E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) was founded in 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthere Irenee du Pont two years after he arrived in the United States with his family. They had fled France to escape the French Revolution.
Du Pont started his gunpowder manufacturer because he noticed that the gunpowder industry in the United States was lagging behind Europe. By the mid-nineteenth century DuPont had become the largest supplier of gunpowder to the U.S. military. It supplied half of the gunpowder used by the Union Army in the American Civil War.
From 1902 to 1912 DuPont expanded into dynamite and smokeless powder. They became so powerful through the acquisition of several small chemical companies that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they must divest. This led to the creation of the Hercules Powder Company and the Atlas Powder Company.
In 1928 DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invented neoprene, the first synthetic rubber, and nylon in 1935. Teflon followed several years later.
In the 1950s and 1960s DuPont developed Mylar, Dacron, Orlon, Lycra, Tyvek, Nomex, Qiana, Corfam, and Corian.
They were instrumental in the testing and development of modern body armor, which led ultimately to the bullet-resistant vests worn by police and military in the industrialized world.
Today DuPont is a global science company with more than 70,000 employees. Their revenue for 2012 was $34.812 billion.
DuPontE.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) was founded in 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthere Irenee du Pont two years after he arrived in the United States with his family. They had fled France to escape the French Revolution.
Du Pont started his gunpowder manufacturer because he noticed that the gunpowder industry in the United States was lagging behind Europe. By the mid-nineteenth century DuPont had become the largest supplier of gunpowder to the U.S. military. It supplied half of the gunpowder used by the Union Army in the American Civil War.
From 1902 to 1912 DuPont expanded into dynamite and smokeless powder. They became so powerful through the acquisition of several small chemical companies that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they must divest. This led to the creation of the Hercules Powder Company and the Atlas Powder Company.
History
In 1928 DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invented neoprene, the first synthetic rubber, and nylon in 1935. Teflon followed several years later.
In the 1950s and 1960s DuPont developed Mylar, Dacron, Orlon, Lycra, Tyvek, Nomex, Qiana, Corfam, and Corian.
They were instrumental in the testing and development of modern body armor, which led ultimately to the bullet-resistant vests worn by police and military in the industrialized world.
Today DuPont is a global science company with more than 70,000 employees. Their revenue for 2012 was $34.812 billion.
