Éleuthère Irénée du Pont Founder of DuPont

Biography of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont

Early Life

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont founder of DuPont was born in Paris, France on June 24^th, 1771. His father was an economist of politics. As a young person he has no interest in studying the subjects in which he was enrolled but he has a great interest in explosives.

Founder of DuPont was enrolled in the College Royal in Paris in 1785’s fall but as he has no interest in studies, he left that university. After two years his father’s friend, Antoine Lavoisier, who was a chemist, took him under his eyes. He worked for Antoine at a government agency of manufacturing gunpowder. There he gained training for making explosives. His hard work took him to a position in Essones gunpowder works of government. But after sometime he left that job.

Movement from France to United States

After leaving the job in Essones, in 1791, he started helping his father in managing a small publishing house. After the French Revolution his father didn’t worked for that government and all family moved to United States America. They reached Rhodes Island on 1^st January, 1800. There he and his father wanted to create a community of immigrant people belonging to France. They settled in Bergen Point, New Jersey. They opened up office in New York City but Irenee was not made for this, he was made for explosives.

Founder of DuPont

He didn’t think of gunpowder making when he shifted to America. He again came back into the field of gunpowder when the quality of American made gunpowder was very poor. He went to a hunting trip with French officer employed in United States; there he observed the poor quality of gunpowder. Some sort of curiosity created in his mind and he requested a man for a tour to gunpowder industry of America. There he observed that material was fine but refinery process was not good as compared to that of France process of making gunpowder.

Then he tried to enter that market by introducing improved quality gunpowder. With the help of his father he started to collect the resources for the powder mills. In 1801, he returned to France for taking all his stuff, financial and equipment from there.

After returning back to United States, on 21^st April of 1801 he signed the act of association, new company was founded with the name “E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company”. He started with $36,000 initial investment from which he purchased land of $6,740 at Brandywine Creek. In the month of April, 1804, that company produced its first gunpowder.

DuPont

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont and Company is also known with the name of DuPont. It is an American company for chemical manufacturing. Initially it was founded as a gunpowder making company, slowly and gradually it has diversified and now it is also producing polymer products like, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, and also chlorofluorocarbons for refrigerators. Now it is ranked as the world’s third biggest company in terms of chemical manufacturing.

Death

He died on 31^st October in 1834 near Greenville at Eleutherian Mills. The cause of his death is still a conflicting point. Some say that he died of cholera and others say of heart attack. His body is rested in the DuPont de Nemours Cemetery which is in Wilmington, Delaware.