Finding Aids

In the years leading up to the Second World War, the United States government initiated a massive effort to ensure that adequate supplies of essential materials would be readily available should the country's armed forces become actively engaged in military conflict. At the request of the Army Ordnance Department, the DuPont Company participated in these procurement programs by undertaking the design, construction, and operation of plants for the manufacture of military explosives and other chemical products essential to the successful prosecution of the war. The records of the Explosives Department consist of special reports to the Executive Committee, the files of general manager Edward B. Yancey, and the files of powder superintendent Charles E. Seymour.

George Y. Swickard (1906-1958) was a medical doctor involved in industrial medicine who worked with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. During World War II, Swickard worked as a medical supervisor with the DuPont Company at various locations, including atomic research projects at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and at Hanford, Washington. This collection consists of certificates, newsletters, pamphlets, and souvenir programs amassed by Swickard, mostly in the course of his work for DuPont.