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Dynamite:
With the introduction of dynamite by Alfred Nobel in 1867, the explosives industry changed fundamentally. Nitroglycerin, invented in 1846, was powerful but highly unstable. Nobel discovered the nitroglycerin added to an absorbent soil formed a stable substance that could be packed into cartridges. It would remain stable until detonated with a blasting cap, which he also invented.
Henry du Pont (1812-1889), who led du Pont from 1851-1889, was adamantly against manufacturing dynamite because of the dangers involved with the production of nitroglycerin. His nephew, Lammot, was strongly in favor of producing this new "high" explosive, seeing it as the future of the explosives industry.
In 1876, DuPont purchased the California Powder Company, the largest producer of black powder on the West Coast. It also made dynamite, bringing DuPont into the business that Henry had been determined to avoid. Having entered that field, the company in 1880 joined competitor Laflin and Rand in forming the Repauno Chemical Company in New Jersey to manufacture dynamite on the East Coast. Railroads would not transport dynamite across the continent. Lammot du Pont became head of Repauno. Tragically, an experiment to recover and regenerate the acids in a tank of nitroglycerin exploded on March 29, 1884, killing Lammot. |