DuPont Company, officially E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and marketers of chemicals and chemical products. It has about 125 plants in the United States and affiliates in Canada and other countries. These plants make industrial films, automotive and industrial paints, plastics, electronic products, health-care products, agricultural chemicals, and many kinds of basic chemicals. Dupont also develops new kinds of crop seeds by altering the genetic (hereditary) makeup of certain varieties of seeds. The company’s headquarters are in Wilmington, Delaware.
Eleuthere Irenee du Pont, a student of the famous French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, founded the company in 1802. At first the company made only gunpowder, but in 1880 it began producing high explosives. In the 1890’s, DuPont began producing a smokeless explosive. It then became interested in the many useful applications of cellulose (see Cellulose). The company began manufacturing lacquers, adhesives, finishes, and plastics. Since the early 1900’s, DuPont has rapidly enlarged its list of products.
During World War II (1939-1945), DuPont designed, built, and operated a plant at Hanford, near Richland, Washington, for the manufacture of plutonium (see Plutonium). In 1950, DuPont agreed to design, build, and operate the Savannah River Plant (now the Savannah River Site) in South Carolina for the Atomic Energy Commission. DuPont developed a number of synthetic fibers, including Kevlar body armor fiber and Lycra spandex fiber. During the 2010’s, DuPont merged with rival Dow to form DowDuPont. In 2019, the merged company split into three companies: DuPont; Dow; and agriculture specialist Corteva Agriscience.
