city, seat (1816) of Penobscot county, east-central Maine, U.S. It is a port of entry at the head of navigation on the Penobscot River opposite Brewer. The site, visited in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain (Champlain, Samuel de), was settled in 1769 by Jacob Buswell. First called Kenduskeag Plantation (1776) and later Sunbury (1787), it was incorporated as a town in 1791 and is thought to have been named Bangor by the Reverend Seth Noble for his favourite hymn tune. It was briefly held by the British in the War of 1812 (1812, War of). After 1830 it became a leading lumber port with shipbuilding yards. It is now a commercial centre with varied manufactures including paper, electronic equipment, forest products, and footwear. The city is the seat of Bangor Theological Seminary (founded 1814), Beal College (1891), Husson College (1898), and Eastern Maine Technical College (1966). Bangor International Airport occupies the former Dow Air Force Base. At Orono, 9 miles (14 km) upriver, is the main campus of the University of Maine (1865). Inc. city, 1834. Pop. (1990) city, 33,181; Bangor MSA, 91,629; (2000) city, 31,473; Bangor MSA, 90,864.

town, North Down district (established 1973), formerly in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the southern shore of Belfast Lough (inlet of the sea). About 555, St. Comgall founded a monastery at Bangor, which became a celebrated seat of learning. Incursions by Danes in the 9th century destroyed Bangor, which was partially rebuilt by St. Malachy in the 12th century. Part of his stone church remains. Bangor is now a seaside resort with a small harbour serving as the headquarters of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club; it has some light industry. Pop. (2001) 58,388.

cathedral city, Gwynedd county, historic county of Caernarvonshire (Sir Gaernarfon), Wales. It commands the northern entrance to the Menai Strait, the narrow strip of water separating Anglesey from the mainland. Bangor Cathedral is dedicated to the Celtic St. Deiniol, who founded a church there in the 6th century; the community was a leading centre of Celtic Christianity. The cathedral, built during the 12th and 13th centuries, later underwent a series of restorations after damage by invading Normans, the English king John, and the early 15th-century Welsh rebel leader Owen Glendower. The present structure was extensively restored in 1866.

Bangor, which grew up beside a Norman castle (few traces of which remain), is notable mainly as a cultural centre. It has the University College of North Wales (1884), a group of denominational theological colleges, and a museum of Welsh antiquities. Port Penrhyn nearby grew as an outlet for slates from the quarries near Bethesda. Penrhyn Castle, northeast of Bangor, is a modern copy, in Penmon marble, of a Norman castle. Pop. (2001) 13,725.