CHARLESTON


Meaning of CHARLESTON in English

I

City (pop., 2000: 53,421), capital of West Virginia, U.S. Situated in the Allegheny Mountains at the confluence of the Elk and American Revolution .

It was the home for a time of Daniel Boone . Divided in allegiance during the American Civil War , it was occupied by Union troops in 1862. It was named the state capital in 1870; the capital was briefly transferred to Wheeling but returned to Charleston in 1885. It is a distribution centre for coal, oil, and gas, and its manufactures include chemicals. Its capitol building (completed 1932) was designed by Cass Gilbert .

II

Seaport city (pop., 2000: 96,650), southeastern South Carolina, U.S. Originally called Charles Towne, it was founded by English colonists in 1670.

During the American Revolution it was held by the British (1780–82). Known as Charleston from 1783, it was the chief U.S. winter port until the War of 1812 . In 1861 the Confederate capture of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor precipitated the American Civil War . Blockaded by Union forces, it was under siege (1863–65), then evacuated by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman 's forces. It was seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1886 and a hurricane in 1989. It is the site of the College of Charleston (1770), The Citadel (1842), and the Charleston Museum (1773), the oldest museum in the U.S.

III

Social jazz dance popular in the 1920s and later, characterized by its toes-in, heels-out twisting steps.

Originally a Southern black folk dance, it had parallels in dances of Trinidad, Nigeria, and Ghana. It was popularized by its appearance in the black musical Runnin' Wild in 1923 and took its name from one of the show's songs, written by {{link=Johnson, James Price">James P. Johnson .

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.