Eleuthère Paul du Pont (April 24, 1887 – September 26, 1950) was an American business magnate and the son of
Francis Gurney du Pont
Francis Gurney du Pont (May 27, 1850 – November 7, 1904) was an American businessman and chemist who served as a vice president of E. I. du Pont de Nemours Company and invented smokeless gunpowder with the assistance of cousin Pierre S. du ...
. He founded
Du Pont Motors
Du Pont Motors was founded by E. Paul du Pont to produce marine engines for the Allied nations during World War I. After the war, Du Pont Motors produced extremely high-end automobiles. The cars were manufactured in Wilmington, Delaware.
E. ...
, a manufacturer of automobiles and marine engines, and later bought and became president of
Indian Motorcycles
Indian Motorcycle (or ''Indian'') is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by American automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.inducted into the
Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles ...
in 2004.
Biography
E. Paul du Pont was born on April 24, 1887 in
New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 5,285.
History
New Castl ...
. He married in 1910 to
Jean Kane Foulke du Pont
Jean Kane Foulke du Pont (May 21, 1891 – November 6, 1985) was an American suffragette, prison reform activist and philanthropist.
Biography
Jean Kane Foulke was born in West Chester, Lenape, Pennsylvania to George Rhyfedd Foulke and Jean ...
, the granddaughter of William Foulke, discoverer of the first full
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
skeleton in the United States (''
Hadrosaurus
''Hadrosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of hadrosaurid ornithopod dinosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous Period in what is now the Woodbury Formation about 80 million to 78 million years ago. The holotype specimen was found in f ...
foulkii''), in
Haddonfield, New Jersey
:''Not the fictional Illinois town from the Halloween film series.''
Haddonfield is a borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 11,593,
, in 1858.
He purchased and took over management of Indian Motorcycles in 1930, where he led a purge of corruption in the prior management and refocused production and marketing on leisure use. According to the
Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles ...
in Ohio, du Pont saved Indian from financial ruin.
He was an avid hobbyist of waterwheels and millwork, and is said to have insisted upon always performing maintenance personally on the ornamental waterwheel in the gardens of the
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 ...
estate.
He died on September 26, 1950 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 ...
.
Legacy
After E. Paul du Pont's death, his wife founded the E. Paul du Pont Endowment for the Study of Crime, Delinquency, and Corrections at the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
, which led to the creation of its
criminal justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...