city, Orange county, southern California, U.S. Adjacent to the city of Santa Ana (northwest), Irvine lies about 40 miles (60 km) southeast of Los Angeles. Originally inhabited by Tongva (Gabrielino) (or Gabrielino) Indians, the area was explored by Gaspar de Portolá (Portolá, Gaspar de) in 1769. The land that would become the modern city (and one of the largest planned cities in the United States) was composed of parts of Ranchos Santiago de Santa Ana (1801), a Spanish land grant, and San Joaquin (1837) and Lomas de Santiago (1846), both Mexican land grants. By the 1860s much of the land had been acquired by sheep ranchers Benjamin and Thomas Flint, Llewellyn Bixby, and James Irvine (for whom the city is named). By 1876 Irvine had purchased the entire tract of what became known as the Irvine Ranch. His son inherited the land and established the Irvine Company in 1894. Irvine subsequently developed into a farming community, with crops that included barley, lima beans, olives, asparagus, strawberries, and oranges. During World War II, two U.S. Marine facilities were built on land formerly owned by the Irvine Company. The University of California (California, University of), Irvine, was established in 1965 and is now the city's leading employer; the campus houses the Irvine Barclay Theatre, which hosts concerts and other entertainment. The city is also the seat of Concordia University (1976) and a community college (1979). Other notable attractions are an amphitheatre, which holds up to 15,000 spectators for outdoor concerts, and the Irvine Museum (1993), which features California art from the Impressionist period. Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, with some 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) of protected land—which constitutes more than half of the historic ranch—is popular for hiking, horseback riding, and bird-watching. John Wayne Airport, immediately west of the city, serves Orange county and is among the busiest airports in the United States. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is adjacent to the southern part of the city, and the Santa Ana Mountains are to the east. Crystal Cove State Park is nearby. Inc. 1971. Pop. (1990) 110,330; (2000) 143,072.

royal burgh (town), North Ayrshire council area, historic county of Ayrshire, southwestern Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde. The last of Scotland's five “new towns,” Irvine was designated in 1966 in an attempt to rehouse population from Glasgow and provide a focus for the economic and industrial rehabilitation of the area. Silting of the harbour and competition from Troon and Ardrossan during the 18th and 19th centuries had earlier resulted in the decline of Irvine as Glasgow's chief coastal port. The new town incorporates the existing burgh, an old coal-mining area, and an important chemical complex. Irvine's industries include chemicals, engineering, and electrical goods, and several foreign firms have operations there. Pop. (2004 est.) 32,620.