New Brunswick, city, seat of Middlesex County, central New Jersey, on the Raritan River; incorporated 1784. Manufactures include pharmaceuticals, toiletries, medical supplies, chemicals, and electrical equipment. In the city are the main campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; New Brunswick Theological Seminary (1784); and the birthplace of the poet Joyce Kilmer. Cultural facilities include an art museum and several galleries, the George Street Playhouse, the State Theater, and the Crossroads Theater. The community, settled by John Inian in about 1680, was known as Inian's Ferry; the present name was adopted (1720s) to honor England's George I, who was also duke of Brunswick. During the American Revolution, George Washington stayed here in 1776 and 1778. Population 41,442 (1980); 41,711 (1990); 48,573 (2000).
