New London, city, New London County, southeastern Connecticut, on the Thames River near its mouth on Long Island Sound; incorporated as a city 1784. It is an industrial city and summer resort and has a deepwater port and an airport. Major manufactures include submarines, pharmaceuticals, printed materials, and chemicals. New London is the site of Connecticut College (1911), a junior college, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a U.S. Navy submarine base, and the Naval Underwater Systems Center, a naval research center. Points of interest include the Lyman Allyn Art Museum; the Garde Arts Center, home of a symphony orchestra; Ye Olde Towne Mill, a gristmill built in 1650; and the Joshua Hempsted House (1678), a restored colonial house. The annual boat races between Harvard and Yale universities are held here on the Thames. The settlement was laid out by the English colonist John Winthrop and his followers in 1646. During the American Revolution it was an important base for privateers and was attacked and burned in 1781 by British forces led by Benedict Arnold, formerly a general for the colonial forces. In the 19th century the city was a leading shipbuilding center and a whaling port. Population 28,842 (1980); 28,540 (1990); 25,671 (2000).
