Alexis Felix du Pont Jr. (October 2, 1905 – December 30, 1996) was an American

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

pioneer,

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, and a member of the prominent

du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817). It has been one of the richest families in the United States since the mid-19th century, when it founded its fo ...

Biography

Known as Felix, he was born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

on October 2, 1905, the son of Alexis Felix du Pont (1879–1948) and Mary Chichester (1878–1965). He developed an interest in aviation as a boy and took up flying, something he would do well into his late eighties. He graduated from the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

Flying School in 1928 and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, class of 1929. The following year, du Pont was hired as a test pilot for the Fokker Aircraft Company. For five years, Felix du Pont worked for the family owned

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

and for a short time became involved in the investment business. With a lifelong interest in

, he partnered with brother

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

to found

All American Aviation Company All American Aviation was an airline company founded by Lytle Schooler Adams in 1937. It evolved over the decades to become Allegheny Airlines, then USAir and subsequently US Airways, with the latter's merger with American Airlines in 2013 crea ...

which became

Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979 with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself me ...

and eventually

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

. He later was a vice president of the Piasecki Helicopter Corp. of which he and

Laurence Rockefeller Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (May 26, 1910 – July 11, 2004) was an American businessman, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist. Rockefeller was the third son and fourth child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. As ...

were early investors on its founding in 1946. Felix du Pont married twice, first to Eleanor Hoyt and second to Marka Truesdale. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, du Pont served with

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...

with an office at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

. He was then shipped overseas as part of

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

operations, assigned to

combat training Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

and director of glider operations. He retired from the military with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. On the death of his brother

in a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

accident in 1943, Felix du Pont was appointed to succeed him as head of the American Glider Program at

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

. The Chichester du Pont Foundation was incorporated in 1946 by Felix du Pont,

Alice du Pont Mills Alice Frances du Pont Mills (December 13, 1912 – March 13, 2002) was an American aviator, thoroughbred race horse breeder and owner, environmentalist, philanthropist and a member of the prominent du Pont family. Biography Born in Wilmington, D ...

, Lydia Chichester du Pont, and Mary Chichester du Pont Clark. The foundation, which remains in operation, is primarily involved in supporting youth with donations made to social service organizations for the direct benefit of children. In addition to his numerous charitable works and service on civic boards, Felix du Pont was a trustee of St. Andrew's School, founded by his father. In the 1994,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

magazine listing of the richest Americans, Felix du Pont ranked No. 257. He died on December 30, 1996. He was inducted posthumously into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006. Children of Alexis Felix du Pont Jr. and Eleanor Hoyt: * Katharine Hoyt du Pont Gahagan b. 5 August 1933 (living) * Elaine Chichester du Pont b. 15 Nov 1934 (deceased) * Alexis Felix du Pont III b. 14 Apr 1936, d. Jun 1943 * Michael Hoyt du Pont (living) Child of Alexis Felix du Pont Jr. and Marka Truesdale: * Christopher Truesdale du Pont (living)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Pont, Alexis Felix Jr. 1905 births 1996 deaths Princeton University alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American businesspeople Aviators from Delaware American philanthropists Alexis Felix du Pont Jr. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Military personnel from Delaware United States Army Air Forces officers Airline founders