Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (24 June 1771 – 31 October 1834), known as
Irénée du Pont, or
E.I. du Pont, was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
-born
HuguenotThe Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Since the eighteenth century, Huguenots have been commonly designated "French Protestants", the title being suggested by their German co-religionists or "Calvinists"...
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
and industrialist who immigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1799 and founded the gunpowder manufacturer,
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and CompanyE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont or Du Pont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont is currently the world's second largest chemical company in terms of market capitalization and...
. His descendants, the
Du Pont familyThe du Pont family is an American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours . The son of a Paris watchmaker and a member of a Burgundian noble family, he and his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, emigrated to the United States in 1800 and used the resources of...
, were one of America's richest and most prominent families in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Du Pont was born 24 June 1771 in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, son of
Pierre Samuel du Pont de NemoursPierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours , was a French noblemen, writer, economist, and government official, who was the father of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of E.I...
and Nicole Charlotte Marie Louise Le Dée de Rencourt.
Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (24 June 1771 – 31 October 1834), known as
Irénée du Pont, or
E.I. du Pont, was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
-born
HuguenotThe Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Since the eighteenth century, Huguenots have been commonly designated "French Protestants", the title being suggested by their German co-religionists or "Calvinists"...
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
and industrialist who immigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1799 and founded the gunpowder manufacturer,
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and CompanyE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont or Du Pont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont is currently the world's second largest chemical company in terms of market capitalization and...
. His descendants, the
Du Pont familyThe du Pont family is an American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours . The son of a Paris watchmaker and a member of a Burgundian noble family, he and his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, emigrated to the United States in 1800 and used the resources of...
, 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
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, son of
Pierre Samuel du Pont de NemoursPierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours , was a French noblemen, writer, economist, and government official, who was the father of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of E.I...
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 MillsFrom 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives by the Du Pont family business. The name also refers to the house on the hill above the mills, which was the first Du Pont family home in America. The business was founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont...
on the Brandywine Creek in
DelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named.Delaware is located in...
. 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
LavoisiersAntoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ; ), the father of modern chemistry, was a French noble prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
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 RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
. However, both were among those who physically defended
King Louis XVILouis XVI of France ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. Suspended and arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792, he was tried by the National Convention, found guilty of treason, and executed by guillotine on 21...
and
Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I....
from a mob besieging the
Tuileries PalaceThe Palais des Tuileries was a royal palace in Paris. It stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
during
the insurrection of 10 AugustOn 10 August 1792, during the French Revolution, a mob—with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" Paris Commune—besieged the Tuileries palace. King Louis XVI and the royal family took shelter with the Legislative Assembly. This proved to...
, 1792. After his father narrowly escaped the
guillotineThe guillotine was a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the victim's head from their body...
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
émigréÉmigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out," but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
s.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Du Pont brought an expertise in
chemistryChemistry is the science concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions...
and
gunpowderGunpowder, also called black powder, is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. It burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot solids and gases which can be used as a propellant in firearms and as a pyrotechnic composition in fireworks. The term gunpowder also refers broadly to any...
making during a time when the quality of American made gunpowder was very poor.
Death and legacy
He died 31 October 1834 at
Eleutherian MillsFrom 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives by the Du Pont family business. The name also refers to the house on the hill above the mills, which was the first Du Pont family home in America. The business was founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont...
, near
GreenvilleGreenville is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 2,332 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Greenville is located at ....
. The company he founded would become one of the largest and most successful American corporations. His sons,
Alfred V. du PontAlfred Victor Philadelphe du Pont was an American chemist and industrialist, who was the eldest son and successor of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company....
(1798–1856) and Henry du Pont (1812–1889), were its managers in the years after his death.
External links