Delaware
Delaware (/ˈdɛləwɛər/ ⓘ DEL-ə-wair)[11] is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.[12] It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state's name derives from the adjacent Delaware Bay, which in turn was named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and the Colony of Virginia's first colonial-era governor.[13]
This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see Delaware (disambiguation).
Delaware
December 7, 1787 (1st)
John Carney (D)
Tom Carper (D)
Chris Coons (D)
Lisa Blunt Rochester (D) (list)
2,489[2] sq mi (6,450 km2)
96 mi (154 km)
30 mi (48 km)
60 ft (20 m)
447.85 ft (136.50468 m)
0 ft (0 m)
1,031,890[5]
500/sq mi (190/km2)
$69,100[6]
Delawarean
Del.
38° 27′ N to 39° 50′ N
75° 3′ W to 75° 47′ W
Endless Discoveries—[10] Formerly: It's Good Being First
Delaware occupies the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula, and some islands and territory within the Delaware River. It is the 2nd smallest and 6th least populous state, but also the 6th most densely populated. Delaware's most populous city is Wilmington, and the state's capital is Dover, the 2nd most populous city in Delaware. The state is divided into three counties, the fewest number of counties of any of the 50 U.S. states;[b] from north to south, the three counties are: New Castle County, Kent County, and Sussex County.
The southern two counties, Kent and Sussex counties, historically have been predominantly agrarian economies. New Castle is more urbanized and is considered part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan statistical area that surrounds and includes Philadelphia, the nation's 6th most populous city. Delaware is considered part of the Southern United States by the U.S. Census Bureau, but the state's geography, culture, and history are a hybrid of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the country.[14]
Before Delaware coastline was explored and developed by Europeans in the 16th century, the state was inhabited by several Native Americans tribes, including the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south. The state was first colonized by Dutch traders at Zwaanendael, near present-day Lewes, Delaware, in 1631.
Delaware was one of the Thirteen Colonies that participated in the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, in which the American Continental Army, led by George Washington, defeated the British, ended British colonization and established the United States as a sovereign and independent nation.
On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, earning it the nickname "The First State".[15]
Since the turn of the 20th century, Delaware has become an onshore corporate haven whose corporate laws are deemed appealing to corporations; over half of all New York Stock Exchange-listed corporations and over three-fifths of the Fortune 500 are legally incorporated in the state.
Currently, 46th U.S. president Joe Biden is the first holder of that office to be from Delaware.
Etymology[edit]
Delaware was named after Delaware Bay, which in turn derived its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577–1618), the first governor of the Colony of Virginia. The Delaware people, a name used by Europeans for Lenape people Indigenous to the Delaware Valley, also derive their name from the same source.
The name de La Warr is from Sussex and of Anglo-French origin.[16][17] It came probably from a Norman lieu-dit La Guerre. This toponymic likely derived from Latin ager, the Breton gwern or from the Late Latin varectum (fallow). The toponyms Gara, Gare, Gaire, (the sound [ä] often mutated in [æ]) also appear in historical texts cited by Lucien Musset, where the word ga(i)ra means gore. It could also be linked with a patronymic from the Old Norse verr.
Media[edit]
Newspapers[edit]
Two daily newspapers are based in Delaware, the Delaware State News, based in Dover and covering the two southern counties, and The News Journal covering Wilmington and northern Delaware. The state is also served by several weekly, monthly and online publications.
Television[edit]
No standalone television stations are based solely in Delaware. The northern part of the state is served by network stations in Philadelphia and the southern part by network stations in Salisbury, Maryland. Philadelphia's ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV, maintains a news bureau in downtown Wilmington. Salisbury's CBS affiliate, WBOC-TV, maintains bureaus in Dover and Milton. Three Philadelphia-market stations—PBS member WHYY-TV, Ion affiliate WPPX, and MeTV affiliate WDPN-TV—all have Wilmington as their city of license, but maintain transmitters at the market antenna farm in Roxborough, Philadelphia and do not produce any Delaware-centric programming.
Foreign Affairs[edit]
Sister State[edit]
Delaware has had a foreign sister state in Japan, named Miyagi Prefecture.[174] These two have shared relations since 1997, and have had exchange programs available for students that were briefly paused in wake of the earthquake and the tsunami that ensued in the prefecture during March 2011.[175]
