Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), the son of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), was born in Paris on June 24, 1771. In 1787, he was accepted as a student in the Regis des Poudres, a government agency for gunpowder manufacture, which was directed by Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794). In 1800 Eleuthère Irénée du Pont emigrated to the United States and began investigating sites for a black powder manufactory. After consulting with Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), he established E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. on the bank of the Brandywine River, just north of Wilmington, Delaware. In the spring of 1803, he settled his family at Eleutherian Mills and wrote to Jefferson seeking government patronage for his new powder factory. During the 1810s, du Pont was active in the Society of the State of Delaware for the Promotion of American Manufacturers, where he lobbied Congress for high tariffs. In 1822 he was named a director of the Bank of the United States.

In 1791, du Pont married Sophie Madeleine Dalmas (1775-1828). She was the daughter of Sophie Marie Madeleine Gentil and Jean Francois Dalmas. The couple had seven children: Victorine Elizabeth, Evelina Gabrielle, Alfred Victor, Eleuthera, Sophie Madeleine, Henry, and Alexis Irenee. Eleuthère Irénée du Pont died in Philadelphia on October 31, 1834.