1. Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution in 1787. April 5, 1787, marked the day that the state legislature approved the document, making Delaware the first state to officially join the newly formed United States.

2. James Tilton, a physician and politician, was born on April 5, 1745, in Kent County, Delaware. Tilton served as a surgeon during the Revolutionary War and later served as a U.S. Congressman and as the first Surgeon General of the United States Army.

3. On April 5, 1933, the state of Delaware repealed prohibition, making it legal to consume and possess alcohol in the state once again. Delaware was the second-to-last state to repeal prohibition, ahead of only Mississippi.

4. The University of Delaware was founded on April 5, 1833, as Newark College. The college had just seven students in its inaugural year, but the institution has since grown into a major university with over 25,000 students.

5. In 1950, Delaware native and activist, Louis Redding, became the first African American to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. Redding argued on behalf of a group of African American parents who were challenging the constitutionality of Delaware's segregationist policies in public schools. His arguments helped to pave the way for the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.