New Britain is a city in Hartford County,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, United States. It is located approximately southwest of

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed within the Hartford-Springfield Knowledge Corridor metropolitan region, New Britain is home to

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...

and

Charter Oak State College Charter Oak State College is a public online college based in New Britain, Connecticut. The college was founded in 1973 by the Connecticut Legislature and offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. Charter Oak State College is part ...

. The city was noted for its industry during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and notable sites listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

include

Walnut Hill Park Walnut Hill Park is a large public park west of downtown New Britain, Connecticut. Developed beginning in the 1860s, it is an early work of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, with winding lanes, a band shell, and the city's monument to its ...

, developed by the landscape architect

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

and Downtown New Britain. The city's official nickname is the "Hardware City" because of its history as a manufacturing center and as the headquarters of

Stanley Black & Decker Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a ''Fortune'' 500 American manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware, and a provider of security products. Headquartered in the Greater Hartford city of Ne ...

. Because of its large Polish population, the city is often playfully referred to as "New Britski."

History

17th-18th century

New Britain was settled in 1687. It was incorporated as a new parish as the New Britain Society in 1754.

19th century

Chartered in 1850 as a township and in 1871 as a city, New Britain had separated from the nearby towns of Farmington and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Connecticut. A consolidation charter was adopted in 1905. During the early part of the 20th century, New Britain was known as the "Hardware Capital of the World", as well as "Hardware City". Major manufacturers, such as The Stanley Works, the P&F Corbin Company (founded 1848, later Corbin Locks), Landers, Frary & Clark (LF&C) founded 1842, Union Manufacturing Company, founded in 1866 and North & Judd, were headquartered in the city. WestMainStNewBritainConn

In 1843 Frederick Trent Stanley established Stanley's Bolt Manufactory in New Britain to make door bolts and other wrought-iron hardware. In 1857 his cousin Henry Stanley founded The Stanley Rule and Level Company in the city. Planes invented by Leonard Bailey and manufactured by the Stanley Rule and Level Company, known as "Stanley/Bailey" planes, were prized by woodworkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and remain popular among wood craftsmen today. The two companies merged in 1920, and the Stanley Rule and Level Company became the Hand Tools Division of Stanley Works. The wire coat hanger was invented in 1869 by O. A. North of New Britain. In 1895, the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

technique of

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

was developed at the New Britain

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

20th century

In 1938, New Britain High School competed in the high school football national championship game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The year 1954 saw the development of

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase vel ...

, also at the YMCA. The heads of the fire and police departments and seven other municipal employees were arrested as part of a corruption scandal in the 1970s. Union Manufacturing produced stainless steel thermos flasks, amongst other things, registering the trademark for Uno-Vac in 1967; it closed its factory doors in 1986.

City motto

New Britain's motto, '—translated from Latin—means "Industry fills the hive and enjoys the honey." This phrase was coined by Elihu Burritt, a 19th-century New Britain resident, diplomat, philanthropist and social activist. In 2007 it was reported that the Latin word for "honey" in the motto had been a typo for decades; it should be ', but it had long been misspelled as ''mele''. Former mayor William McNamara, who unsuccessfully tried to fix it during his term, suggested "to either fix the spelling immediately" or "switch to the English version of the motto." As controversy arose from the matter, the word was superseded with the correct spelling, '.

Geography and topography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.7 km), of which 13.3 square miles (34.6 km) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km) (0.52%) is water. New Britain's terrain is mostly made up of gentle, rolling hills and young Connecticut forest. The many parks are populated with trees, and in small, undeveloped areas, there are also brushy woods. New Britain's streets also have many trees lining the sides of the roads. Many front yards in the northern half of the city have at least one tree. One or two streams flow through New Britain, undisturbed by the development.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 74,135 people. The racial makeup of the city was 38.1%

Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 42.7% Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 14.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

and 11.7% from two or more races. There were 28,261 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 25.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.23. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 88 males. In 2021, the median income for a household in the city was $51,586, and for a family, was $67,482. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $26,152. 19.9% of the population below the poverty line (Poverty Rate is 15.4% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 25.7% for Hispanic or Latino residents).

Polish community

New Britain has the largest Polish population of any city in Connecticut, and by 1930 a quarter of the city was ethnically Polish. Also referred to as "Little Poland", the city's Broad Street neighborhood has been home to a considerable number of Polish businesses and families since 1890. On September 23, 2008, through the urging of the Polonia Business Association, the New Britain City Council unanimously passed a resolution officially designating New Britain's Broad Street area as "Little Poland." In recent years, the Polish community has been credited with revitalizing the area both culturally and economically. Media is served by three Polish language newspapers and a television station, and many businesses and civil agencies are bilingual. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

branch in Little Poland is the only one in the nation with the word "post" written in Polish to welcome visitors. Each year, a Little Poland festival is held on a Sunday in the spring. Notable visitors to the Polish district have included Presidents

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

on July 8, 1987. In 1969, as then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

gave a mass at Sacred Heart Church. A statue was erected in his honor in 2007. Dubbed the city's "Polish heart" by ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', Little Poland caught the attention of Polish Ambassador to the US Ryszard Schnepf, who toured the area with US Senators Chris Murphy and

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal ( ; born February 13, 1946) is an American politician, lawyer, and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from ...

, US Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, as well as several members of the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

. An honorary Polish consulate was established in March 2017. The first of its kind in Connecticut, it was established by Polish diplomat to the United States Piotr Wilczek. In September 2019, Polish President

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as the sixth president of Poland since 2015. Before becoming president, he served as a Member of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014 and before becoming Member of ...

became the first head of state to visit New Britain when he addressed thousands in

prior to traveling to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. Duda was joined by a variety of Connecticut politicians, including Governor

Ned Lamont Edward Miner Lamont Jr. ( ; born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 89th governor of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwich, Con ...

, U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes and Senators Chris Murphy and

Government and politics

Accent

Natives of New Britain have a fairly unmarked Connecticut accent, though there is some local perception of a distinct accent, popularly attributed to the Polish-American community, such as the use of a

glottal stop The glottal stop or glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication, spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic ...

in place of before syllabic : in other words, in words like ''cattle'' and ''bottle''. The short "a" vowel as in may be raised to for some speakers in Connecticut, including New Britain, though this feature appears to be declining among younger residents.

Economy

New Britain is home to the global headquarters of the Fortune 500 manufacturing conglomerate

. Other notable companies headquartered in New Britain include Gaffney, Bennett and Associates, Tomasso Group, Creed Monarch, Guida's Dairy, and Polamer Precision.

Top employers

According to the City's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Sites of interest

* New Britain Little League. * New Britain Museum of American Art, the oldest art museum in the United States devoted to American art. * New Britain Industrial Museum, a museum of New Britain's industrial past and present * The Hospital of Central Connecticut, the city's largest employer. *

– Designed by

, who also designed Central Park in New York City. * Walnut Hill Rose Garden, the recently restored landmark with over 800 roses. * Connecticut Theatre Company, located in the historic Repertory Theatre of New Britain. * Hole in the Wall Theater. * New Britain Youth Museum, contains children's artifacts and exhibits on regional culture. * The Polish district or "Little Poland": Located primarily in the vicinity of Broad Street, visitors can find unique amber jewelry, handcrafted items, blown glass, Christmas ornaments, and carved chess sets, as well as eat Polish food.

Sports

* New Britain Bees, are an American collegiate summer baseball team that plays in New Britain Stadium. * Hartford City FC, professional soccer team playing at CCSU Soccer field. * New Britain Fagan Cal Ripken Baseball League, a youth baseball program that serves children from the City of New Britain between the ages of 4 and 12. * New Britain Little League (NBLL, previously known as Walicki – A.W. Stanley Little League), a youth baseball and softball organization that serves the children of New Britain who are between the ages of 4 and 16. * Connecticut United Football Club, a professional soccer team affiliated with the American Soccer League

Education

Colleges and universities

The city is home to

and

, a public

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

Primary and secondary schools

The Consolidated School District of New Britain operates public schools. The local high school is New Britain High School. New Britain was also home to the Mountain Laurel

Sudbury School A Sudbury school is a type of school, usually for the K-12 age range, where students have complete responsibility for their own education, and the school is run by a direct democracy in which students and staff are equal citizens. Students use the ...

but has since closed in 2019. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford is responsible for the operation of Catholic schools. A Catholic elementary school, Sacred Heart School, is in New Britain. St. Thomas Aquinas High School closed in 1999. The Holy Cross Catholic School was established in 1954. The Holy Cross, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Joseph Catholic schools merged into Saint John Paul II School in 2006; the Holy Cross parish sponsored the consolidated school. The archdiocese closed the SJP School in 2015. At the time of its closing, SJP school had debts of over $300,000.

Transportation

Connecticut Route 9 Route 9 is a expressway running from Interstate 95 (I-95) in Old Saybrook north to I-84 in Farmington. It connects the Eastern Coastline of the state along with the Lower Connecticut River Valley to Hartford and the Capital Region. ...

is the city's main expressway connecting traffic between

(via

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts), passing through New York and Connecticut {{road disambiguation ...

and

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, ...

) and Old Saybrook and Middletown.

itself clips the northwestern corner of the city. Public transportation is provided by Connecticut Transit. Downtown New Britain serves as the southern terminus of CTfastrak, a bus rapid transit line. Operated by Connecticut Transit, the project officially broke ground in May 2012, and became operational in March 2015. The route's northern terminus is

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

. There are also CTfastrak stations on East Main Street and East Street, the latter near Central Connecticut State University. New Britain is served by Connecticut Transit New Britain. New Britain has a nearby

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

station in adjacent

. The '' Vermonter'' (once daily) and Amtrak ''Hartford Line'' (multiple daily arrivals/departures) provide service to destinations throughout the northeastern United States. There is also a Berlin stop on the CT Rail

Hartford Line The Hartford Line is a commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, using the Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line. The project is a joint venture between the states of Connecticut and Massachuset ...

, which provides northbound service to

and Springfield, and southbound service towards

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, Con ...

( BDL) in Windsor Locks and

Tweed New Haven Airport Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles southeast of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven, in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective Sep 15, 2016. The a ...

( HVN) in East Haven are the closest commercial airports to New Britain.

Notable people

* Paul S. Amenta (1922–2014), state senator * Anita Antoinette (born 1989), reggae singer and songwriter * Charles Avedisian (1917–1983), NB athletic director (1952–1966), member of 1944 New York Football Giants team ranked as #1 defensive unit in NFL history * Robert S. Barton (1925–2009), computer designer and system architect, inventor of stack architecture * Christopher A. Bray, member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

and

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

* Elihu Burritt (1810–1879), diplomat, philanthropist, social activist, appointed by

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

as U.S. Consul in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

* Harold V. Camp (1935–2022), lawyer, politician, and businessman * Walter Camp (1859–1925),

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

football player and coach, often referred to as the "Father of American Football" * Phillip Corbin (1824–1910), founder of P&F Corbin Co. – a major manufacturer of locks and keys * Steve Dalkowski (1939–2020), former pitcher in the minor leagues famous for his high speed fastball * Daym Drops (born 1977), YouTube food reviewer *

Anna Eshoo Anna A. Eshoo ( ; née Georges; born December 13, 1942) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

(born 1942), U.S. Representative of

California's 18th congressional district California's 18th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by . Since the 2022 election, the district is lan ...

* Lena Santos Ferguson (1928–2004), second African-American member of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

* Vincent Fort (1956–2024), member of the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

for the 39th district * Willie Hall (born 1949), linebacker for the

Super Bowl XI Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1976 Oakland Raiders season, Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1976 Minnesota Vikings season, Minnesota Vikings ...

champion

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

; Pulaski High School,

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

* Charles K. Hamilton (1881–1914), aviator * Harry Jacunski (1915–2003), professional football player with

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, member of

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

Seven Blocks of Granite,

football coach for 33 years *

Nancy Johnson Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (née Lee; born January 5, 1935) is an American lobbyist and politics in the United States, politician from the U.S. state, state of Connecticut. Johnson was a United States Republican Party, Republican member of the Un ...

(born 1935), U.S. Representative for 5th and 6th CT districts (1983–2007) * Byron Jones (born 1992), NFL player currently free safety for the Dallas Cowboys and unofficial world record holder of the standing long jump * Tebucky Jones (born 1974), professional football player * James Kilbourne (1770–1850), founder of Worthington, Ohio * David LaFlamme (1941–2023), virtuoso violinist in both classical and rock music * Tony Leone (born 1969), rock and jazz drummer *

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

(1928–2007), conceptual artist * Bruce H. Mahan (1930–1982), noted Professor of Chemistry at UC-Berkeley, thesis advisor of Nobel Laureate Y.T. Lee *

Paul Manafort Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American former lobbyist, political consultant, and attorney. A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. Manafo ...

(born 1949), lobbyist, advisor to political campaigns of

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, Robert Dole,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

* Thomas J. Meskill (1928–2007), New Britain Mayor (1962–1964), Governor (1971–1975), appointed by

to the US Court of Appeals for 2nd Circuit (1975–2007) * Chris Murphy (born 1973), U.S. Congressman for 5th CT district (2007–2013) and U.S. Senator for Connecticut (2013–present) *

Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he won NBA Finals, championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named ...

(born 1979), St. Thomas Aquinas basketball great,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

* Jon Olsen (born 1969), swimmer, winner of four Olympic gold medals * Charles Patterson (born 1935), author and historian *

Carl Pavano Carl Anthony Pavano (born January 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. A Right-handedness, right-handed pitcher, Pavano played in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012 for the Montreal Expos, Miami Marlins, Florida Marl ...

(born 1976), professional baseball player * Joe Porcaro (1930–2020), drummer in Los Angeles and father to the Porcaro brothers who founded the band Toto * Charles J. Prestia (1909–1953),

Secretary of the State of Connecticut The secretary of the state of Connecticut is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Connecticut. (The definite article is part of the legal job title.) It is an elected position in the state government and has a term length of four ...

from 1945 to 1947 * Frank W. Putnam (1917–2006), biochemist, born in New Britain * Charles Quigley (1906–1964), actor * Adolfas Ramanauskas (1918–1957), one of the prominent leaders of the Lithuanian partisans * Abraham A. Ribicoff (1910–1998), Congressman (1949–1953), Governor (1955–1961), Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1961–1962), U.S. Senator from Connecticut (1963–1981) *

Velvet Sky Jamie Lynn Szantyr (born June 2, 1981) is an United States, American color commentator and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and the National Wrestling Allian ...

(born 1981), ring name of professional wrestler Jamie Szantyr with

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

* George Springer (born 1989), professional baseball player currently with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

* Frederick Trent Stanley (1802–1883), first mayor of NB (1870), founder of Stanley Bolt Manufacturing (1843) that became The Stanley Works (1857) and (2010)

* Erin Stewart (born 1987), Mayor of New Britain (2013–) * Tom Thibodeau (born 1958), former head coach of the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

of the

Sister cities

New Britain's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

are: *

Atsugi is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 223,960 and a population density of 2400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . While the name "Atsugi" is often associated with the United ...

, Japan * Giannitsa, Greece *

Pułtusk Pułtusk () is a town in Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it has a population of 19,224 as of 2023. Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in length), it is a po ...

, Poland *

Rastatt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 51,000 (2022). Rastatt was an ...

, Germany * Solarino, Italy

References

External links

City of New Britain
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BBC special on the Polish community in New Britain, 2010
(4 min.) {{authority control Cities in Connecticut Cities in Hartford County, Connecticut Populated places established in 1687 1687 establishments in the Dominion of New England Polish communities in the United States Greater Hartford Hispanic and Latino American culture in Connecticut Cities in Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut