This is a list of all people prominent enough to be contained in Wikipedia who were associated with the U.S. state of Delaware, including those who were born, lived or were otherwise associated with locally performed activities in a recognizable way. A Wilbur L. Adams (1884–1937) – U.S. Representative from Delaware J. Edward Addicks (1841–1919) – gas tycoon; his attempts to buy a U.S. Senate seat bolstered support for the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; lived in Claymont J. Frank Allee (1857–1938) – jeweler; Senator from Delaware Richard Allen (1760–1831) – founder, African Methodist Episcopal Church William F. Allen (1883–1946) – U.S. Representative from Delaware Ann Althouse (born 1951) – law professor, legal blogger; born in Wilmington Thomas L. Ambro (born 1949) – Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals; worked in Wilmington John Andrews (1746–1813) – minister; academic Anthony J. Arduengo, III (born 1952) – chemist; material scientist; discoverer of stable carbenes Adrienne Arsht (born 1942) – lawyer; philanthropist; born in Wilmington B Ba–Bm John Backus (1924–2007) – computer scientist; invented Fortran and Backus–Naur form; raised in Wilmington Walter W. Bacon (1879–1962) – Mayor of Wilmington; Governor of Delaware L. Heisler Ball (1861–1932) – U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Delaware Samuel Bancroft (1840–1915) – industrialist; art philanthropist; born in Wilmington William Poole Bancroft (1835–1928) – industrialist; land conservationist Phineas Banning (1830–1885) – businessman and entrepreneur in Delaware and California Richard Bassett (1745–1815) – U.S. Senator from Delaware; Governor of Delaware Alice M. Batchelder (born 1944) – attorney; judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Martin W. Bates (1786–1869) – State Representative; U.S. Senator from Delaware Alexis I. du Pont Bayard (1918–1985) – veteran, World War II; Lieutenant Governor of Delaware James A. Bayard Sr. (1767–1815) – U.S. Representative; U.S. Senator from Delaware James A. Bayard Jr. (1799–1880) – lawyer; U.S. Senator from Delaware Richard H. Bayard (1796–1868) – Chief Justice, Delaware Supreme Court; U.S. Senator from Delaware Thomas F. Bayard (1828–1898) – U.S. Senator from Delaware; U.S. Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard Jr. (1868–1942) – U.S. Senator from Delaware Paul Lorin Bechly (born 1958) – chemical engineer Gunning Bedford Sr. (1742–1797) – Revolutionary officer; Governor of Delaware Gunning Bedford Jr. (1747–1812) – lawyer; Continental Congressman from Delaware Caleb P. Bennett (1758–1836) – Revolutionary officer; Governor of Delaware Valerie Bertinelli (born 1960) – actress (One Day at a Time, Hot in Cleveland); born