LONDON, New, a seaport-town of the United States of N. America, New London county, Connecticut, on the W. bank of the Thames estuary, 3 miles from the sea, and 120 miles E.N.E. of New York by railway; N. Lat. (of light-house) 41. 18. 57, W. Long. 72. 5. 4. It is situate on an acclivity which rises from the waterside, and attains a considerable elevation at the back of the town. The streets are not so regularly laid out here as in most American towns, owing to the inequality of the ground, which rests on a granite formation. Much, however, has been done of late to level the surface. The chief public edifices are,—the custom-house, a handsome granite building near the river, the court-house, and numerous churches belonging to the various denominations, besides public and private schools. The harbour of New London is one of the best in the Union, being 3 miles in length, with 5 fathoms of water, and is seldom obstructed with ice during winter. It is protected from the ocean by Fisher's Island. The great trade of the port is connected with the whale fishery, which is carried on yearly in a number of vessels, having an aggregate burden of 16,000 tons. In 1849, 1949 barrels of sperm oil arrived here, besides 38,030 barrels of common whale oil, and 2688 cwts. of whalebone. The coasting trade and cod fishery are carried on here with much vigour and success; while ship-building and machine-making are also on the increase. The town was settled in 1644, and a large part of it was burned by the British under Benedict Arnold, in September 1781. Pop. (1840) 5519, (1850) 8991, (1853) about 10,000.