Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (24 June 1771 – 31 October 1834), known as
Irénée du Pont, or
E.I. du Pont, was a
French-born
Huguenot 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
Du Pont was born 24 June 1771 in
Paris, son of
Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours and Nicole Charlotte Marie Louise Le Dée de Rencourt. He married Sophie Dalmas (1775–1828) in 1791 and they had eight children. In 1799, his family immigrated to the United States, he arrived to Rhode Island, landed on 1 January 1800 along with his father and brother's family. By 1802 he had established his business and his home,
Eleutherian Mills on the
Brandywine Creek in
Delaware. 1 January is the arrival anniversary of the du Pont family in America, it is still celebrated by the descendants.
Career in France
Du Pont was one of
Lavoisiers assistants and it was from him that he gained his expertise in nitrate extraction and manufacture.
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 10 August, 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 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 31 October 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.
See also
