Rubicon, Lat. Rubico, small stream that flows into the Adriatic and in Roman times marked the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and ancient Italy. In 49 B.C., after some hesitation, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon to march against Pompey in defiance of the senate's orders. He thus committed himself to conquer or to perish, and "to cross the Rubicon" now means to take an irrevocable step.

Small stream that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy in the era of the Roman republic. The movement of Julius Caesar's forces over the Rubicon into Italy in 49 BC violated the law that forbade a general to lead an army out of the province to which he was assigned. Caesar's act thus amounted to a declaration of war against the Roman Senate and resulted in the three-year civil war that left Caesar ruler of the Roman world. “Crossing the Rubicon” became a popular phrase describing a step that irrevocably commits a person to a given course of action.

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Rubicon is a town in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,005 at the 2000 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 34.9 square miles (90.5 km²), of which, 34.5 square miles (89.4 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²) of it (1.17%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,005 people, 662 households, and 544 families residing in the town. The population density was 58.1 people per square mile (22.4/km²). There were 680 housing units at an average density of 19.7/sq mi (7.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.70% White, 0.15% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

There were 662 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.9% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 13.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the town the population was spread out with 30.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $54,583, and the median income for a family was $59,231. Males had a median income of $37,234 versus $23,359 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,964. About 2.2% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

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