RALEIGH

city, capital of North Carolina, U.S., and seat (1771) of Wake county. The site was selected in 1788, and the city was laid off from a tract of forest in 1792, soon after the American Revolution, when North Carolina, like several other of the original states, moved its capital westward from the seaboard. It was named for Sir Walter Raleigh. The first capitol, completed in 1794, burned in 1831 and was replaced by the present building, completed in 1840. It stands in the middle of a 4-acre (1.6-hectare) square and is considered an outstanding example of Greek Revival architecture. Capitol Square is surrounded by various state buildings. The city is an educational centre and is the site of North Carolina State University (1887), Shaw University (1865), and Meredith (1891), St. Augustine's (1867), St. Mary's (1842), and Peace (1857) colleges. The city is part of North Carolina's Research Triangle, a three-county area of cultural, scientific, and educational activities. Research Triangle Park, near Raleigh, embraces 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) devoted entirely to research facilities. The North Carolina Museum of Art is also in Raleigh. The home in which Andrew Johnson, 17th president of the United States, was born in 1808, is preserved as a historic shrine. Raleigh is a major retail shipping point for eastern North Carolina, and it is a wholesale distributing point for food stores. After World War II the city attracted numerous factories manufacturing a wide variety of products, including electronic equipment and computers and processed foods, and it is a research and development centre for textiles and chemicals. A number of insurance companies have their home offices or regional headquarters there. Inc. 1795. Pop. (1990) city, 207,951; Raleigh-Durham MSA, 735,480.