Inventor Name
Du Pont, Francis Gurney
Repository
Hagley Museum & Library
Manuscripts & Archives Department
P.O. Box 3630
Wilmington, DE 19807-0630
302-658-2400
https://www.hagley.org/research
Physical Description
0.6 linear ft.
Summary
Francis Gurney du Pont, son of Alexis Irénée and Joanna Maria (Smith) du Pont, was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1870. In 1871 he began his career with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. as an operator of graining mills. In 1874 he became a junior partner of the firm and later served in the highly important capacity of general manager, and as vice president, until his retirement in 1902. In 1888 he supervised the building of the blasting powder mills at Mooar, Iowa. At Carney's Point, N.J., he superintended the plant which produced smokeless powder. Aside from his abilities as a chemist, Francis Gurney du Pont was interested in astronomy and in the improvement of telescopes. He was also an eminent layman in the Episcopal Church, prominently identified with the Diocese of Delaware. The records consist of Francis Gurney du Pont's student lecture and laboratory notes; letters; technical notes and papers; records of gunpowder production; patent specifications and drawings; patent correspondence; and printed patents related to gunpowder. There are also a few items from Alfred V. du Pont, Lammot du Pont and Pierre S. du Pont. Among items related to the manufacture of gunpowder are an account of powder furnished to the government during the War of 1812 prepared by A. V. du Pont; notes by E. I. du Pont relating to the type of powder used in France and Holland; and notes on the cost of making gunpowder and military powder inspection in the 1840s; memoranda of powder tests and experiments during the 1850s and 1860s; notes and plans for improvements in the Hagley Yard; and a list of principal explosions (1805-1858). There are also a number of patents, both American and British, on improvements in explosives manufacture. Du Pont's notebooks include one from his days as a chemistry student at the University of Pennsylvania, and 12 others relating to experiments and notes on the causes of explosions at the powder mills. There is also a body of correspondence with patent attorney Edgar Martin Marble relating to securing patents for smokeless powder at home and abroad.
