Eleuthère Irénée du Pont
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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 emigrated to the United States in 1799 and founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His descendents, 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 June 24, 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 emigrated to the United States, 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.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 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.
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Alfred V. du Pont
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See also
External links
State of Delaware
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