Eleuthere Irenee Du Pont

Originally Aired: June 29, 1938 Cavalcade of America #141, "Eleuthere Irenee Du Pont," traces the remarkable journey of the French nobleman who founded one of America's greatest industrial dynasties. The story begins in 1784 France, where fourteen-year-old Irene Du Pont receives his knighthood and pledges to devote himself to the service of mankind. Under the mentorship of the renowned chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, young Irene develops his passion for chemistry and gunpowder manufacturing at the government plant at Essen. His promising future is shattered when the French Revolution sends Lavoisier to the guillotine and imprisons Irene's own father, forcing him to abandon his studies and join the National Guard. The drama intensifies when Irene's wife Sophie risks her life by disguising herself as a peasant to visit his imprisoned father, arriving just as the elder Du Pont's execution seems imminent. The family survives the Reign of Terror, but political turmoil forces them to seek a new life in America. On New Year's Day 1800, the Du Ponts arrive in the New World at Bergen Point, New Jersey, ready to rebuild their lives and apply Irene's expertise in ways that will transform American industry.