Alexis Irénée du Pont (February 14, 1816 – August 23, 1857) was an American business executive who ran the

Eleutherian Mills From 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, which grew into the DuPont company. The name also refers to the house on the hill above the mills, wh ...

gunpowder factory in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. He was fatally injured along with five of his employees in an accidental explosion at the powder mills. He was the youngest child of

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours ( , ; 24 June 1771 – 31 October 1834) was a French-American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His descendants, the du Pont family, ha ...

, founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.

Life and career

Born in

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three List of counties in Delaware, counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent County, Delaware, Kent, and Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex). As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, Alexis Irénée du Pont attended Mount Airy College in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and the New Haven Gymnasium in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

from 1829 to 1831. Classmates included his nephew, James Irénée Bidermann, the only child of his father's business partner,

Jacques Antoine Bidermann Jacques Antoine Bidermann (April 17, 1790 – June 8, 1865), also known as James Antoine Bidermann, was an American businessman of French and Swiss origins who became the business partner and son-in-law of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont. He married ...

, and his sister, Evelina Gabrielle du Pont. Alexis Irénée completed scientific studies at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

from 1831 to 1835, though he never received his degree. In December 1836, he married Joanna Maria Smith (1815–1876), daughter of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

merchant Francis Gurney Smith and sister of physician Thomas Mackie Smith, who had recently married Alexis Irénée's sister, Eleuthera du Pont Smith. Alexis Irénée and Joanna had eight children, including Francis Gurney du Pont,

Eugène du Pont Eugène du Pont (November 16, 1840 – January 28, 1902) was an American businessman who served as the first head of the modern-day DuPont corporation. Life and education Du Pont was born on November 16, 1840, at Hagley House in New Castle ...

, and

Alexis Irénée du Pont Jr. Alexis Irénée du Pont Jr. (June 5, 1843 – November 26, 1904) was an American business executive and non-practicing physician. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Du Pont was a son of Alexis ...

Alexis Irénée du Pont became a partner in E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company in 1837 and continued in this capacity until his death on August 23, 1857, having been fatally injured in an explosion at the powder mills a day earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:du Pont, Alexis Irénée 1816 births 1857 deaths Alexis Irénée People from New Castle County, Delaware University of Pennsylvania alumni 19th-century American businesspeople American business executives Deaths from explosion