He was not an exceptional student, but he showed a knack for all things mechanical. They were all sent off to boarding school, but they were able to keep ownership of Swamp Hall.Īt 18, after attending Phillips Andover Academy, Alfred entered Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The children armed themselves with a rolling pin, an axe, an antique pistol, and a twelve-gauge shotgun and refused to back down. When word reached the five siblings that they would have to leave the family home, Swamp Hall, and be sent to live with various duPont relatives, young Alfred, who was 13 at the time, led a rebellion to keep his family intact. ![]() The future of the five duPont orphans was in the hands of elder relatives. His idyllic childhood ended, however, in 1877 when Alfred’s father and mother died of illness within a month of one another. Johns River in Northeast Florida which flows north into the Atlantic Ocean. He was particularly intrigued by her stories of trips to Florida, where she encountered alligators, the Everglades, white sand beaches, and the St. Instead of playing with his privileged duPont cousins, he preferred the companionship of the children of DuPont mill workers.Īlfred also loved to hear his mother’s tales of exotic travel. It didn’t take Alfred long to figure out how to disassemble and reassemble the engine.Įven as a young boy, Alfred showed signs of a kind of individualism that he would exhibit throughout his life. In 1876, when he was 12, Alfred’s father gave him a small steam engine. He also apparently picked up his lifelong fascination with machines from his father. Father and son often toured the family powder mills together, as the senior duPont explained the production process to his eager son. His father, Eleuthère Irénée duPont II, a partner in the family gunpowder business, was a major influence on young Alfred. He had a happy childhood swimming, hunting, and playing with friends and siblings in the Brandywine Valley region of Delaware. Another musical highlight was when one of Alfred's marches was performed by his friend John Philip Sousa.īorn in 1864 into a loving family, Alfred was one of five children. During his life, Alfred published nine pieces of music, eight marches and one gavotte, a French peasant dance, which was performed at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington in 1907. ![]() ![]() An amateur musician and composer, he formed an orchestra called the Tankopanicum Musical Club with friends and his workers. ![]() He was as adept at playing the violin as he was at conjuring up a business deal or designing a gadget for his home. His determination to pave his own path earned him a reputation as the duPont’s "family rebel."Īlfred's passions, aside from business, were music and machinery. He was a man of intense convictions who held tightly to his own judgment of right and wrong. He donated his fortune for the care and healing of crippled children, yet was not known to have had any significant relationship with disabled children during his lifetime.Īs the eldest son of the eldest son of the eldest son of Eleuthère Irénée duPont, the founder of the duPont gunpowder dynasty, Alfred took seriously his sense of duty to his family's heritage. His wealth allowed him to travel the world, but he had some of his happiest moments hunting in rural Virginia. A successful industrialist and banker, he also loved playing and writing music. Alfred Irénée duPont was a man of intriguing contrasts.
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