{{Short description|Name of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania}} [[File:Pittsburgh Union Station - Pittsburg.jpg|thumb|right|Inside of the rotunda of Union Station in Pittsburgh showing the city's name as commonly spelled in 1900.]] 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.
== Etymology ==
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 word ''burgh'' is a variant of ''borough'', which originally meant "fort" or "castle" but later came to mean "town", especially one with a municipal charter.<ref name="Harper">{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=borough|title=Borough|last=Harper|first=Douglas|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=6 August 2010}}</ref>{{refn|group="note"|See Etymology of Burgh for more details.}}
== History and spellings == thumb|right|Pittsburgh is spelled without the ''h'' in its 1816 city charter. [[File:Pittsburgh Dispatch Ad.jpg|thumb|right|Advertisement for ''The Pittsburg Dispatch'' from 1876. The newspaper used the ''Pittsburg'' spelling from its second year (1847) to its end of publication in 1923.<ref>See, e.g., ''The Pittsburg Daily Dispatch'', 9 August 1847, and ''The Pittsburg Dispatch'', 14 February 1923. The earliest surviving issues, from scattered dates in 1846 and early 1847, include the ''h'' in the city's name.</ref>]] Pittsburgh was named when British forces captured Fort Duquesne in the Forbes Expedition of the French and Indian 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''.{{refn|group=note|The form of the name appearing in a letter sent by Forbes to Lieutenant-Governor William Denny, dated 26 November 1758, is given in discrepant sources as ''Pittsbourg'',<ref>{{cite journal|title=Memoir of his Excellency Colonel William Denny, Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania, Etc.|journal=The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography|volume=44|issue=2|year=1920|author-last=Denny|author-first=H.L.L.|page=119|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9YLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA119 }}</ref> ''Pitts-Bourgh'',<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Montgomery|editor-first=Thomas Lynch|title=Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania|volume=2|page=100|edition=Second|location=Harrisburg, PA|publisher=Wm. Stanley Ray, state printer|year=1916|hdl=2027/pst.000024531337?urlappend=%3Bseq=134|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/pst.000024531337?urlappend=%3Bseq=134 }}</ref> ''Pitts-Bourg'',<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Espenshade|author-first=A. Howry|publisher=The Pennsylvania State College|year=1925|title=Pennsylvania Place Names|page=122|url=https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniaplac00espe/page/122/ }}</ref> ''Pittsburgh'',<ref name="Church">{{cite book|author-last=Church|author-first=Samuel Harden|title=A Short History of Pittsburgh, 1758–1908|publisher=De Vinne Press|location=New York|year=1908|page=29|hdl=2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6n01z03r?urlappend=%3Bseq=35|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6n01z03r?urlappend=%3Bseq=35 }}</ref> and ''Pittsburg''.<ref>{{cite book|title = Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania|series=Colonial Records of Pennsylvania|volume=VIII|page=232|publisher=Theo. Fenn & Co.|year=1852|location=Harrisburg, PA|hdl=2027/mdp.39015037355966?urlappend=%3Bseq=262|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015037355966?urlappend=%3Bseq=262 }}</ref> The name appearing in other letters has been transcribed as ''Pittsbourg'' (Forbes to Generals Abercromby and Amherst, 26 November 1758),<ref>{{cite book|title=Writings of General John Forbes Relating to his Service in North America|editor-last=James|editor-first=Alfred Procter|publisher=Collegiate Press|location=Menasha, WI|date=1938|page=262|hdl=2027/mdp.39015027041345?urlappend=%3Bseq=294|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015027041345?urlappend=%3Bseq=294 }}</ref> and ''Pittsbourgh'' (Forbes to William Pitt, 27 November 1758).<ref name="Church"/><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Kimball|editor-first=Gertrude Selwyn|title=Correspondence of William Pitt|volume=1|page=406|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|year=1906|isbn=9780527715007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-n8vAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406 }}</ref>}} As a Scotsman, General Forbes probably pronounced the name {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪ|t|s|b|ər|ə}} {{respell|PITS|bər-ə}}, similar to the pronunciation of "Edinburgh" as a Scotsman would say it: {{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-Edinburgh.ogg|ˈ|ɛ|d|ɪ|n|b|ər|ə}} {{respell|ED|in-bər-ə}}.<ref name=CLPGH>{{cite web |url=http://www.carnegielibrary.org/exhibit/hname.html |title=How to Spell Pittsburgh |work=Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh |access-date=January 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001234852/http://www.carnegielibrary.org/exhibit/hname.html |archive-date=October 1, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Van Trump">{{cite web|url=http://www.phlf.org/2000/12/21/the-controversial-spelling-of-pittsburgh-or-why-the-h/|title=The Controversial Spelling of "Pittsburgh", or Why The "H"?|last=Van Trump|first=James|date=21 December 2000|publisher=Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation|access-date=19 February 2010|archive-date=5 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105085642/http://www.phlf.org/2000/12/21/the-controversial-spelling-of-pittsburgh-or-why-the-h/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Boehmig 2007">{{cite book|last=Boehmig|first=Stuart P.|title=Downtown Pittsburgh|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=San Francisco, CA|year=2007|pages=29|chapter=3: A City Emerges from a Frontier Town|isbn=978-0-7385-5042-8|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bz1Sm7WJ4ikC&q=pittsburgh+pittsburro&pg=PA39|access-date=19 February 2010}}</ref> 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)".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Pennsylvania Gazette|date=14 December 1758|page=1|title=[untitled]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15304715/}}</ref>
For a long time, there was little regard for uniformity in the spelling of Pittsburgh's name.<ref name=stewart344>{{cite book |last= Stewart |first= George R. |author-link= George R. Stewart |title= Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States |url= https://archive.org/details/namesonlandhisto0000stew |url-access= registration |orig-year= 1945 |edition= Sentry edition (3rd) |year= 1967 |publisher= Houghton Mifflin |pages= [https://archive.org/details/namesonlandhisto0000stew/page/344 344] }}</ref> Early municipal documents and city directories generally spelled the name with a final ''h'',<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Sunday Post|title=Spell It Pittsburgh Contends Committee|date=6 August 1911|at=Sec. 3, p. 1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55426788/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> but the letter is notably omitted in the city charter enacted by the state legislature in 1816.<ref name=stewart344/> The variance in spelling persisted through the 19th century. In 1890, some local newspapers were using the final ''h'' and some were not.<ref name=stewart344/> [[File:Pittsburgh vs Pittsburg ngram.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Relative frequency of ''Pittsburgh'' (blue) vs. ''Pittsburg'' (red) word forms in English-language books over time, according to Google Ngram Viewer data. Usage of ''Pittsburg'' has practically disappeared except in errors or in reference to places other than the Pennsylvania city.]]
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.
===Federal board decisions===
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 {{nowrap|''-h''}} should be dropped from place names ending in ''-burgh''.<ref name="13Principles">{{cite book|last=United States Board on Geographic Names|title=First report of the United States Board on Geographic Names. 1890–1891|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JE-AAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA8|access-date=4 August 2010|year=1892|publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|page=8}}</ref> The Board compiled a report of place name "decisions" in 1891 in which Pittsburgh's name for federal government purposes was rendered ''Pittsburg''.<ref name=stewart342>{{cite book |last= Stewart |first= George R. |author-link= George R. Stewart |title= Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States |url= https://archive.org/details/namesonlandhisto0000stew |url-access= registration |orig-year= 1945 |edition= Sentry edition (3rd) |year= 1967 |publisher= Houghton Mifflin |pages= [https://archive.org/details/namesonlandhisto0000stew/page/342 342–344] }}</ref>{{refn|group="note"|Because the Board lacked the immediate means to publish and distribute its decisions (see pp. 9–10 of the report), its report was not actually printed in volume and distributed until 1892. The actual finalized decisions and recommendations do date to 1891, however.}}
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: <blockquote>'''Pittsburg'''. Pennsylvania.<br />The city was chartered in 1816, its name being spelled without the ''h'', and its official form is still Pittsburg. The ''h'' appears to have been added by the Post-Office Department, and through that action local usage appears to have become divided. While the majority of local newspapers print it without the ''h'', certain others use the final ''h''.<ref>{{cite book|last=United States Board on Geographic Names|title=First report of the United States Board on Geographic Names. 1890–1891|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JE-AAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA34|access-date=4 August 2010|year=1892|publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|page=34}}</ref></blockquote>
The Board's decisions were compulsory upon all federal government agencies, including the Post Office. Outside the federal government, the decisions, while highly influential,<ref name=stewart342/> were not officially binding.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/pubs/BGN_Getting_Facts_Straight.pdf | publisher=United States Board on Geographic Names | title=The United States Board on Geographic Names: Getting the Facts Straight | date=November 2016 | quote=It is sometimes incorrectly assumed that BGN decisions on names apply to everyone in the United States. The BGN was formed to provide uniform geographic name usage in the Federal Government and its decisions only apply to the Federal Government. ... BGN decisions are not binding outside the Federal Government. | access-date=8 October 2019 | archive-date=25 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525021608/https://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/pubs/BGN_Getting_Facts_Straight.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> The Pittsburgh city government continued to use the spelling with the ''h'',<ref name=CLPGH/> as did such local institutions as the Pittsburgh ''Gazette'', the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange and the University of Pittsburgh.<ref name=stewart344/> In 1908, a Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce committee, after conducting a review of historical documents, endorsed ''Pittsburgh'' as the proper way to spell the city's name and looked toward getting that spelling federally recognized.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Gazette Times|location=Pittsburgh|date=15 May 1908|page=8|title=Hold First Meeting in New Quarters|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wT5RAAAAIBAJ&pg=1273%2C2291546}}</ref> Responding to mounting pressure and, in the end, political pressure from senator George T. Oliver, the names board reversed itself and added an ''h'' to its spelling of the city on July 19, 1911.<ref name=stewart344/> The letter sent to Senator Oliver to announce this decision, dated July 20, stated:
<blockquote>Hon. George T. Oliver, United States Senate:<br /> <br /> Sir: At a special meeting of the United States Geographic Board held on July 19, 1911, the previous decision with regard to the spelling of Pittsburgh without a final H was reconsidered and the form given below was adopted:<br /> <br /> Pittsburgh, a city in Pennsylvania (not Pittsburg).<br /> <br /> Very respectfully,<br /> C. S. SLOAN,<br /> Secretary.<ref name="Historical Society">{{cite book|last=Notes & Queries|publisher=The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania|title=Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine|year=1918|volume=2|pages=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhcUAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA65}}</ref></blockquote>
With the spelling controversy largely settled, the ''h''-less form of the city's name headed toward extinction. There were some holdouts: the city's largest-circulation newspaper, ''The Pittsburg Press'', adhered to the shorter spelling until 1921;<ref>{{cite news|last=Lowry|first=Patricia|title=Are yinz from Pittsburg?|department=The Next Page|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=17 July 2011|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2011/07/17/The-Next-Page-Are-yinz-from-Pittsburg/stories/201107170206}}</ref> ''The Pittsburg Dispatch'' and ''The Pittsburg Leader'' did so until ceasing publication in 1923.<ref>See, e.g., the last issues of ''The Pittsburg Dispatch'' and ''The Pittsburg Leader'', both published February 14, 1923.</ref>
Many cities across the United States named after the city of Pittsburgh, such as Pittsburg, Kansas, Pittsburg, California, and West Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, continue to use the ''Pittsburg'' spelling in their names. Other independent municipalities, such as the borough of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reflect the modern spelling.
=== Baseball card === {{main|T206 Honus Wagner}} [[File:Honus wagner t206 baseball card.jpg|thumb|150px|The T-206 Honus Wagner baseball card from 1909]] Perhaps the most familiar reference to the ''Pittsburg'' spelling is on the renowned 1909 T-206 baseball card of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Honus Wagner. Its scarcity, even at the time, combined with Wagner's reputation as one of the greatest players in baseball history, made it the most valuable sports card of all time, with one pristine specimen yielding ${{formatprice|6606000}} (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|6606000|2021}}}} in {{inflation/year|US}}){{inflation/fn|US}} at auction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32031670/t206-honus-wagner-baseball-card-sells-6606-million-shattering-previous-record|last=Hajducky|first=Dan|title=T206 Honus Wagner baseball card sells for $6.606 million, shattering previous record|website=ESPN|date=16 August 2021|access-date=31 August 2021}}</ref> It has been characterized as the "Holy Grail" of baseball cards.<ref name="Cato">{{cite news|url=https://archive.triblive.com/news/honus-wagner-card-brings-262900/|title=Honus Wagner card brings $262,900|last=Cato|first=Jason|date=6 November 2010|work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|access-date=27 September 2020}}</ref> The city name displayed across Wagner's jersey on the card was an artistic addition that did not actually appear on the Pirates' uniforms of the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/honus-wagner-card-1909/ |last=Doyle|first=Jack|title=$2.8 Million Baseball Card — 1909 Honus Wagner|website=The Pop History Dig|date=28 May 2008|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Uniform Database|website=Dressed to the Nines: a History of the Baseball Uniform|publisher=National Baseball Hall of Fame|url=http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=NL&city=Pittsburgh&lowYear=1905&highYear=1913&sort=year&increment=9|access-date=27 September 2020}}</ref> The portrait of Wagner makes it appear as if there could be an ''H'' on the end, cut off by the border of the picture, but this notion is countered by the appearance of "PITTSBURG" in the underlying caption and on other Pirate portraits from the T-206 card set.
=== The ''-h'' in Pittsburgh culture === The presence of the ''-h'' at the end of the word ''Pittsburgh'' is occasionally recognized in Pittsburgh culture. "Da 'Burgh" or "Da Burgh" is an affectionate local nickname for the city. ''PGH'' is a common three-letter abbreviation for the city name, for example as the Amtrak code for Union Station (although the IATA airport code for Pittsburgh International Airport is PIT). The first City Connect jersey of the Pittsburgh Pirates features PGH written across the chest. The abbreviation is part of the call sign of WPGH-TV, the area's network affiliate of Fox. Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority's brand of bottled water, ''PGH<sub>2</sub>O'', is a portmanteau of ''PGH'' and the chemical formula for water, H<sub>2</sub>O.<ref name="Smydo 2011">{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11162/1153009-53.stm|title=PWSA prepares its own bottled water|last=Smydo|first=Joe|date=11 June 2011|publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=12 June 2011}}</ref>
Conversely, in homage to the city's history, the "Pittsburg Plunge" at Kennywood amusement park retains the alternate spelling without the ''h''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pittsburg* Plunge |url=https://www.kennywood.com/experiences/attractions/pittsburg--plunge |website=Kennywood |access-date=5 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *Alburgh, Vermont, a town whose name was changed from ''Alburgh'' to ''Alburg'' in the 19th century, apparently by influence of the same 1891 decision that applied to the spelling of Pittsburgh. The ''Alburgh'' spelling was restored in 2006. *Newburgh, New York, another early U.S. city with a trailing ''h''. *Plattsburgh, New York, another early U.S. city with a trailing ''h'', located in the northeastern corner of the state. *Pittsburg (disambiguation), other places with the ''h''-less spelling
==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}}
==References== {{reflist|35em}}
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Category:History of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Etymology of