Alfred Irénée du Pont, an orphaned son of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont II, left MIT in 1884 to work at the family's manufacturing powder plant on the Brandywine river. He became a partner in the company and was sent to Europe as the U.S. Army's Chief of Ordnance. He was also assistant superintendent of the Hagley and Lower Yards. Alfred became a director in 1899.
In 1902 with a looming threat of the du Pont business being sold to competitor Laflin & Rand, Alfred and his cousins, T. Coleman du Pont, and Pierre S. du Pont, formed a partnership to buy the company. Alfred served as vice president of the new corporation and took over the black powder manufacture and sat on the Executive Committee. Alfred helped create a research program.
Following a divorce, and the formation of the DuPont Securities Company by his cousins, Alfred sued them; but failed to gain support from du Pont shareholders. He was forced to resign from Du Pont and left the business for a variety of business ventures in Delaware and Florida. He and his third wife, Jessie Ball, retired to their Jacksonville, Florida estate, Epping Forest, in 1926.
With his most trusted associate, his brother-in-law Ed Ball, he built a financial empire in Florida consisting of banks, railroads, and the St. Joe Paper Co. among other things.
When died in 1935 he left a trust fund of $4,000,000: $1,000,000 in cash and "Nemours," his 1,600-acre Wilmington estate, to establish a foundation for crippled children and aged poor. He, his wife, and Ed Ball are buried in the Du Pont Carillon tower which is, probably, the first private mausoleum in history with a six-passenger elevator, beacon lights and a carillon. Four concrete eagles stare from the tower's four corners, the du Pont arms in concrete ornament the severe Renaissance facade. RECTITUDINE STO ("By rectitude I stand") is the motto carved above it. Note: Carillon tower is in the parking lot of the Nemours' Childrens Hospital.
In the years after Alfred's death his wife, and especially her brother Ed Ball, continued to build the family's fortune. The original crippled children foundation has morphed into the Nemours Foundation with locations around the country (Nemours.org).
In 1902 with a looming threat of the du Pont business being sold to competitor Laflin & Rand, Alfred and his cousins, T. Coleman du Pont, and Pierre S. du Pont, formed a partnership to buy the company. Alfred served as vice president of the new corporation and took over the black powder manufacture and sat on the Executive Committee. Alfred helped create a research program.
Following a divorce, and the formation of the DuPont Securities Company by his cousins, Alfred sued them; but failed to gain support from du Pont shareholders. He was forced to resign from Du Pont and left the business for a variety of business ventures in Delaware and Florida. He and his third wife, Jessie Ball, retired to their Jacksonville, Florida estate, Epping Forest, in 1926.
With his most trusted associate, his brother-in-law Ed Ball, he built a financial empire in Florida consisting of banks, railroads, and the St. Joe Paper Co. among other things.
When died in 1935 he left a trust fund of $4,000,000: $1,000,000 in cash and "Nemours," his 1,600-acre Wilmington estate, to establish a foundation for crippled children and aged poor. He, his wife, and Ed Ball are buried in the Du Pont Carillon tower which is, probably, the first private mausoleum in history with a six-passenger elevator, beacon lights and a carillon. Four concrete eagles stare from the tower's four corners, the du Pont arms in concrete ornament the severe Renaissance facade. RECTITUDINE STO ("By rectitude I stand") is the motto carved above it. Note: Carillon tower is in the parking lot of the Nemours' Childrens Hospital.
In the years after Alfred's death his wife, and especially her brother Ed Ball, continued to build the family's fortune. The original crippled children foundation has morphed into the Nemours Foundation with locations around the country (Nemours.org).
Alfred Irénée du Pont, an orphaned son of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont II, left MIT in 1884 to work at the family's manufacturing powder plant on the Brandywine river. He became a partner in the company and was sent to Europe as the U.S. Army's Chief of Ordnance. He was also assistant superintendent of the Hagley and Lower Yards. Alfred became a director in 1899.
In 1902 with a looming threat of the du Pont business being sold to competitor Laflin & Rand, Alfred and his cousins, T. Coleman du Pont, and Pierre S. du Pont, formed a partnership to buy the company. Alfred served as vice president of the new corporation and took over the black powder manufacture and sat on the Executive Committee. Alfred helped create a research program.
Following a divorce, and the formation of the DuPont Securities Company by his cousins, Alfred sued them; but failed to gain support from du Pont shareholders. He was forced to resign from Du Pont and left the business for a variety of business ventures in Delaware and Florida. He and his third wife, Jessie Ball, retired to their Jacksonville, Florida estate, Epping Forest, in 1926.
With his most trusted associate, his brother-in-law Ed Ball, he built a financial empire in Florida consisting of banks, railroads, and the St. Joe Paper Co. among other things.
When died in 1935 he left a trust fund of $4,000,000: $1,000,000 in cash and "Nemours," his 1,600-acre Wilmington estate, to establish a foundation for crippled children and aged poor. He, his wife, and Ed Ball are buried in the Du Pont Carillon tower which is, probably, the first private mausoleum in history with a six-passenger elevator, beacon lights and a carillon. Four concrete eagles stare from the tower's four corners, the du Pont arms in concrete ornament the severe Renaissance facade. RECTITUDINE STO ("By rectitude I stand") is the motto carved above it. Note: Carillon tower is in the parking lot of the Nemours' Childrens Hospital.
In the years after Alfred's death his wife, and especially her brother Ed Ball, continued to build the family's fortune. The original crippled children foundation has morphed into the Nemours Foundation with locations around the country (Nemours.org).
In 1902 with a looming threat of the du Pont business being sold to competitor Laflin & Rand, Alfred and his cousins, T. Coleman du Pont, and Pierre S. du Pont, formed a partnership to buy the company. Alfred served as vice president of the new corporation and took over the black powder manufacture and sat on the Executive Committee. Alfred helped create a research program.
Following a divorce, and the formation of the DuPont Securities Company by his cousins, Alfred sued them; but failed to gain support from du Pont shareholders. He was forced to resign from Du Pont and left the business for a variety of business ventures in Delaware and Florida. He and his third wife, Jessie Ball, retired to their Jacksonville, Florida estate, Epping Forest, in 1926.
With his most trusted associate, his brother-in-law Ed Ball, he built a financial empire in Florida consisting of banks, railroads, and the St. Joe Paper Co. among other things.
When died in 1935 he left a trust fund of $4,000,000: $1,000,000 in cash and "Nemours," his 1,600-acre Wilmington estate, to establish a foundation for crippled children and aged poor. He, his wife, and Ed Ball are buried in the Du Pont Carillon tower which is, probably, the first private mausoleum in history with a six-passenger elevator, beacon lights and a carillon. Four concrete eagles stare from the tower's four corners, the du Pont arms in concrete ornament the severe Renaissance facade. RECTITUDINE STO ("By rectitude I stand") is the motto carved above it. Note: Carillon tower is in the parking lot of the Nemours' Childrens Hospital.
In the years after Alfred's death his wife, and especially her brother Ed Ball, continued to build the family's fortune. The original crippled children foundation has morphed into the Nemours Foundation with locations around the country (Nemours.org).
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