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Name of Pittsburgh
The name of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has a complicated history. Pittsburgh is one of the few U.S. cities or towns to be spelled with an h at the end of a burg suffix, although the spelling Pittsburg was acceptable for many years and was even held as standard by the federal government (but not the city government) from 1891 to 1911.
Pittsburgh was named in honor of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, often referred to as William Pitt the Elder to distinguish him from his son William Pitt the Younger.
The suffix burgh is the Scots language and Scottish English cognate of the English language borough, which has other cognates in words and place names in several Indo-European languages. Historically, this morpheme was used in place names to describe a location as being defensible, such as a hill, a fort, or a fortified settlement.
Pittsburgh was so named when British forces captured Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War (Seven Years War). The earliest known references to the new name of the settlement are in letters sent by General John Forbes, dated 26 and 27 November 1758, reporting the capture of the fort. In copies of and quotes from those letters in later sources, the name of Pittsburgh is spelled with and without the h, and sometimes with an o before the u. As a Scotsman, General Forbes probably pronounced the name /ˈpɪtsbərə/ PITS-bər-ə, similar to the pronunciation of "Edinburgh" as a Scotsman would say it: /ˈɛdɪnbərə/ ⓘ ED-in-bər-ə. The name appeared in print at least as early as 14 December 1758, when the Pennsylvania Gazette published a letter written by a member of Forbes's army from "Pittsburgh (formerly Fort Duquesne)".
For a long time, there was little regard for uniformity in the spelling of Pittsburgh's name. Early municipal documents and city directories generally spelled the name with a final h, but the letter is notably omitted in the city charter enacted by the state legislature in 1816. The variance in spelling persisted through the 19th century. In 1890, some local newspapers were using the final h and some were not.
The name of the city was normally spelled without an h in German (including Pennsylvania Dutch), in which geographical names ending in -burg and -berg (and never followed by an h) are very common.
In 1890, the United States Board on Geographic Names was created to establish uniform place name usage throughout the various departments and agencies of the U.S. government. To guide its standardization efforts, the Board adopted thirteen general principles, one of which was that the final -h should be dropped from place names ending in -burgh. The Board compiled a report of place name "decisions" in 1891 in which Pittsburgh's name for federal government purposes was rendered Pittsburg.
In support of its decision favoring the Pittsburg spelling, the Board referenced the 1816 city charter. The full decision and rationale from the Board follows:
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Name of Pittsburgh AI simulator
(@Name of Pittsburgh_simulator)
Name of Pittsburgh
The name of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has a complicated history. Pittsburgh is one of the few U.S. cities or towns to be spelled with an h at the end of a burg suffix, although the spelling Pittsburg was acceptable for many years and was even held as standard by the federal government (but not the city government) from 1891 to 1911.
Pittsburgh was named in honor of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, often referred to as William Pitt the Elder to distinguish him from his son William Pitt the Younger.
The suffix burgh is the Scots language and Scottish English cognate of the English language borough, which has other cognates in words and place names in several Indo-European languages. Historically, this morpheme was used in place names to describe a location as being defensible, such as a hill, a fort, or a fortified settlement.
Pittsburgh was so named when British forces captured Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War (Seven Years War). The earliest known references to the new name of the settlement are in letters sent by General John Forbes, dated 26 and 27 November 1758, reporting the capture of the fort. In copies of and quotes from those letters in later sources, the name of Pittsburgh is spelled with and without the h, and sometimes with an o before the u. As a Scotsman, General Forbes probably pronounced the name /ˈpɪtsbərə/ PITS-bər-ə, similar to the pronunciation of "Edinburgh" as a Scotsman would say it: /ˈɛdɪnbərə/ ⓘ ED-in-bər-ə. The name appeared in print at least as early as 14 December 1758, when the Pennsylvania Gazette published a letter written by a member of Forbes's army from "Pittsburgh (formerly Fort Duquesne)".
For a long time, there was little regard for uniformity in the spelling of Pittsburgh's name. Early municipal documents and city directories generally spelled the name with a final h, but the letter is notably omitted in the city charter enacted by the state legislature in 1816. The variance in spelling persisted through the 19th century. In 1890, some local newspapers were using the final h and some were not.
The name of the city was normally spelled without an h in German (including Pennsylvania Dutch), in which geographical names ending in -burg and -berg (and never followed by an h) are very common.
In 1890, the United States Board on Geographic Names was created to establish uniform place name usage throughout the various departments and agencies of the U.S. government. To guide its standardization efforts, the Board adopted thirteen general principles, one of which was that the final -h should be dropped from place names ending in -burgh. The Board compiled a report of place name "decisions" in 1891 in which Pittsburgh's name for federal government purposes was rendered Pittsburg.
In support of its decision favoring the Pittsburg spelling, the Board referenced the 1816 city charter. The full decision and rationale from the Board follows: