1. Delaware officially became a state on May 17, 1776, when the Colonial Assembly voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence.

2. May 17, 1831, marked the opening of the first railroad in Delaware, the New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad, which connected Delaware to Maryland.

3. May 17, 1954, was the day the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

4. On May 17, 1982, the Wilmington and Western Railroad, a historic railway in Delaware, began operating its steam locomotive train, the No. 98.

5. May 17, 2015, marked the 80th anniversary of the completion of the DuPont Building in Wilmington, Delaware. The building, originally called the Dupont Building and now known as the Hotel du Pont, is a historic landmark in the city and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.