Existing comment:
Starting a Gunpowder Business:
Of the eight business plans that Pierre Samuel and his sons considered, only one was successful. It was the younger son, E.I., who suggested making gunpowder. He had discovered after arriving in this country that American gunpowder was of poor quality and that manufacturing methods were out of date. This was an industry where E.I. had some experience.
Prior to working in his father's printing shop in France, E.I. (1771-1834) had apprenticed with the famed chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was then in charge of the government agency for manufacturing gunpowder. Following his apprenticeship in 1790, E.I. worked at the government powder mills at Essonnes, near Paris.
After convincing his father that this was a good plan, E.I. went back to France in 1801 for six months to acquire up-to-date knowledge, machinery, and plans for his new venture. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (DuPont) was organized in Paris on April 21, 1801. |