Marietta (Georgia), city, seat of Cobb County, northwestern Georgia, near Atlanta; established in 1834, incorporated in 1852. The city is the site of the Southern Polytechnic State University (1948) and Life University (1974). Kennesaw State University (1966), Dobbins Air Force Base, and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, the scene of a major American Civil War battle (1864) in which Union forces were defeated, are in the area. Many Union and Confederate soldiers are buried in Marietta. Population 30,829 (1980); 44,129 (1990); 58,748 (2000); 63,152 (2006).