The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Delaware: Delaware – U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom (what is now called) Cape Henlopen was originally named. Delaware is the second smallest state (after Rhode Island). The history of the state's economic and industrial development is closely tied to the impact of the Du Pont family, founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, one of the world's largest chemical companies. Delaware was one of the 13 original states participating in the American Revolution and on December 7, 1787, became the first to ratify the Constitution of the U