Alexis Felix du Pont Sr. (April 14, 1879 – June 29, 1948) was a member of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

du Pont family who served as a vice president and director of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and a

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 ...

who helped found St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware.

Biography

He was born on April 14, 1879, to

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 ...

and

Elise Wigfall Simons Elise or Elyse may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Elise, the unidentified person to whom Beethoven dedicated '' Für Elise'' * ''Elise'', a 1979 speculative fiction novel by Ken Grimwood * ''Élise ou la vraie vie'' (''Elise, or the Real Life ...

. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1901. He started work at E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. in 1900 and was made director in 1915 and vice president in 1919. Felix du Pont died on June 29, 1948, in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He was buried in Old Saint Anne's Church Cemetery in Middletown, Delaware.

Marriage

In 1902, he married Mary R. Chichester. She was the daughter of

Washington Bowie Chichester Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

of Leesburg, Virginia. On September 3, 1937, they divorced in Reno, Nevada. Later that same day he married Ann Marvel of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. She was the daughter of Judge

David Marvel David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

of the Superior Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Legacy

His son,

Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr. Alexis Felix du Pont Jr. (October 2, 1905 – December 30, 1996) was an American aviation pioneer, soldier, philanthropist, and a member of the prominent du Pont family. Biography Known as Felix, he was born in Wilmington, Delaware on October ...

, co-founded the

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 cr ...

, predecessor of US Airways Group, Inc., which merged with AMR Corporation in 2013 to form the world's largest airline. In 1897, A. Felix du Pont, Sr. co-founded The University of Pennsylvania Band.Images of America: The University of Pennsylvania Band. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2006. Page 11.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Pont Sr., Alexis Felix 1879 births 1948 deaths Businesspeople from Delaware American philanthropists Alexis Felix University of Pennsylvania alumni Delaware Democrats People from Wilmington, Delaware People from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware