten, tighten, titan, triton, whiten •begotten, cotton, forgotten, ill-gotten, misbegotten, rotten •Compton, Crompton •wanton • Longton •Boston, postern •boughten, chorten, foreshorten, Laughton, Morton, Naughton, Orton, quartan, quartern, shorten, tauten, torten, Wharton •Alton, Dalton, Galton, saltern, Walton •Taunton • Allston • Launceston •croton, Dakotan, Minnesotan, oaten, verboten •Bolton, Doulton, molten •Folkestone • Royston •Luton, newton, rambutan, Teuton •Houston • Fulton •button, glutton, Hutton, mutton •sultan •doubleton, subaltern •fronton • Augustan • Dunstan •tungsten • quieten • Pinkerton •charlatan • Wollaston • Palmerston •Edmonton • automaton • Sheraton •Geraldton • Chatterton • Betterton •Chesterton • Athelstan •burton, curtain, uncertain •Hurston

Kingston, village, capital of the Australian territory of Norfolk Island, located on the island's S coast, on Emily Bay. Kingston is the administrative and historic center of Norfolk Island; its commercial center is nearby Burnt Pine. Tourism is the mainstay of the local economy. Citrus and passion fruit are grown. The area that is now Kingston was the 1788 landing site of the first 23 European settlers, a group that included 15 convicts. The settlement subsequently became the center of the notorious Norfolk Island penal colony, which operated until 1855. Many prison buildings have been restored and are now tourist attractions.

Kingston Capital and largest city of Jamaica. It was founded in 1693. It rapidly developed into Jamaica's commercial centre, based on the export of raw cane sugar, bananas and rum. In 1872 it became the island's capital. Kingston is the cultural heart of Jamaica, the home of calypso and reggae music. In recent years Kingston has been plagued by urban disturbances and armed drug gangs. Pop. (2002 est.) 538,900.