BURLINGTON, a city and port of entry of the United States, capital of Chittenden county, in Vermont, 38 miles N.W. of Montpelier, in 44° 27' N. lat., and 73° 10' W. long. It has a fine situation on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, and is laid out with great regularity around a central square. Its principal buildings are the Vermont University (which occupies the summit of the slope on which the city is built), the Vermont Episcopal Institute, the court-houses, a jail, a custom-house, and a marinehospital. The university was founded in 1791, and was endowed by the State with 29,000 acres of land,—to which in 1865 were added 150,000 acres of national grant by the incorporation of the agricultural college. There is a medical school attached. Burlington carries on an extensive trade in lumber, and has the most important share in the shipping traffic of the lake. Its harbour is defended by a breakwater, and a lighthouse was erected at the mouth of the bay in 1862. To the north of the Onion River, but united to Burlington by a bridge, lies the flourishing village of Winooski, with factories and mills. The history of Burlington only dates from 1783; its first church from 1795, and its incorporation as a city from 1864. Population in 1870, 14,387....
BURLINGTON, a city and port of entry of the United States in Burlington county, New Jersey, 18 miles N.E. of Philadelphia, on the Delaware, in 40° 5' N. lat. and 73° 10' W. long. It is well built, has an abuudant supply of water, and forms a favourite summer resort for the inhabitants of Philadelphia. Its educational institutions are of considerable importance, and comprise an Episcopal college, founded in 1846; St Mary’s Hall, also under Episcopalian management; two large boarding schools; and a number of public schools, which are well endowed. There is also a town-hall and a valuable library. Though it has greatly declined with the rise of Philadelphia, Burlington still maintains a respectable shipping trade; in 1871 it had 131 vessels with a registered tonnage of 12,525. The first settlement of the city dates from 1667, and was principally due to a number of Quakers. New Beverly, as the place was originally called, grew rapidly iu importance, aud was the seat of the Government of New Jersey till 1790. It had a large trade with the West Indies, and was raised to the rank of a bishopric, Queen Anne endowing the church with an extensive estate. Population in 1870, 5817.
BURLINGTON, a city of the United States, the capital of the county of Des Moines in Iowa, on the right bank of the Mississippi, 207 miles by rail from Chicago. It occupies a natural amphitheatre formed by the limestone bluffs which slope backward from the river. Among the educational institutions the chief place is held by the Business College, founded in 1865, and the Baptist University, which dates from 1854. There are about eight public schools, fifteen churches, and a public library. The commercial activity of the city is very great, and is gradually increasing. Its industrial establishments comprise flourmills, pork-packing warehouses, foundries, breweries, and soapworks; and the neighbourhood furnishes an abundant supply of coal, building stone, and lime. The city is also the centre of a considerable railway system. Laid out in 1834, it ranked for several years (1837-40) as the capital of Iowa. Population in 1860, 6706; in 1870, 14,933.
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