Norfolk, independent city and port, southeastern Virginia, U.S. It lies on the Elizabeth River in the Tidewater region, at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Norfolk is part of an urban complex that includes the cities of Portsmouth (west), Chesapeake (south), Virginia Beach (east), and, northward across the harbour of Hampton Roads, Newport News and Hampton.
Laid out as a town in 1682 following an act of the Virginia General Assembly (1680) that each county should establish a trade centre, it was named for Norfolk county, England. The land was bought from Nicholas Wise, a carpenter, for 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of tobacco. For many years Norfolk was a trade outlet for eastern North Carolina (tar, lumber, hides, and tobacco). Later, shipbuilding and ship repairing became important. A lucrative trade developed with Britain and the West Indies, and, in recognition of its commercial importance, Norfolk was presented a silver mace by Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie in 1753.
During the American Revolution the royal governor, John Murray, 4th earl of Dunmore, made it his headquarters (December 1775), declared martial law, and defeated the Virginia militiamen at nearby Kempsville. Later in the month Colonel William Woodford and his Virginia riflemen routed the British at Great Bridge and occupied Norfolk, which on January 1, 1776, was bombarded by Dunmore’s fleet anchored in the Elizabeth River. The Virginians later burned what was left of the town except for St. Paul’s Church (1738; which still has a cannonball in its south wall) to prevent its use by the British. Norfolk’s recovery was hampered by the stifling of the West Indies trade by Britain, restriction on shipping and privateering by the European powers during the Napoleonic Wars, a disastrous fire in 1799, and intercity rivalry. During the War of 1812 it was twice saved from the British—when a local militia beat off a land attack on Portsmouth and when General Robert B. Taylor’s defense of Craney Island prevented an amphibious invasion by barge.
With subsequent canal and railroad construction, prosperity returned until a yellow-fever epidemic struck in 1855 and killed 10 percent of the population. During the American Civil War Norfolk fell (May 1862) to Union forces under General John E. Wool and was occupied for the rest of the war. Its prosperity resumed after 1880 with the converging of railways on the port and was stimulated during World Wars I and II with the installation of a huge naval and naval-air complex. Norfolk, with Portsmouth, is now headquarters of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command (CINCUSACOM) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SANCLANT). The complex is the largest harbour and naval base in the world.
Shipping (coal, tobacco, food products, and grain), shipbuilding, and light industry (chemicals, textiles, and agricultural machinery) are the major economic activities. Old Dominion University (1930), Norfolk State University (1935), and Virginia Wesleyan College (1966; partly in Virginia Beach) are located there. A botanical garden, the burial site and memorial for U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, and the Cultural and Convention Center are notable landmarks. The annual International Azalea Festival is dedicated to NATO. Inc. borough, 1736; city, 1845. Pop. (2000) 234,403; Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News Metro Area, 1,576,370; (2010) 242,803; Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News Metro Area, 1,671,683.