du Pont, E(leuthère) I(rénée) (1771-1834)

French-born US manufacturer. After learning the gunpowder trade in France, he established a commission house in New York City with his father. This proved unprofitable so he turned to selling gunpowder, mainly to the US government.

He was born in Paris and worked under Antoine Lavoisier at France's royal gunpowder works. He left France in the wake of the Revolution and settled in the USA in 1799. Having noticed the poor quality and high price of American gunpowder, he established a powder works, the E I du Pont de Nemours & Company, with machinery imported from France. With the US government as the major client, the War of 1812 firmly established the company. He was also a director of the Bank of the United States and was active in the American Colonization Society.