New Hanover or Lavongai, volcanic island, c.460 sq mi (1,190 sq km), in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of Papua New Guinea. New Hanover is mountainous and densely forested. Coconuts, fishing, and timber are economically important. The island is known for long canoes, capable of holding 30 people. Germany, which held the island from 1884 until World War I, called it Neu Hannover.

Hanover, house of, ruling dynasty of Hanover (see Hanover, province), which was descended from the Guelphs and which in 1714 acceded to the British throne in the person of George I. George was the grandson of James I's daughter Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia, and the son of Sophia, electress of Hanover, and his succession to the throne was based on the Act of Settlement (1701). His successors were George II, George III, George IV, and William IV. The Salic law barred women from the succession in Hanover, and when William IV's niece, Victoria, succeeded (1837) to the British throne, the crowns of Hanover and Great Britain were separated. Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, so her descendants belonged to the house of Wettin. Ernest Augustus, son of George III, became (1837) king of Hanover and was succeeded by George V, who lost the crown in 1866.

Hanover, Ger. Hannover, former independent kingdom and former province of Germany; Lower Saxony, NW Germany. Very irregular in outline, Hanover stretched from the Dutch border and the North Sea in the northwest to the Harz Mts. in the southeast. The name Hanover originally applied only to the city, becoming the name of a state in 1815. Most of the territory was included in the duchy of Brunswick, which the house of the Guelphs retained after 1180. In the repeated subdivisions of Brunswick among the various branches of the family, the branch of Brunswick-Lüneburg (and its offshoots, the duchies of Lüneburg, Celle, and Lüneburg-Calenberg) emerged as the most powerful. The dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg played an important part in the Thirty Years War (1618-48) on the Protestant side, and in 1692 Duke Ernest Augustus of Calenberg was raised to the rank of elector. His lands became known as the electorate of Hanover. The marriage of Ernest Augustus to Sophia, granddaughter of James I of England, brought (1714) the English throne to his son, Elector George Louis (George I of England). Personal union of Great Britain and Hanover continued under the house of Hanover (see separate article). Napoleon I gave the electorate to Prussia in 1805, but in 1807 he assigned part of Hanover to the kingdom of Westphalia under his brother Jérôme Bonaparte, the remainder being divided in 1810 between France and Westphalia. In 1813, Great Britain regained possession, and in 1815 the Congress of Vienna raised Hanover to a kingdom, with membership in the German Confederation. At the accession (1837) of Queen Victoria in England, Hanover was separated from the British crown because of the Salic law of succession. Ernest Augustus, son of George III, became king of Hanover and began his reign by rescinding the liberal Hanoverian constitution of 1833, thus evoking the well-known protest of the seven professors at Göttingen; the Revolution of 1848 forced him to grant a liberal constitution. His son, George V, succeeded him in 1851. George V refused to support Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and, as a consequence, lost his kingdom, which was made a Prussian (from 1871 a German) province. After World War II the province was incorporated into Lower Saxony.

Hanover, Ger. Hannover, city (1994 pop. 524,820), capital of Lower Saxony, N Germany, on the Leine River and the Midland Canal. It is a major industrial, commercial, and transshipment center, also serving as a vital rail and road junction in northern Germany. Manufactures include iron and steel, tires, machinery, and motor vehicles. The city is the site of a noted annual industrial fair, the world's largest, held every April. Hanover was chartered in 1241 and in 1369 passed to Brunswick. In 1386 it joined the Hanseatic League. In 1692 it became the capital of the electorate (from 1815 kingdom; from 1866 province) of Hanover (see separate article). Hanover was badly damaged in World War II, but after 1945 numerous old buildings were reconstructed and many modern structures were erected. Points of interest include the Gothic former city hall (15th cent.); the Marktkirche (14th cent.), a red-brick church with a high (318 ft/97 m) tower; the Leineschloss (17th cent.), a château that now houses the parliament of Lower Saxony; and the remains of Herrenhausen castle (17th cent.). Hanover is the seat of technical, medical, and veterinary universities and several museums. The city has numerous parks and gardens, including the site of Expo 2000, Germany's first international exposition. Elector Ernest Augustus, his wife Sophia, and their son, George I of England, are buried in Hanover.

Hanover. 1 Borough (1990 pop. 14,399), York co., SE Pa.; inc. 1815. Industries include food processing (especially pretzels) and the manufacture of apparel; machinery; metal, plastic, and paper products; and chemicals. Standardbred horses are raised there (many famous trotters have "Hanover" in their names). A cavalry action preceding the battle of Gettysburg was fought in Hanover in June, 1863.

2 Town (1990 pop. 9,212), Grafton co., SW N.H. on the Connecticut river across from Vt.; settled 1765, inc. 1769. The town is the seat of Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Hanover is a cultural and recreational center and has many fine colonial homes.

English Hanover

City (pop., 2002 est.: city, 516,415; metro. area, 996,586), capital of Lower Saxony state, northwestern Germany. Located on the Leine River, it is first mentioned in documents in AD 1100. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1386. From 1495 it belonged to the Welf dynasty (later the house of Hanover). It was the capital of the kingdom of Hanover (1815–66) and then was annexed by Prussia. Hannover became the capital of Lower Saxony in 1946. It suffered destruction in World War II but was rebuilt, and it is now an educational, financial, and commercial centre with highly diversified industries.

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