Thomas Coleman du Pont
Du Pont in 1902
United States Senator fromDelaware
In office March 4, 1925 – December 9, 1928
Preceded by	L. Heisler Ball
Succeeded by	Daniel O. Hastings
In office July 7, 1921 – November 7, 1922
Appointed by	William D. Denney
Preceded by	Josiah O. Wolcott
Succeeded by	Thomas F. Bayard, Jr.
Personal details
Born	(1863-12-11)December 11, 1863 Louisville,Kentucky, U.S.
Died	November 11, 1930(1930-11-11) (aged 66) Wilmington,Delaware, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Alice Elsie du Pont
Children	Francis Victor DuPont,[1] Alice Hounsfield du Pont Wilson Buck, Ellen Coleman du Pont Meeds Wheelwright, Rene de Pelleport du Pont Donaldson, Eleuthere Irenee du Pont[2]
Residence(s)	Wilmington,Delaware, U.S.
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Occupation	Engineer, corporate executive

Thomas Coleman du Pont (December 11, 1863 – November 11, 1930) was an American engineer and politician, fromGreenville, Delaware. He was President ofE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a member of theRepublican Party who served parts of two terms asUnited States Senator from Delaware.^[3]

Du Pont was born atLouisville, Kentucky. He was a cousin of U.S. SenatorHenry A. du Pont and great-grandson ofEleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Du Pont attended preparatory school atUrbana University and earned an engineering degree at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, he was initiated into theSigma Chi fraternity.

He married a cousin, Alice Elsie du Pont (granddaughter ofCharles I. du Pont), and in 1891 they had a daughter, Alice Hounsfield du Pont. In 1921, the younger Alice marriedClayton Douglass Buck, future U.S. Senator and two-term governor of Delaware. She inherited her father's family home,Buena Vista, and in 1965 the Bucks sold it to the State of Delaware for $1. The state now operates it as the Buena Vista Conference Center. It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1971.^[4]

Du Pont started his career in the family's coal mines, theCentral Coal and Iron Company, and soon pursued opportunities in street railways. In 1894, he began working as the general manager of the Johnson Street Rail Company inJohnstown, Pennsylvania.

With his cousins,Alfred I. du Pont andPierre S. du Pont, T. Coleman du Pont 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 of New Jersey. In 1907, the DuPont Company was sued for antitrust violations; he sold off his stake of the business in 1914.

T. Coleman du Pont had control of theHotel McAlpin,Claridge Atlantic City, Wallick's, and other American hotels. Together with Lucius M. Boomer, president of Boomer-du Pont Properties Corporation and husband ofJørgine Boomer, du Pont owned a number of other hotels. In 1918, they purchased theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel inNew York City, then in 1920 theWillard Hotel inWashington, D.C., and in 1925 the company purchased TheBellevue-Stratford Hotel inPhiladelphia from the heirs of the founder,George C. Boldt.^[5][6][7]

In 1915, du Pont acquired control ofThe Equitable Life Assurance Society fromJ. P. Morgan^[8] and was responsible for the building of the Equitable Life Building in New York City, once the largest building in the city.^[9]

In 1908, du Pont proposed a modern road that was to run the length of Delaware fromSelbyville north toWilmington as part of a philanthropic measure. This roadway was planned to improve travel and bring economic development toKent andSussex counties. The DuPont Highway was to be modeled after the great boulevards ofEurope and was to have a 200-foot (61 m) wide right-of-way consisting of a 40-foot (12 m) wide roadway for automobiles flanked by dualtrolley lines, 30-foot (9.1 m) wide roadways for heavy vehicles, 15-foot (4.6 m) wide unpaved roadways for horses, and sidewalks. Utilities were to be buried underground below the horse roadways. The highway was also to include agricultural experimental stations and monuments for future surveying. Trolley revenues would help pay for the construction of the roadway.

After portions of theDuPont Highway were built, these portions were planned to be turned over to the state at no charge.^[10] The Coleman DuPont Road, Inc. was established in 1911 and construction of the DuPont Highway began.^[11] The DuPont Highway would end up being built as a two-lane concrete road on a 60-foot (18 m) alignment with a 32-foot (9.8 m) wide roadway.^[12]

TheDelaware State Highway Department took over construction and the DuPont Highway was completed in 1923 when the final section nearOdessa was finished.^[13] The DuPont Highway was a boon to southern Delaware, which had formerly been economically isolated from the large cities of the northeast. In conjunction with the rise of the automobile, the highway spurred the growth of the Delaware beaches by greatly improving access to the coast for tourists from northern Delaware and adjacent portions of theNortheast megalopolis. Southern Delaware also developed into a majortruck farming region due to having much greater access to urban markets. No longer fully reliant on the railroads to transport their goods, farmers in Sussex and Kent counties could market their fruits, vegetables, andbroiler chickens directly to consumers in the north.^[14]

The DuPont Highway becameUS 113 betweenSelbyville andDover andUS 13 between Dover and Wilmington.^[15][16]

Du Pont retired from business activities in 1915 and became involved inRepublican Party politics, as a member of theRepublican National Committee 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. SenatorJosiah O. Wolcott. 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 DemocratThomas F. Bayard, Jr., a Wilmington lawyer who was married to one of du Pont's cousins.

Du Pont was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1924, defeating the incumbent Republican U.S. SenatorL. Heisler Ball for the nomination, and going on to defeat DemocratJames M. Tunnell, aGeorgetown, Delaware lawyer. During this term, he served with the Republican majority in the69th and70th 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 administration of U.S. PresidentWarren G. Harding, and the other from March 4, 1925, until December 9, 1928, during the administration of U.S. PresidentCalvin Coolidge. In 1927, he introduced a bill proposing the construction of "a coast-to-coast superhighway, five hundred feet wide, as direct as possible from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast". However, this proposed superhighway never came to be, due in part to the economic pressures of the Great Depression.^[17] The later years of his life were marked by his implication in theTeapot Dome scandal, and by lawsuits over various Florida real estate deals.^{[citation needed]} In 1922, du Pont and his wife donated property on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland to theDel-Mar-Va Council of the Boy Scouts of America for development of what is now known as Camp Rodney.^[18]

Du Pont suffered from cancer of the larynx and died at Buena Vista. He is buried in the Du Pont de Nemours Cemetery inGreenville, Delaware.^[3]

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

• William Francis; Michael Hahn (2009).The DuPont Highway. Arcadia Publishing.ISBN 978-0738568485.
• Carter, Richard B. (2001).Clearing New Ground, The Life of John G. Townsend, Jr. Wilmington, Delaware: The Delaware Heritage Press.ISBN 0-924117-20-6.
• Dutton, William S. (1942).Du Pont One Hundred and Forty Years. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
• Hoffecker, Carol E. (2004).Democracy in Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware: Cedar Tree Books.ISBN 1-892142-23-6.
• Munroe, John A. (1993).History of Delaware. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press.ISBN 0-87413-493-5.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toT. Coleman du Pont.

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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