100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
9. E.I. DuPont 1771-1834
Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours, or E.I. du Pont as he was commonly known, was a French-American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder company, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His descendants have honored his legacy by continually being influential business men and politicians. Delaware legend holds that it was on a hunting trip with Major Louis de Tousard, a former French artillery officer then employed by the United States Army to procure gunpowder supplies; that DuPont’s riffle misfired, causing him to reflect on his younger days as a gunpowder apprentice. He soon sought to use what he had learned in France to produce superior gunpowder for the United States. The powder was effective and boosted DuPont to riches.
