Lammot du Pont II (October 12, 1880 – July 24, 1952) was an American businessman who was the head of the du Pont family's

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company 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 ...

for 22 years.

Early life

He was born on October 12, 1880, 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 ...

. He was the ninth, and youngest boy, of eleven children born to chemist

Lammot du Pont Lammot du Pont I (April 13, 1831 – March 29, 1884) was a chemist and a key member of the du Pont family and its company in the mid-19th century. Early life Du Pont was born in 1831 in New Castle County, Delaware, the son of Margaretta Elizabeth ...

(1831–1884), and his wife, Mary (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Belin) du Pont (1839–1913). Among his siblings were brothers

Pierre S. du Pont Pierre Samuel du Pont (; January 15, 1870 – April 4, 1954) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family. He was president of DuPont from 1915 to 1919, and served on its board of director ...

and

Irénée du Pont Irénée du Pont I (December 21, 1876 – December 19, 1963) was an American businessman, president of the DuPont company and head of the Du Pont trust. Early life Irénée du Pont I was born on December 21, 1876, in New Castle, Delaware, the so ...

, who were both involved in the Du Pont Company. His father died during a

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating g ...

explosion in 1884. His maternal grandparents were Henry Hedrick Belin and Isabella (née d'Andelot) Belin and his paternal grandparents were Alfred Victor DuPont and Margaretta Elizabeth (née Lammot) DuPont. His was also a great-grandson of the French-born

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (; ; 24 June 1771 – 31 October 1834) was a French-American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His descendants, the du Pont family, have ...

, the founder of

Career

On March 15, 1926, Lammot du Pont was elected President of E.I. du Pont de Nemours Co., succeeding elder brother

, who was elected Chairman of the

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. Lammot served as president until May 20, 1940, when he was succeeded by

Walter S. Carpenter Jr. Walter Samuel Carpenter Jr. (January 8, 1888 – February 2, 1976) was an American corporate executive from Wilmington, Delaware, who oversaw the DuPont company's involvement in the Manhattan Project to produce an atomic bomb for use during Wo ...

At the same time, Lammot replaced another brother,

, as chairman of the board.

Personal life

Du Pont was married four times. His first marriage was on January 27, 1903, to Natalie Driver Wilson (1877–1918), at St. John's P. E. Church and officiated by Bishop Coleman. Natalie was a sister of Rodgers Wilson. Together, Lammot and Natalie were the parents of: * Mary Belin du Pont * Esther Driver du Pont (1908–1984), who married Campbell Weir (1901–1982) in 1928. They divorced and she remarried to Sir John R. H. Thouron (1907–2007) in 1953. * Lammot du Pont III (1909–1964), who married Mary Elizabeth Wooten (1916–1996) in 1950. * Pierre Samuel du Pont III * Edith du Pont * Alexandrine du Pont (1915–1953), who married Howard A. Perkins (1906–1947) in 1937. * Reynolds du Pont, a Republican state senator and president pro tem in Delaware who married. His second marriage was to Caroline H. Stollenwerck in 1930. His third marriage was to Ruth Foster (1911–1958) in 1931. In 1933, he married for the fourth and final time to Margaret A. Flett (d. 1968), the daughter of David H. Flett of

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

. Together, they were the parents of one child: * David Flett du Pont (–1955), who died at age twenty-one as a result of an automobile accident at

Fishers Island, New York Fishers Island (Pequot: ''Munnawtawkit'') is an island that is part of Southold, New York, United States at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it ...

on October 3, 1955.Associated Press Du Pont died on July 24, 1952, in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

at age 71.

Descendants

Through his son Reynolds, he was the grandfather of Natalie du Pont and Katharine du Pont, who married Peter Durant Sanger. After Sanger's death, she married

Lewis Polk Rutherfurd Lewis Polk Rutherfurd (born August 3, 1944) is an American-born financier who lives in Hong Kong. He was married to Janet Jennings Auchincloss, the half-sister of First Lady Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier from 1966 until her death in 1985. In 1 ...

, who the widower of

Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd Janet Jennings Auchincloss Rutherfurd (June 13, 1945 – March 13, 1985) was an American socialite. She was the half sister of the former First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and socialite Lee Radziwill. Early life Auchin ...

(half-sister of

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

and

Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Bouvier ( ), later Canfield, Radziwiłł (), and Ross (March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), usually known as Princess Lee Radziwill, was an American socialite, public-relations executive, and interior decorator. She was the y ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Pont, Lammot 1880 births 1952 deaths Lammot Delaware Republicans Connecticut Republicans Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Businesspeople from Wilmington, Delaware