Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Perth Amboy is a city in eastern New Jersey. It is part of the New York City metropolitan area. At the 2020 census, 55,436 people lived in the city.^[7]

Perth Amboy, New Jersey
City
Perth Amboy courthouse and police station
Motto:  The City by the Bay[1]
Location of Perth Amboy in Middlesex County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Middlesex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy Location in Middlesex County Show map of Middlesex County, New Jersey Perth Amboy Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Perth Amboy Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40.52016°N 74.271331°W / 40.52016; -74.271331[2][3]
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex
Earliest European Settlement	1683
Royal charter	August 4, 1718
Incorporated	December 21, 1784
Reincorporated	April 8, 1844 (included Township)
Named for	James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth
Government [4]
• Type	Mayor–Council (Faulkner Act)
• Body	City Council
Area [5]
• Total	5.96 sq mi (15.44 km2)
• Land	4.66 sq mi (12.07 km2)
• Water	1.30 sq mi (3.37 km2)  21.37%
• Rank	259th of 565 in state 13th of 25 in county[2]
Elevation [6]	62 ft (19 m)
Population  (2020)[7][8]
• Total	55,436
• Rank	725th in country (as of 2022)[9] 31st of 565 in state 5th of 25 in county[10]
• Density	11,891.0/sq mi (4,591.1/km2)
• Rank	27th of 565 in state 1st of 25 in county[10]
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08861–08863[11][12]
Area code(s)	732 Exchanges: 293,324,376,442,697,826[13]
FIPS code	3402358200[2][14][15]
GNIS feature ID	0885349[2][16]
Website	www.perthamboynj.org

Perth Amboy was chartered in 1718. The city was incorporated on December 21, 1784.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Perth Amboy include:

• Solomon Andrews (1806–1872), creator of the first successful dirigible airship; served three terms as mayor of Perth Amboy.^[17]
• Jon Bon Jovi (born 1962), singer was born in Perth Amboy.^[18]
• Alan Cheuse (1940-2015), writer.^[19]
• Stanley Norman Cohen (born 1935), credited with the co-creation of the first genetically modified organism and the process of recombinant DNA technology.^[20]
• William Dunlap (1766–1839), theater pioneer.^[21]
• William Franklin (1730-1813), last governor of Province of New Jersey^[22]
• Angelina Grimké (1805–1879) and Sarah Grimké (1792–1873), abolitionists.^[23]
• Vida Guerra (born 1974), model, was born in Cuba but was raised in Perth Amboy.^[24]
• George Inness (1825–1894), landscape painter.^[21]
• Augustus Johnston (1729-1790), Rhode Island Attorney General, Tory sympathizer.^[source?]
• Lawrence Kearny (1789-1868) the "Sailor Diplomat", who paved the way for an open-door policy with China.^[25]
• Edward L. Kemeys (1843-1907), sculptor in residence at Eagleswood Mansion.^[26]
• Morgan Foster Larson (1882-1961), Governor of New Jersey from 1929 to 1932.^[27]
• Miilkbone (Thomas Wlodarczyk), rapper.^[28]
• Walter Mitty, fictional character from the 1947 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.^[29]
• Steve Mizerak (1944–2006), champion pool player.^[30][31]
• Joseph Montani (PAHS, 1970), astronomer and planetary scientist who named the minor planet "12465 Perth Amboy" after his hometown.^[32]
• John A. Nagy (born 1946), author of books about espionage and mutinies of the American Revolution.^[33]
• George Otlowski (1912–2009), politician who was mayor of the city from 1976 to 1990.^[34]
• Thomas Mundy Peterson (1824–1904), first African-American to vote under the provisions of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. constitution in 1870.^[35]
• Joseph J. Sadowski (1917–1944), United States Army soldier awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War II.^[36]
• Richie Sambora (born 1959), guitarist for Bon Jovi was born here.^[37]
• Marcus Spring (1810-1874), founder of Raritan Bay Union and Eagleswood Military Academy.^[38]
• John Stevens, (1749-1838), engineer who developed the multitubular boiler engine and the screw propeller.^[39]
• Gina Stritch, author.^[40]
• Bruce Taylor (born 1948), former NFL player.^[41]
• Harry Tierney (1890–1965), composer.^[21]
• Michelle Visage (born 1968), singer, deejay.^[42]
• John Watson (1685–1768), one of the first painters in America and holder of the first gallery of paintings in the country.^[43]
• Ruth White (1914–1969), actress.^[21]
• David T. Wilentz (1894–1988), N.J. Attorney General from 1934 to 1944 who prosecuted Bruno Hauptmann in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial.^[44]

References

2. 2019 Census Gazetteer Files: New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 1, 2020.
3. US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
4. 2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 87.
5. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
6. "City of Perth Amboy". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
7. QuickFacts Perth Amboy city, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 16, 2023.
8. Total Population: Census 2010 - Census 2020 New Jersey Municipalities, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022.
9. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 50,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2022 Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022, United States Census Bureau, released May 2023. Accessed May 18, 2023.
10. Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2020 and 2021, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed March 1, 2023.
11. Look Up a ZIP Code for Perth Amboy, NJ Archived 2012-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, United States Postal Service. Accessed November 28, 2011.
12. Zip Codes, State of New Jersey. Accessed August 18, 2013.
13. Area Code Lookup - NPA NXX for Perth Amboy, NJ, Area-Codes.com. Accessed April 9, 2015.
14. U.S. Census website, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
15. Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed April 1, 2022.
16. US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.
17. New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame - Pioneer Inductees: Solomon Andrews (1806-1872) Archived 2006-09-01 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 13, 2006.
18. Campbell, Mary via Associated Press. "Bon Jovi jets to rock success" Archived 2015-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, The Palm Beach Post, February 13, 1987. Accessed July 6, 2010.
19. Haddock, Addy. Alan Cheuse Archived 2014-07-03 at the Wayback Machine, Middle Tennessee State University. Accessed August 4, 2013. "NPR commentator and critic Alan Cheuse was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on January 23, 1940. His early years were spent at Perth Amboy High School in 1957, and he graduated from Rutgers University in 1961."
20. Stanley Norman Cohen (1935-), DNA From the Beginning. Accessed August 8, 2014. "Stan Cohen was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey."
21. City History Archived 2007-06-17 at the Wayback Machine, City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Accessed June 4, 2007.
22. "Proprietary House - Perth Amboy, New Jersey History". Archived from the original on 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
23. Grimké, Sarah; and Grimké, Angelina, Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Women's History. Accessed June 4, 2007. "hey assisted in Weld's school in Belleville and later Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in 1848–62."
24. "Vida Guerra: libre e independiente en Playboy", El Heraldo (Tegucigalpa), June 8, 2006. Accessed October 23, 2007. "Nacida en Bauta, pueblo cercano a La Habana, en marzo de 1980, Vida fue traída por sus padres an Estados Unidos cuando contaba apenas seis años, pero no ha perdido ni el idioma ni sus costumbres latinas, ya que se ha mantenido oscilando entre las dos culturas desde su hogar en Perth Amboy, Nueva Jersey."
25. Perth Amboy Tottenville Ferry Slip HS, Raritan-Millstone Heritage Alliance, backed up by the Internet Archive as of November 21, 2008. Accessed April 9, 2015.
26. The History of Perth Amboy Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, City of Perth Amboy. Accessed April 9, 2015.
27. New Jersey Governor Morgan Foster Larson Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, National Governors Association. Accessed August 8, 2014. "Morgan F. Larson, the fifty-third governor of New Jersey, was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on June 15, 1882."
28. Staff. "Verbal assault" Archived 2012-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, Home News Tribune, July 15, 2005. Accessed March 7, 2012. "We had Miilkbone from Perth Amboy, we had Naughty by Nature out, we had Queen Latifah and her whole group out, we had Redman - which is my favorite..."
29. Staff. "Review: ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’", Variety (magazine), December 31, 1946. Accessed April 9, 2015. "Thurber’s whole conception of Mitty was an inconsequential fellow from Perth Amboy, NJ, to whom nothing – but nothing – ever happened and who, as a result, lived a ‘secret life’ via his excursions into daydreaming."
30. Goldstein, Richard. "Steve Mizerak, National Pool Champion, Is Dead at 61", The New York Times, June 2, 2006. Accessed January 1, 2008.
31. Steve "the Miz" Mizerak, The Palm Beach Post, accessed May 16, 2007.
32. Spacewatch Minor Planets Joe Has Named, Accessed May 31, 2006.
33. Home page Archived 2019-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, John A. Nagy. Accessed February 5, 2014. "John was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and he now resides in Mount Laurel, New Jersey."
34. Rispoli, Michael. "Former Perth Amboy Mayor George J. Otlowski dies", The Star-Ledger, March 16, 2009. Accessed July 6, 2010.
35. Ginzburg, Ralph. "Perth Amboy church is 302 and counting", The New York Times, February 15, 1987. Accessed January 24, 2012. "The first black man to vote in America, Thomas Mundy Peterson, was a member of St. Peter's and is buried in its graveyard. He voted in the Perth Amboy mayoral election of March 31, 1870, one day after adoption of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution."
36. Fact Sheet of the 4th Armored Division Archived 2009-08-07 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed November 7, 2007.
37. Dzielak, Kathy. "Sambora helps teen diagnosed with brain tumor" Archived 2012-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, Asbury Park Press, November 5, 2009. Accessed January 30, 2011. ""Born in Perth Amboy, Sambora, now 50, cut his musical teeth as a teenager playing Central Jersey clubs such as the now-defunct Charley's Uncle in East Brunswick."
38. Staff. "OBITUARY.; MARCUS SPRING. JOHN HARPER, OF KENTUCKY.", The New York Times, August 22, 1874. Accessed August 7, 2013.
39. Jensen, Merrill; DenBoer, Gordon. The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788-1790, p. 188. University of Wisconsin Press, 1987. ISBN 9780299106508. Accessed February 16, 2014. "Stevens, John, Jr. (1749-1838), Candidate for Representative - Born in New York City and raised in Perth Amboy, Stevens was the son of John Stevens, a prominent New Jersey politician and landowner."
40. Winters, Debra. "Book details life lessons from New York in the 70s", Wayne Today, June 1, 2011. Accessed January 24, 2012. "Having grown up in Perth Amboy, Stritch has vivid memories as a child of taking day trips not down the shore but to New York City with her parents."
41. via Associated Press. Bruce Taylor Selected for Lowe Award", The Day (New London), December 1, 1969. Accessed January 30, 2011. "The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior from Perth Amboy, N.J., became the third player to win the Lowe award in its 31-year history..."
42. Staff. "Michelle Visage brings some 'Jersey' to 'RuPaul's Drag Race'!", OutInJersey.net, January 27, 2011. Accessed November 25, 2012. "Q. Michelle, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me! You're a 'Jersey Girl' correct? A. Sure am Cookie! Jersey is where it all started for me. I was born in Perth Amboy, and moved to South Plainfield."
43. Dunlap, William. A History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts and Design in the United States. C.E. Goodspeed & Co: Boston, 1918.
44. Biography of David T. Wilentz, NJ Attorney General, 1934-1944. Accessed August 28, 2009.

Other websites

• Official website