Irénée du Pont
| Irénée du Pont | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
December 21, 1876 New Castle, Delaware |
| Died |
December 19, 1963 (aged 86) Wilmington, Delaware |
| Education |
Phillips Academy (1894) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1897) |
| Title | President of DuPont |
| Term | 1919-1925 |
| Children | Irénée du Pont II |
| Parent(s) | Lammot du Pont |
| Relatives |
Pierre S. du Pont, brother Lammot du Pont II, brother |
Irénée du Pont I (December 21, 1876 – December 19, 1963) was a U.S. businessman, former president of the DuPont company and head of the Du Pont trust.[1]
Biography
Early life
He was born on December 21, 1876 in New Castle, Delaware.[1] He was a descendant of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. He graduated from Andover Academy in 1894 and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1897. While at MIT, he was a member of the Phi Beta Epsilon fraternity, where he was one of the first brothers, in the course of his lifetime, contributing over $4,000,000.
Career
He worked for Fenn's Manufacturing Contracting Company for a number of years before he joined DuPont. He was president of DuPont from 1919 to 1925.[1] He oversaw DuPont at a time when eight workers were fatally poisoned with tetraethyl lead while he issued statements about there being "slight difficulties".[2] He retired from the board of directors of DuPont in 1958.[1]
Personal life
He built a mansion in Varadero, Cuba, which he named Xanadu. In 1957, Fortune estimated his wealth at between $200 million and $400 million, making him one of the two richest members of the Du Pont family at that time, and one of the twenty richest Americans (see Wealthiest Americans (1957)). In the 1930s, he was a proponent of eugenics.[3]
He died on December 19, 1963 in Wilmington, Delaware.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Irenee du Pont Dies In Wilmington at 86. A Blunt Industrialist. Rayon and Cellophane. Bought by 3 Cousins Settlement in '62". New York Times. December 20, 1963. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
Irénée du Pont, last survivor of three brothers who led E.I. du Pont de Nemours Co. from a comparatively small explosives manufacturing concern to a position as one of the world's largest diversified chemical companies, died here today. He was 86 years old. ...
- ↑ Bent, Silas (22 June 1925). "Tetraethyl Lead Fatal to Makers". New York Times. New York.
- ↑ Scott Christianson (2010). The Last Gasp: The Rise and Fall of the American Gas Chamber. University of California Press.
Prior to 1926 DuPont was run by the U.S. industrialist Irénée du Pont, a strong supporter of eugenics, right-wing political groups, and IG Farben. ...
External links
- The Sophie du Pont May papers at Hagley Museum and Library contain a series of correspondence between Irénée du Pont and his older sister, Louisa d'Andelot du Pont Copeland. Sophie du Pont May was Irénée du Pont's daughter.