city, river port, and seat (1777) of Richmond county, eastern Georgia, U.S. It lies on the Savannah River (there bridged to North Augusta, South Carolina), on the fall line where the Piedmont Plateau meets the Coastal Plain. The area was explored in 1540 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto (Soto, Hernando de), but not until 1735 was a fortified fur-trading post established on the site (now marked by a Celtic cross) by James Edward Oglethorpe (Oglethorpe, James Edward), the founder of Georgia. The ensuing settlement was named for Princess Augusta, mother of England's George III.

During the American Revolution, Augusta was the site of bitter fighting and bloody reprisal, changing hands several times between the British and Americans. Twice during the struggle it served briefly as temporary capital of Georgia and then was the capital again in 1785–95. The Georgia state convention ratified the U.S. Constitution there on January 2, 1788. During the American Civil War the largest gunpowder factory in the Confederacy was located in Augusta; its 176-foot (54-metre) chimney remains, and there is a memorial to the war dead. Many well-preserved buildings of Georgian and Classic Revival design, notably the Ezekiel Harris House (1797) and the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art (1818), stand along tree-shaded streets.

One of the early milling towns of the South, and still a centre for cotton trading, it is an important textile-manufacturing centre. Nearby deposits of high-grade kaolin are mined for use in the manufacture of paper, paints, rubber, and ceramics. Manufactures are highly diversified, and agricultural industries are important. The J. Strom Thurmond (Clark Hill) Dam, one of a series of dams on the Savannah above Augusta for hydroelectric power production and flood control, helps ensure water levels in the river port below the city.

Augusta State University, originally part of the Academy of Richmond County (1783), was chartered as a college in 1925. The city is also the home of the Medical College of Georgia (founded as the Medical Academy of Georgia in 1828) and Paine College (1882). Augusta National Golf Club in the city hosts the annual Masters Tournament, one of professional golf's most prestigious events. Fort Gordon, site of the U.S. Army Signal Center and several Signal Corps schools, is located southwest of downtown; and the Savannah River Site, a federal nuclear-weapons facility, is about 15 miles (24 km) southeast in South Carolina. In 1995 voters approved a referendum consolidating the Augusta city and Richmond county governments. Inc. town, 1789; city, 1798. Pop. (1990) city, 44,639; Augusta-Richmond county consolidated area, 186,616; Augusta-Aiken MSA, 415,184; (2000) Augusta-Richmond county consolidated area, 199,775; Augusta-Aiken MSA, 477,441.

town, Sicily, Italy, north of the city of Syracuse; it lies on a long sandy island off the southeast coast between the Golfo (gulf) di Augusta and the Ionian Sea and is connected by two bridges with the mainland. The town was founded near the site of the ancient Dorian town of Megara Hyblaea in 1232 by Emperor Frederick II for the rebellious people of Centuripe and Montalbano, towns that were destroyed because of their disaffection. Frederick called it Augusta Veneranda, and it became one of his favourite resorts. The town was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693. It was chosen by the Knights of Malta to be a supply repository at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1861 Augusta (also spelled Agosta) became part of the Kingdom of Italy. In World War II it was one of the ports of disembarkation of the Anglo-American forces for the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. Notable landmarks include the Swabian castle (now a prison), the cathedral (1769), and the Palazzo Comunale (1699).

The traditional industries are agriculture (cereals, olives, grapes, market produce), salt mining along the coast, fishing, and the preserving of anchovy. Long a naval station, Augusta has become a principal Sicilian trading port, with industrial growth on its extensive waterfront, including an oil refinery and a large chemical complex, which have caused severe environmental pollution problems. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 33,939.

capital (1831) of Maine, U.S., seat (1799) of Kennebec county, at the head of navigation on the Kennebec River, 57 miles (92 km) northeast of Portland. The city's establishment and early prosperity, which began with the arrival of traders from the Plymouth colony of Massachusetts in 1628, can be attributed to its location on navigable tidewater 39 miles (63 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. A trading post was established on a site the Canibas Indians called Koussinoc. The first permanent structure, Fort Western, was built there in 1754 for protection against Indian attacks. (In 1922 the wooden fort was restored as a historic monument and museum.) In 1797 the settlement was incorporated as the town of Harrington; the present name (for Pamela Augusta, daughter of the Revolutionary War general Henry Dearborn (Dearborn, Henry)) was adopted later that year.

State government operations, augmented by the University of Maine at Augusta (opened 1965), and light industry are the economic mainstays; manufactures include paper, steel, food products, and computer products. The State House (1829–32) was originally designed by Charles Bulfinch (Bulfinch, Charles) and has a 185-foot (56-metre) dome topped by a statue of Minerva created by W. Clark Noble. The Executive Mansion was the former home of James G. Blaine (Blaine, James G.), unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1884. The state's history and natural environment are depicted in exhibits at the Maine State Museum. With the Belgrade chain of lakes 15 miles (24 km) north and the Kennebec River reaching south to the sea, Augusta is one of the state's leading vacation centres. Inc. town, 1797; city, 1849. Pop. (1990) 21,325; (2000) 18,560.

queen consort of Prussia from 1861 and German empress from 1871, the wife of William I.

The younger daughter of Charles Frederick, grand duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, she was married to the future king and emperor on June 11, 1829. She was jealously devoted to her children, Frederick William (later king and emperor as Frederick III) and Louise (grand duchess of Baden from 1856).

Augusta was well-disposed toward liberals and Roman Catholics and was a friend of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. She disliked and distrusted and was disliked and distrusted by Otto von Bismarck (Bismarck, Otto von), her husband's closest political ally from 1862 to 1890.