Lammot du Pont II

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 for 22 years.[1]

Lammot du Pont II
Du Pont addressing a congressional committee in 1938
Born(1880-10-12)October 12, 1880
Wilmington, Delaware, United States
DiedJuly 24, 1952(1952-07-24) (aged 71)
New London, Connecticut, US
OccupationBusinessman
Political partyRepublican
Board member ofE. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., General Motors
Spouse(s)
  • Natalie Driver Wilson (1877–1918)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1903; died 1918)​
  • Caroline H. Stollenwerck
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1930, divorced)​
  • Ruth Foster (1911–1958)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1931, divorced)​
  • Margaret A. Flett (d. 1968)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1933)​
Children8, including Esther
Parent(s)
Relatives

Early life

He was born on October 12, 1880 in Wilmington, Delaware. He was the ninth, and youngest boy, of eleven children born to chemist Lammot du Pont (1831–1884),[2] and his wife, Mary (née Belin) du Pont (1839–1913).[3] Among his siblings were brothers Pierre S. du Pont and Irénée du Pont, who were both involved in the Du Pont Company.[3] His father died during a nitroglycerin explosion in 1884.[2]

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.[4] His was also a great-grandson of the French-born Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.[2][5]

Career

On March 15, 1926, Lammot du Pont was elected President of E.I. du Pont de Nemours Co., succeeding elder brother Irénée du Pont, who was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors.[6]

Lammot served as President until May 20, 1940, when he was succeeded by Walter S. Carpenter Jr. At the same time, Lammot replaced another brother, Pierre S. du Pont, as Chairman of the Board.[7]

Personal life

Du Pont was married four times. His first marriage was on January 27, 1903 to Natalie Driver Wilson (1877–1918),[8] at St. John's P. E. Church and officiated by Bishop Coleman.[9] Natalie was a sister of Rodgers Wilson. Together, Lammont and Natalie were the parents of:

  • Mary Belin du Pont
  • Esther Driver du Pont (1908–1984), who married Campbell Weir (1901–1982) in 1928.[10] They divorced and she remarried to Sir John R. H. Thouron (1907–2007) in 1953.[11]
  • Lammot du Pont III (1909–1964), who married Mary Elizabeth Wooten (1916–1996) in 1950.[12]
  • 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.[13]

His second marriage was to Caroline H. Stollenwerck in 1930.[14] 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.[15] Together, they were the parents of one child:[15]

  • David Flett du Pont (c. 1934–1955), who died at age twenty-one as a result of an automobile accident at Fishers Island, New York on October 3, 1955.[16]

Du Pont died on July 24, 1952 in New London, Connecticut of heart disease at age 71.[1]

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, who the widower of Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd (half-sister of Jackie Kennedy and Lee Radziwill).[13]

References
  1. "Lammot Du Pont, Financier, Dies At 71". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 1952. Retrieved 2009-08-20. Lammot du Pont, for 22 years the guiding hand of the vast multimillion-dollar E. L du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., one of the world's greatest chemical companies, died today of heart disease. ...
  2. "AN EXTRAORDINARY CAREER". The Guardian. 16 May 1884. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. "DEATH OF MRS. MARY BELIN DU PONT -- Widow of Lammot du Pont, Prominently Connected With Powder Company". The News Journal. 14 Jun 1913. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  4. Du Pont, Pierre S. (1942). Genealogy of the du Pont Family 1739-1942. Wilmington: Hambleton Printing & Publishing.
  5. Dutton, William S. (1942). Du Pont, One Hundred and Forty Years. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  6. "LAMMOT DU PONT SUCCEEDS BROTHER; Elected President of Corporation and Irenee du Pont Is Made Chairman of the Board". The New York Times. 16 March 1926. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  7. "YOUNGER MEN MADE HEADS OF DU PONT; W. A. Carpenter Jr. Is Elected President and A. B. Echols Leads Finance Committee P. S. DU PONT GIVES UP POST Retires as Chairman of Board to Be Succeeded by L. Du Pont --Dividends Are Voted". The New York Times. 21 May 1940. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  8. "SUDDEN DEATH OF MRS. LAMMOT DUPONT -- Came as Surprise to Friends Who Thought Her Recovering". The Morning News. 6 Apr 1918. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  9. "Married at St. John's". The Evening Journal. 4 Feb 1903. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  10. "Daughter of DuPont Divorces Former Clerk". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. November 4, 1939.
  11. Jeffrey Goldberg (March 26, 1984). "Thouron Founder Dies at 76" (PDF). The Daily Pennsylvanian. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  12. "Lammot du Pont Jr. Dies at 54; Official of Wilmington Trust Co". The New York Times. 24 February 1964. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  13. "Katharine duPont Sanger Marries Lewis Rutherfurd". The New York Times. 11 June 1989. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  14. "MRS. STOLLENWERCK BRIDE OF L. DU PONT; Widow Married to President of du Pont Co. at Her Mother's Home in Wilmington. RELATIVES ONLY PRESENT Lammot du Pont Jr. Is His Father's Best Man--Rev. F.T. Ashton Performs Ceremony". The New York Times. WILMINGTON, Del. September 6, 1930.
  15. "MRS. LAMMOT du PONT;". The New York Times. 31 December 1968. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  16. Associated Press
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