Richard Chichester du Pont (DSM

Distinguished Service Medal (United States)

The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...

) (January 2, 1911 – September 11, 1943) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 businessman and an aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

 and glider

Glider (sailplane)

A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...

 pioneer who was a member of the prominent Du Pont family

Du Pont family

The Du Pont family is an American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours . The son of a Paris watchmaker and a member of a Burgundian noble family, he and his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, emigrated to the United States in 1800 and used the resources of...

.

Born in Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

, he was the son of Alexis F. du Pont

Alexis F. du Pont

Alexis Felix du Pont Sr. was a member of the American du Pont family and helped found St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware. His son, Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr., co-founded the All American Aviation Company, predecessor of today's US Airways Group, Inc, whose primary subsidiary is US Airways,...

 (1879–1948) and Mary Chichester (1878–1965). As a young boy he developed an enthusiasm for aviation and took flying lessons. His interest in flight expanded to include gliders and he was flying them while still a teenager.