The name "Connecticut" comes from the Mohegan Indian word "Quinnehtukqut" meaning "Long River Place" or "Beside the Long Tidal River." Connecticut is the fifth of the original thirteen states. The first Europeans to settle permanently in Connecticut were English Puritans from Massachusetts in 1633. Historically important colonial settlements included Windsor (1633), Westhersfield (1634), Saybrook (1635), Hartford (1636), New Haven (1638), and New London (1646). Its first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders," was adopted on January 14, 1639, while its current constitution, the third for Connecticut, was adopted in 1965. The traditional abbreviation of the state's name is "Conn." Connecticut's official nickname, adopted in 1959, is "The Constitution State."
According to Webster's New International Dictionary, 1993, a person who is a native or resident of Connecticut is a "Connecticuter". There are numerous other terms coined in print, but not in use, such as: "Connecticotian" - Cotton Mather in 1702. "Connecticutensian" - Samuel Peters in 1781. "Nutmegger" is sometimes used. It is derived from the nickname, the Nutmeg State, based on the practice of the Connecticut peddlers who traveled about selling nutmegs. There is not, however, any nickname that has been officially adopted by the State for its residents.
Connecticut was particularly hard-hit on 9/11 as many of the state's residents work in New York City. Seventy-two Connecticut residents were killed. Many schools in Connecticut closed for the day because of the number of students who had parents who worked in New York City.
Economy
The total gross state product for 2004 was $187 billion. The per capita income for 2004 was $45,506, ranking first among the states . There is, however, a great disparity in incomes through the state; although New Canaan has one of the highest per capita incomes in America, Hartford is one of the ten cities with the lowest per capita incomes in America. This is due to Fairfield County having become a bedroom community for higher-paid New York City workers seeking a less urban lifestyle, as well as the spread of businesses outwards from New York City having reached into southwestern Connecticut, most notably to Stamford. The state did not have an income tax until 1991, making it an attractive haven for high earners fleeing the heavy taxes of New York State, but putting an enormous burden on Connecticut property tax payers, particularly in the cities with their more extensive municipal services. As a result, the middle class largely fled the urban areas for the suburbs, taking stores and other tax-paying businesses with them, and leaving only the urban poor in the now impoverished Connecticut cities. As evident from the dichotomy in income figures described above, this problem has yet to be successfully solved. Exacerbating this problem, the state has a very high cost of living, due to a combination of expensive real estate, expensive heating for the winters, the need to import much food from warmer states, and the dependence on private automobiles for mobility.
Trivia
* Connecticut is the southernmost state in New England and the wealthiest state in the country per capita as well as the third smallest state in landmass. It was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.
* Due to the prominence of the aircraft industry in Connecticut in the mid-Twentieth Century, Connecticut has an official state aircraft, the F4U Corsair, and an official Connecticut Aviation Pioneer, Igor Sikorsky. In addition, the state legislature officially recognizes the claim of aircraft designer Gustav Whitehead to have had the world's first successful powered aircraft flight in Bridgeport, Connecticut, two years before the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/
