Overview

When the company turned 100 in 1902, is was widely respected but also weighed down by tradition. That year, three young du Pont cousins – T. Coleman, Pierre S. and Alfred I. – purchased the company from their older relatives and began to transform it from an explosives manufacturer into a broad, science-based chemical company. The trio modernized company management, built research labs, and marketed new products like paints, plastics and dyes.