New Jersey is a state in the northeastern region of the United States with the abbreviation of NJ. New Jersey became a state on December 18, 1787, making the state 237 years old, as of December, 2024. New Jersey was named after the Isle of Jersey off the English coast by George Carteret, who settled the land that is now New Jersey after being granted it by the Duke of York.
New Jersey is the 46th largest state and the 11th most populous; the capital of New Jersey is Trenton and its demonym is New Jerseyan. New Jersey is one of the thirteen original states. New Jersey is bordered by the states of Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New York and the Atlantic Ocean.
The motto of the state of New Jersey is Liberty and Prosperity.
The nickname of New Jersey is the Garden State; the origin of this nickname is uncertain, however, the official New Jersey website credits Abraham Browning with the coining of the nickname.
The landscape of New Jersey varies greatly for its small size, ranging from coastal plains and salt marshes to pine forests and mountain ranges.
New Jersey is known for its scenic shores, its diverse culinary culture, and for being home to portions of Ellis Island and Liberty Island — the island on which the Statue of Liberty is located. New Jersey’s land also possess metals such as iron, zinc, copper, lead, and gold.
On January 20, 1930, Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. In 1951, Aldrin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in mechanical engineering, after which Aldrin was commissioned to the US Air Force. Aldrin served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War, during which he flew 66 combat missions and even shot down 2 MiG-15s. Aldrin earned a Doctor of Science degree in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after which he was selected as a member of NASA’s Astronaut Group 3. In 1966, Aldrin served in the Gemini 12 mission, during which he spent over 5 hours on extravehicular activity, and in 1969, Aldrin served in Apollo 11 mission, during which he became the second man to walk on the moon. During that mission, Aldrin became the first man to take communion on the moon, which also meant that he was the first to consume food and beverage on the moon. In 1988, Edwin Aldrin legally changed his name to Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin earned many awards, including two Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Air Medals, a Congressional Gold Medal, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, a NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and a NASA Exceptional Service Medal; Aldrin even achieved the rank of Brigadier General in the US Air Force. In January 2025, Aldrin became 95 years old; he is the only surviving member of the Apollo 11 mission.
In 1877, Thomas Edison was working at the Menlo Park lab in New Jersey when he invented a machine that could record sounds and play them back. This machine, which Edison called the phonograph (Greek phono, meaning sound, and Greek graph, meaning writing), could record your voice if you shouted into the mouthpiece and cranked the handle, which would cause a small needle to engrave the sound waves on the surface of a piece of tin foil.
On December 26, 1776, the Battle of Trenton occurred in Trenton, New Jersey. Shortly before the battle, Washington famously crossed the icy Delaware River with his troops on Christmas Night. The Hessians were informed by loyalists that an attack from Washington was imminent, but they assumed Washington was unlikely to cross the Delaware during the treacherous winter storm on the night of the 25th of December, however, that is precisely what Washington did. In the early hours of the 26th of December, Washington led his troops in an attack on the garrison of Hessian mercenaries in Trenton. The Hessians attempted to launch a counterattack, which was unsuccessful as they were fired upon by the Americans from three directions; some civilians even joined in the attack on the Hessians. The Battle resulted in an American victory which greatly boosted the dwindling American morale. The Hessians suffered 105 casualties and more than 800 of their troops were captured, which was nearly two-thirds of their force. The Americans only suffered 5 wounded during the battle and 2 fatalities from exposure.
An interesting fact about New Jersey is that the state is home to the oldest continually operating lighthouse in the United States: the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. The construction of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse was completed on June 11, 1764, making the lighthouse 261 years old. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse is now maintained by the United States Coast Guard.
A strange fact about New Jersey is that the state is one of the smallest states, yet one of the most populous states, causing New Jersey to be the most densely populated state. New Jersey’s population density is so high that nearly 94% of the state’s population lives in communities classified as urban, while approximately 99% of the population lives in a designated metropolitan area. The US Census Bureau even considers all of New Jersey’s 21 counties as urban.
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Source: Origins of State Names
Source: Demonyms for US States
Source: Invention of the Phonograph
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