Richard Chichester du Pont (January 2, 1911 – September 11, 1943) was an American businessman and an

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

and glider pioneer who was a member of the prominent

Du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), a French minor aristocrat. Currently residing in the U.S. states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Du Ponts have been ...

. He was the founder of the major US

legacy carrier In the United States, a legacy carrier is an airline that was once economically regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) during the period of airline regulation 1938–1978 or can trace its origin to one that did. The CAB was a now defunct f ...

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

, after serving as a special assistant to General

Henry H. Arnold Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (25 June 1886 – 15 January 1950) was an American General officers in the United States, general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army and later, General of the Ai ...

, the chief of the United States Air Forces.

Biography

Marker memoriailizing Richard Chichester du Pont

He was born on January 2, 1911, in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. He was the son of A. Felix du Pont (1879–1948) and Mary Chichester (1878–1965). As a young boy he developed an enthusiasm for aviation and took flying lessons. His interest in flight expanded to include gliders and he was flying them while still a teenager. At the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, he founded a campus soaring club. In 1932, he went to study aviation at the

Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute The Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute was an early professional trade school operated by the Curtiss-Wright corporation for aircraft maintenance training. Director Major C. C. Moseley was one of only three school directors selected across Americ ...

. That year, he and his sister

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

(1912–2002) flew an open-cockpit airplane up the Amazon River. In 1933, Richard du Pont partnered with Hawley Bowlus to set up the Bowlus-du Pont Sailplane Company, a glider manufactory in

San Fernando, California San Fernando (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ferdinand III of Castile, St. Ferdinand") is a General-law municipality, general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It ...

. Du Pont made a record flight in one of their sailplanes on September 21, 1933, taking off from Afton Mountain into the Rockfish Gap and gliding 121.6 miles to

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

. The firm remained in business for only a few years, ceasing operations in September 1936. On March 19, 1934, Richard du Pont married Helena Allaire Crozer (usually known as Allaire du Pont). They had two children, Richard Chichester du Pont, Jr. and Lana du Pont. Richard du Pont and his older brother Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr. (1905–1996) established the forerunner to

and now renamed

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

, the largest airline in the world. Their All American Aviation Company was at first an airmail service that eventually serviced parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. In 1949, the company began passenger service and changed its name to All American Airways and then to Allegheny Airlines. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

created the American Glider Program. After the death of the program's director, Lewin B. Barringer, Richard du Pont was made a Special Assistant to General "Hap" Arnold and placed in charge of the glider program at

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Headquarters. On September 11, 1943, at March Air Field in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Richard du Pont was killed when the experimental XCG-16 glider in which he was a passenger crashed during a demonstration flight. After bailing out of the aircraft his parachute failed. His brother, Major Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr., was appointed to succeed him as head of the glider program.

Legacy

Du Pont was a three-time U.S. National Soaring Champion; since 1947 the Richard C. du Pont Memorial Trophy has been awarded annually to the U.S. National Open Class Soaring Champion. An

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

post in

Claymont, Delaware Claymont is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Claymont was 9,895. History The community now known as Claymont started on the banks of Naamans Creek where i ...

is named in his honor. Upon the creation of the

Soaring Hall of Fame The Soaring Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made the highest achievements in, or contributions to, the sport of gliding, soaring in the United States of America. It has been located at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, s ...

in 1954 by the

Soaring Society of America The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 193 ...

, Richard du Pont was part of the first group of inductees. In December 1943, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. The Richard Dupont Fellowship (DuPont Fellows program under the

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

Alliance) has been awarded for studies in Aeronautics and Astronautics. His widow Allaire du Pont operated Woodstock Farm in

Chesapeake City, Maryland Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 736 at the 2020 census. The town was originally named by Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohem ...

and owned Bohemia Stable, best known for the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

, Kelso. She died January 6, 2006, at her Woodstock Farm near

References

External links

* Th
George J. Frebert collection on Delaware Aviation
at

Hagley Museum and Library The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Po ...

contains documentation on the work of airline promoter Henry Belin du Pont and pilot Richard Chichester du Pont, including the latter's innovative but short-lived air-mail pick-up system for snagging mail sacks mounted on the ground. * A finding aid for th
Richard C. du Pont and Summit Aviation scrapbooks and photographs
collection at

, which contains materials focusing on his work with gliders and the establishment and growth of Summit Aviation, his son's private air transportation company. *A finding aid fo
Richard C. du Pont miscellany
a research collection at

containing materials related to Richard C. du Pont and includes news clippings, official governmental documents related to his work, and the logbook of his yacht, Nahma. {{DEFAULTSORT:Du Pont, Richard C. 1911 births 1943 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Richard Chichester du Pont Airline founders American aviation record holders Glider flight record holders American glider pilots Aviators from Delaware Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in California Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links