Eleuthere Irenee du Pont

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours
Founder E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Born	June 24 1771(1771-06-24) Paris, France
Died	October 31 1834 (aged 63) Greenville, Delaware
Residence	Eleutherian Mills, Greenville, Delaware
Spouse(s)	Sophie Madeleine Dalmas
Children	Victorine Elizabeth du Pont Lucille du Pont Evelina Gabrielle du Pont Alfred V. du Pont Eleuthera du Pont Sophie Madeleine du Pont Henry du Pont Alexis Irénée du Pont
Parents	Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours Nicole Charlotte Marie Louise Le Dée de Rencourt
Signature

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (June 24, 1771 – October 31, 1834), known as Irénée du Pont, or E.I. du Pont, was a French-born American chemist and industrialist who immigrated to the United States in 1799 and founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His descendants, the Du Pont family, were one of America's richest and most prominent families in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Early life and family

Irnee was born in 1771 in Paris to Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours and Nicole Charlotte Marie Louise Le Dée de Rencourt. When only a teenager, though not caring for other studies, he showed tremendous interest in gunpowder engaging in much independent research. In fact, at age 14 he entered the Royal College in Paris and worked as an apprentice with Lavoisier in manufacturing gunpowder for the government. A few years later, after Irnee left his apprencticeship and lost his connection to government gunpowder manufacture, he began to manage his father's publishing house. At this time, Irnee met Sophie Madeleine Dalmas who he became determined to marry. Only after much persistance and even offering to fight in two duels for her hand in marriage did her father agree. They were finally married in 1791, and came to have eight children.

Living through the French Revolution du Pont immigrated to America in 1800 with his extended family, and by 1802 established his home Eleutherian Mills on the Brandywine Creek in Delaware. He also began his successful gunpowder company owing to his industrial and chemical experience. The company is still successful today, over 200 years later, all starting with gunpowder and now offering diverse range of products.

Career in France

Like his father, he was initially a supporter of the French Revolution. However, both were among those who physically defended King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette from a mob besieging the Tuileries Palace in Paris during the insurrection of August 10, 1792. After his father narrowly escaped the guillotine and the family house was sacked by a mob in 1797 during the events of 18 Fructidor, the entire family left for the United States in 1799. They hoped (but failed) to create a model community of French émigrés.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

Du Pont brought an expertise in chemistry and gunpowder making during a time when the quality of American made gunpowder was very poor.

Death and legacy

He died October 31, 1834 at Eleutherian Mills, near Greenville. The company he founded would become one of the largest and most successful American corporations. His sons, Alfred V. du Pont (1798–1856) and Henry du Pont (1812–1889), were its managers in the years after his death.

The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution located in Wilmington, Delaware. The facility is located on 235 acres (0.95 km²) along the banks of the Brandywine River, the site of the gunpowder mill founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont in 1802, known as Eleutherian Mills. The museum and grounds include the first du Pont family home and garden in the United States, the powder yards, and a nineteenth-century machine shop. On the hillside below the mansion lies a Renaissance-Revival garden, with terraces and statuary, created by Louise Evalina du Pont Crowninshield (1877-1958) in the 1920s. The Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation was formed in 1954, and the museum opened to the public in 1957.

New Title new company

President of Du Pont 1802 – October 31, 1834

Succeeded by: Alfred V. du Pont

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• du Pont, Pierre S. (1942). Genealogy of the Du Pont Family 1739-1942. Wilmington: Hambleton Printing & Publishing. 
• Dutton, William S. (1942). Du Pont, One Hundred and Fifty Years. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 

External links

• Bio at the Du Pont company website. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
• Hagley Museum and Library Hagley.org. Retrieved December 19, 2007.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Eleuthere_Irenee_du_Pont  ^history
• Du_Pont_Family  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Eleuthere Irenee du Pont"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.