City (pop., 2000: 197,790), capital of Virginia, U.S. Located in the east-central part of the state, on the James River, Richmond was established as a trading post in 1637 and incorporated as a town in 1742. It became the state capital in 1779 and played an important role in the American Revolution. During the American Civil War it was the capital of the Confederate States of America. It was taken by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in 1865, and much of the business district was burned. It is now a major tobacco market and commercial and government centre; its universities include the University of Richmond (founded 1830) and Virginia Commonwealth University (1838)
{i} capital of Virginia (USA); capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War (U.S. History); former name of Staten Island (New York); city in Kentucky (USA); city in Indiana (USA); port city in northwestern California (USA); male first name
orig. Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond (b. Jan. 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales d. April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, Eng.) King of England (1485-1509) and founder of the Tudor dynasty. As earl of Richmond and a kinsman in the House of Lancaster, he fled to Brittany after the triumph of the Yorkist forces in 1471. He later returned to England, rallied the opponents of Richard III, and defeated him at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485). He married Elizabeth of York and ended the Wars of the Roses, though Yorkist plots continued. He made peace with France (1492), the Netherlands (1496), and Scotland (1499) and used his children's marriages to build European alliances. His commercial treaties and promotion of trade made England wealthy and powerful. He was succeeded by his son Henry VIII