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Irénée du Pont

American businessman (1876–1963)

Irénée du Pont
Du Pont c. 1919
Born	(1876-12-21)December 21, 1876 New Castle, Delaware, US
Died	December 19, 1963(1963-12-19) (aged 86) Wilmington, Delaware, US
Education	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Title	President of DuPont
Term	1919–1925
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Irene du Pont[1]
Children	9, including Crawford Greenewalt and Colgate Darden
Parent(s)	Lammot du Pont Mary Belin
Relatives	Pierre S. du Pont and Lammot du Pont II (brothers)

Irénée du Pont I (December 21, 1876 – December 19, 1963) was an American businessman, president of the DuPont company, head of the Du Pont trust as well as a Nazi sympathizer and financier.

Irénée du Pont I was born on December 21, 1876, in New Castle, Delaware, the son of Mary Belin and Lammot du Pont I, and a descendant of DuPont founder Éleuthère Irénée du Pont.^[2] When he was eight years old, his father was killed in an explosion at the DuPont works in Repauno, New Jersey.^[3]

He graduated from the William Penn Charter School in 1892 before attending Phillips Academy for a year, graduating in 1894, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1897. He received his Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT a year after graduation.^[4] While at MIT, he was a member of the Phi Beta Epsilon fraternity.

He worked for Fenn's Manufacturing Contracting Company for a number of years before he joined DuPont in 1903. du Pont first worked in the organization of a construction division in black powder, then worked as assistant treasurer, assistant to the general manager and manager of the developmental department. By the start of World War I he was the vice president, and he was named the chairman of the executive committee a year later.^[3]

He was the elected president of DuPont from 1919 to 1925, where he oversaw the dismantling of the company's war productions from WWI.^[4][2] At the time of his death, he was credited with being responsible for the shift of the company from being solely dependent on explosives, to being a more diverse industrial company.^[3] He oversaw DuPont at a time when eight workers were fatally poisoned with tetraethyl lead while he issued statements about there being "slight difficulties".^[5]

He retired from the board of directorsofDuPont in 1958 and was succeeded by his son Irénée du Pont Jr.^[2][4]

Du Pont married a second cousin of his, Irene Sophie du Pont, and had nine children with her: eight daughters and a son.^[4]

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)).

Du Pont was a registered Republican, voted to repeal Prohibition and was an opponent of the New Deal Administration of President Franklin Roosevelt.^[4] In the 1930s, he was a proponent of eugenics and racial superiority theories, was a founder of the American Liberty League,^{[6] [7][8][9]}

He died on December 19, 1963, in Wilmington, Delaware.^[2]

• The Sophie du Pont May papersatHagley 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.