William du Pont Jr. (February 11, 1896 – December 31, 1965) was an English-born American businessman and banker, and a prominent figure in the sport of
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
.
[ He developed and designed more than 20 racing venues, including Fair Hill at his 5,000-acre estate in Maryland. A member of the ]Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
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 ...
, he was the son of William du Pont
William du Pont (August 21, 1855 – January 20, 1928) was a member of the Delaware Du Pont family. He was the youngest son of General Henry du Pont (1812-1889) and Louisa Gerhard du Pont (1816-1900).
Life and career
Du Pont married twice, first ...
and Annie Rogers Zinn, and brother to Marion duPont Scott, a noted horsewoman and breeder. He, as his father, had no middle name.
Early life and education
William (also called Willie) was born at Loseley Park
Loseley Park is a large Tudor manor house with later additions and modifications south-west of Guildford, Surrey, England, in Artington close to the hamlet of Littleton. The estate was acquired by the direct ancestors of the current owners, the ...
, a 16th-century manor in Surrey, England. He was the second child and only son of Annie Zinn (née Rogers) and William du Pont
William du Pont (August 21, 1855 – January 20, 1928) was a member of the Delaware Du Pont family. He was the youngest son of General Henry du Pont (1812-1889) and Louisa Gerhard du Pont (1816-1900).
Life and career
Du Pont married twice, first ...
. His older sister was Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mari ...
, and they grew up at Montpelier, the historic home of President James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, which their parents had bought and expanded.
They both were educated in private schools and became interested in the world of thoroughbred horseracing, including steeplechase, hunts, and horse shows. William specialized in thoroughbred racing and breeding. Marion also became known for her contributions to horseracing and breeding.
Marriages, family, and career
On January 1, 1919, du Pont married Jean Liseter Austin. Their marriage celebration in Rosemont, Pennsylvania
Rosemont is a neighborhood in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States, on the Philadelphia Main Line. It is located in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County. It is best known as the home of Rosemont College.
Ros ...
, was billed as the "Wedding of the Century" in media accounts because of the wealth of each family. Jean's father, William Liseter Austin, was a railroad baron at the Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...
. He gave the couple more than of land as a wedding gift. William's father built Liseter Hall for them on the property in 1922. The three-story Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
mansion was a replica of Montpelier, where du Pont had grown up.["Last hurrah for historic Liseter Hall Farm"](_blank)
''Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred,'' September 2005
Du Pont was elected to the board of directors of the Delaware Trust Company, where his father was president (and later chairman of the board), in 1921. His career with the bank would continue until his death. In 1928, William inherited the Bellevue Hall estate in Delaware upon the death of his father. The estate featured a Gothic Revival castle built in 1855, which du Pont had remodeled into another replica of his boyhood home of Montpelier. His father's death also created a vacancy in the presidency of the Delaware Trust Company, and William ascended to the position.
Du Pont and his wife developed a notable horse farm on their property. In the 1920s and 1930s, Liseter Hall Farm was considered the '' ne plus ultra'' of Mid-Atlantic horse facilities. In addition to the indoor galloping track, the first in the United States, the farm featured a large barn for race horses; a -wide by -long indoor riding ring, used by trainers for schooling young horses; the half-mile training track and its adjacent combination viewing stand/water tower; a breeding shed; a hunter barn; a show horse barn; a loading barn with ramps, for transporting horses to competition; and a grassy, half-mile chute that connected the training track with the race horse, hunter and show horse barns.[ Similar facilities were built at the Bellevue Hall estate, including a hunting barn, two indoor training tracks, and an outdoor track.
Du Pont and Jean had four children together, two girls and two boys. They divorced in February 1941, when the youngest, John, was 2 years old. Jean Liseter du Pont retained the property her father gave her. Following the divorce, du Pont moved his permanent residence to Bellevue Hall.
Du Pont remarried in 1947 to Margaret Osborne, a tennis champion. He built both an indoor and outdoor tennis court at Bellevue for the benefit of his wife. They had a son, William du Pont III, born July 22, 1952. That same year, du Pont was made chairman of the board at the Delaware Trust Company, retaining his position as president as well. Osborne and du Pont divorced in 1964. Their son William du Pont III also was active with thoroughbreds and later owned Pillar Stud in ]Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
.
Foxcatcher Farm
At Liseter Hall Farm, du Pont Jr. established a large thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racing stable in the 1920s; he raced its horses under the '' nom de course'', Foxcatcher Farm. During this period, he also established breeding operations at Bellevue Hall, his family's estate in Wilmington, Delaware. He had another operation at Fair Hill, where he established a steeplechase course on his facility.
In 1927, du Pont imported Satrap from England and brought the son of The Tetrarch
The Tetrarch (1911–1935) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated in a racing career of seven starts and was voted the best British-trained two-year-old of the 20th century according to the National Horse ...
to stand at his second facility, the new Walnut Hall Farm near Boyce, Virginia. In 1936, duPont was part of the syndicate that bought and imported the stallion Blenheim, Aga Khan's Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...
winner.
Du Pont's racing operation was managed for several years by the trainer Preston Burch, selected for the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.
In the mid-1930s, Richard Handlen took over as the trainer, managing the stable operation into the 1960s. During this time, du Pont won the 1938 Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...
with Dauber, the second race of the Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Other of his horses won six American championships and prominent races:
* Fair Star – 1926 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly
The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971.
The award originated in 1936 when both t ...
* White Clover II – 1932 Suburban Handicap
* Rosemont (horse)
Rosemont (foaled 1932 in Virginia) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his win in the 1937 Santa Anita Handicap, when he defeated the popular horse Seabiscuit. This race was featured in a scene in the motion picture ''Seabiscu ...
took the 1935 Withers Stakes, beating that season's Triple Crown winner, Omaha; he also beat Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
in the 1937 Santa Anita Handicap, a match race
*Ruler, duPont's first homebred stakes winner, won the Brook Steeplechase in 1929 and 1930.
* Fairy Chant – 1940 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971.
The award originated in 1936 when both ...
and 1941 American Champion Older Female Horse
* Parlo – 1954 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971.
The award originated in 1936 when both ...
and the 1954 and 1955 American Champion Older Female Horse.
* Berlo – 1960 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.
Their successes contributed to the value and reputation of his stables.
Du Pont's interests in racing extended to the development and design of racecourses. In all, he created 23 racecourses, including Fair Hill, a steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
course at Fair Hill in Cecil County, Maryland
Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was n ...
, and Delaware Park Racetrack for flat racing. The latter opened on June 26, 1937. He had also helped write the legislation to authorize development of the park and was the major shareholder. The Thoroughbred farms and racing were important parts of the Delaware and Maryland economies in those decades, although racing gradually drew smaller crowds.
He died at the Wilmington Medical Center at age 69 on December 31, 1965.
Montpelier
In 1928, Marion duPont Scott, the older child, inherited Montpelier after their father's death. Located four miles (6 km) south of Orange, Virginia, the estate had been the plantation home of James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, fourth President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. In 1934, William and Marion established the Montpelier Races, a National Steeplechase event, which continues to be run each fall on the grounds at Montpelier.
At her death in 1983, Scott bequeathed the estate, designated a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...
. Her father's will had said that if she were childless, the property would be inherited by her brother and his children. Her will included a provision for his children to sell or give their interests in the property to the National Trust or forfeit their share of a separate $3.1 million trust. In addition, she provided $10 million to the National Trust to buy the property and to establish an endowment. As her brother had died in 1965, his five children inherited Montpelier. Three sold or gave their interests to the National Trust. Although two nephews sued the National Trust in an effort to break the will, they finally sold their interests in 1984.
The National Trust acquired the property to preserve and interpret as a public history site for James and Dolley Madison, his presidency, and the architecture and society of Montpelier. There has been increasing emphasis on such interpretation including a full accounting of the lives of the slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
at Montpelier during the Madisons' tenure.
Legacy and honors
Following du Pont's death, none of his heirs were interested in retaining the Bellevue Hall estate due to its extensive collection of recreational facilities and the upkeep they required. In 1976, the property was purchased by the state of Delaware and opened to the public as Bellevue State Park. In 1979, du Pont was honored posthumously with induction in the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame.Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame
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References
External links
William du Pont and William du Pont Jr. photographic materials
(1855–1928) at Hagley Museum and Library
The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Pont ...
William du Pont Jr. Papers
at Hagley Museum and Library
The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Pont ...
William du Pont papers
at Hagley Museum and Library
The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Pont ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Pont, William Jr.
1896 births
1965 deaths
American bankers
American racehorse owners and breeders
William du Pont, Jr.
William du Pont Jr. (February 11, 1896 – December 31, 1965) was an English-born American businessman and banker, and a prominent figure in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. He developed and designed more than 20 racing venues, including F ...
William du Pont, Jr.
William du Pont Jr. (February 11, 1896 – December 31, 1965) was an English-born American businessman and banker, and a prominent figure in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. He developed and designed more than 20 racing venues, including F ...
American expatriates in the United Kingdom