Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, 12 miles west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware. Newark was founded by Scots-Irish and Welsh settlers in 1694. The town was officially established when it received a charter from George II of Great Britain in 1758. Schools have played a significant role in the history of Newark. A grammar school, founded by Francis Alison in 1743, moved from New London, Pennsylvania to Newark in 1765, becoming the Newark Academy. Among the... first graduates of the school were three signers of the Declaration of Independence: George Read, Thomas McKean, and James Smith. During the American Revolutionary War, British and American forces clashed outside Newark at Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. Tradition holds that the Battle of Cooch's Bridge was the first time that the Stars and Stripes was flown in battle. The state granted a charter to a new school in 1833, which was called Newark College. Newark Academy and Newark College joined together in the following year, becoming Delaware College.
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