Happy Delaware Day!
On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first colony to ratify the Constitution, which made it the first state in the New Nation. In 1933, E. Paul Burkholder– Delaware educator and legislator– and the Rotary Club of Georgetown led a statewide effort to establish December 7 as Delaware Day.
They collected 6,000 signatures on petitions in support of the declaration, and they presented it to the Governor and legislature. On November 29, 1933, a House Joint Resolution passed. The first Delaware Day was celebrated the following week!
Did you know?
- The state’s highest elevation is in our backyard - the Ebright Azimuth has an elevation point of 447.85 feet, (136.50 meters), above sea level near Ebright Road in New Castle County.
- With an estimated population of 1,018,396 as of 2022*, Delaware is among the top states in the U.S. with the highest population density per square mile. *Source: U.S. Census data
- In 1610, the explorer, Samuel Argall, named the Delaware River and Bay after the governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.
- Speaking of bays, the Delaware Bay is home to more horseshoe crabs than any other place on Earth.
- First State, First Star. In 2000, the Delaware Diamond located in Ursa Major (the Great Bear) became Delaware’s State Star. It was the first star registered to an American State on the International Star Registry.
- In 2013, Red Clay Consolidation School District students spent an entire summer building a 112-foot LEGO tower in Wilmington. The Guinness Book of World Records named it the largest LEGO tower, containing a whopping 500,000 bricks.
- According to the Widener Law Delaware Library Blog, alcohol may not be served in nightclubs if dancing is occurring on the premises at the same time.
- Henry Heimlich, inventor of the life-saving Heimlich maneuver, was born in Wilmington.
- There’s a disc golf course in every Delaware State Park.
- And finally, we’re more than just chickens (although our state boasts the highest chicken count):
- State Fish: Weakfish
- State Marine Animal: Horseshoe Crab
- State Wildlife Animal: Grey Fox
- State Fossil: Belemnite
- Delaware State Dinosaur: Dryptosauridae
- State Bug: Lady Bug
- State Herb: Sweet Golden Rod
- State Fruit: Strawberry
- State Tree: American Holly
- State Butterfly: Tiger Swallowtail
- State Flower: Peach Blossom
- State Beverage: Milk
- State Dessert: Peach Pie
