T. Coleman du Pont - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Thomas Coleman du Pont was an American engineer and politician, from Greenville, Delaware

Greenville, Delaware

Greenville is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Greenville is located at ....

. He was President of the of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a member of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

who served parts of two terms as United States Senator from Delaware. He was known by his middle name.

Early life and family

Du Pont was born at Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, Kentucky. He was a cousin of U.S. Senator Henry A. du Pont

Henry A. du Pont

Henry Algernon du Pont , known as "Colonel Henry", was an American soldier and politician from Winterthur, near Greenville, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the American Civil War, and a member of the Republican Party, who served two terms as U.S...

and great grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours , known as Irénée du Pont, or E.I. du Pont, was a French-born Huguenot chemist and industrialist who immigrated to the United States in 1799 and founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company...

, the founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Du Pont attended preparatory school at Urbana University

Urbana University

Urbana University is a private university specializing in liberal arts education. Urbana is located in Urbana, Ohio, approximately one hour west of Columbus and one hour northeast of Dayton.-History:...

and earned an engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

. While at MIT, he was initiated into the Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

fraternity.

Business career

Coleman du Pont started his career in the family's coal mines, the Central Coal & Iron Company, and soon pursued opportunities in street railways. In 1894, He began working as the general manager of the Johnson Street Rail Company in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...

.

With his cousins, Alfred I. du Pont

Alfred I. du Pont

Alfred Irénée du Pont was an American industrialist, financier and philanthropist. A member of the influential Du Pont family, Alfred du Pont first rose to prominence through his work in his family's Delaware-based gunpowder manufacturing plant, E. I...

and Pierre S. du Pont

Pierre S. du Pont

Pierre Samuel du Pont was president of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company from 1915 to 1919, and served on its Board of Directors until 1940...

, Coleman bought out the family's explosives business in Delaware. He was president from 1902 until 1915, during which time he oversaw the acquisitions of more than one hundred competitors. He was a key player in the formation of the holding company, E. I du Pont de Nemours Company

E. I du Pont de Nemours Company

E. I du Pont de Nemours Company was the holding company formed in the early 1900s by T. Coleman du Pont, Alfred I. du Pont and Pierre S. du Pont to save the family business from being bought out by a rival....

of New Jersey. In 1907, the DuPont Company was sued for antitrust violations and Coleman later sold off his stake of the business in 1914.

Coleman du Pont had control of the Hotel McAlpin

Hotel McAlpin

The Hotel McAlpin was constructed in 1912 on Herald Square, at the corner of Broadway and 34th street in Manhattan, New York City by General Edwin A. McAlpin, son of David Hunter McAlpin. When opened it was the largest hotel in the world. The hotel was designed by the noted architect Frank Mills...

, Claridge Atlantic City, Wallick's, and other American hotels. Together with Lucius M. Boomer, president of Boomer-du Pont Properties Corporation, Thomas Coleman DuPont owned a number of other hotels. In 1918, they purchased the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...

in New York City, then in 1920 the Willard Hotel in Washington, D. C. and in 1925 the company purchased The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia from the heirs of the founder, George C. Boldt. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02EED91130E433A25750C0A9649C946996D6CF http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9806EEDF1038EE32A25750C0A9669D946896D6CF http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06E5D71E31E03ABC4D53DFB366838B639EDE

In 1915 Coleman du Pont acquired control of The Equitable Life Assurance Society from J. P. Morgan

J. P. Morgan

John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E4DF1631E733A05750C1A9609C946496D6CF and was responsible for the building of the Equitable Life Building in New York City, once the largest building in the city. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D02E6DB1630E233A25750C1A96E9C946396D6CF

Political career

Du Pont retired from business activities in 1915 and became involved in Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

politics, as a member of the Republican National Committee

Republican National Committee

The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...

from 1908 until 1930. It was largely under his leadership that the Union Republicans and Regular Republicans came back together and built the modern Delaware Republican Party.

Du Pont was appointed to the U.S. Senate on July 7, 1921, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Senator Josiah O. Wolcott

Josiah O. Wolcott

Josiah Oliver Wolcott was an American lawyer, politician and judge, from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as Attorney General of Delaware, U.S...

. During this term, he served with the Republican majority in the 67th Congress. However, he lost his bid to complete the term in a special election on November 7, 1922. On the same day he also lost his bid for the full term to follow, in both instances losing to Democrat Thomas F. Bayard, Jr.

Thomas F. Bayard, Jr.

Thomas Francis Bayard, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served two terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

, a Wilmington, Delaware lawyer. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1924, defeating the incumbent Republican U.S. Senator L. Heisler Ball

L. Heisler Ball

Dr. Lewis Heisler Ball was an American physician and politician from Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, near Stanton. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Representative from Delaware and two terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware...

for the nomination, and going on to defeat Democrat James M. Tunnell

James M. Tunnell

James Miller Tunnell was an American teacher, lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and served as U.S. Senator from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

, a Georgetown

Georgetown, Delaware

Georgetown is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2010 census figures, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade...

, Delaware lawyer. During this term, he served with the Republican majority in the 69th

69th United States Congress

The Sixty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1925 to March 4, 1927, during the third and fourth...

and 70th Congress, until health problems caused him to resign.

In all, Du Pont served two separate terms, one from July 7, 1921 until November 21, 1922, during the administrations of U.S. President Warren G. Harding, and the other from March 4, 1925 until December 9, 1928, during the administration of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge. The later years of his life were marked by his implication in the Teapot Dome scandal, and by lawsuits over various Florida real estate deals.

Death and legacy

Du Pont suffered from cancer of the larynx and died at his home, 808 Broome Street, Wilmington. He is buried in the du Pont Cemetery at Greenville.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. U.S. Senators are popularly elected and took office March 4th for a six year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|U.S. Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

|Legislative
|Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

United States Senate

|Legislative
|Washington

Washington, D.C.

|March 4, 1925
|December 9, 1928
|resigned

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1921–1923
|67th

67th United States Congress

The Sixty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1921 to March 4, 1923, during the first two years...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

|
|class 1

Classes of United States Senators

The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...

|-
|1925–1927
|69th

69th United States Congress

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

|
|class 2

Classes of United States Senators

|-
|1927–1929
|70th

70th United States Congress

The Seventieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1927 to March 3, 1929, during the last two years of...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

|
|class 2

Classes of United States Senators

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1922
|U.S. Senator

United States Senate

Thomas F. Bayard, Jr.

| |Democratic
| |36,954
| |50%
|-
|1922
|U.S. Senator

United States Senate

Thomas F. Bayard, Jr.

| |Democratic
| |37,304
| |50%
|-
|1924
|U.S. Senator

United States Senate

James M. Tunnell

| |Democratic
| |36,085
| |41%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.