Charles Copeland (1867-1944) was Secretary of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company from 1921 to 1935. He also served on the Board of Directors from 1921 to 1942. He was closely associated with the Historical Society of Delaware and the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts (now the Delaware Art Museum.) He was the founder of the DuPont Museum, which eventually formed the core of the present Hagley Museum and Library. He also served as Treasurer of the Society of Colonial Wars from 1925 to 1942.

Copeland was born to Charles Frerick (1835-1918) and Sophie Ellen Walker Copeland (1839-????) in Englewood, New Jersey. He attended Roxbury Latin School and Harvard College. Copeland married Louisa d'Andelot du Pont (1868-1926) in 1904. She was the daughter of Lammot du Pont (1831-1884) and Mary Belin du Pont (1839-1913). The Copeland's moved into the estate adjoining the du Pont family company's Hagley Mills property shortly after being married. The couple had one son, Lammot du Pont Copeland (1905-1983).

Lammot du Pont Copeland graduated from Harvard University in 1928 with a degree in industrial chemistry and joined the DuPont Company as a chemist at its Fairfield, Connecticut plant in 1929. He served in plant management, general sales, market analysis, development and other areas before becoming secretary in 1947, vice president and chairman of the finance committee in 1954, and president from 1961-1971. He was a director of the General Motors Corporation from 1944 through 1959.