Startups

The story of the DuPont Experimental Station, the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb

DuPont was a key player in the 1942 Manhattan Project. Learn more at a talk by Hagley Historian Lucas R. Clawson on Aug. 3.

The Experimental Station, DuPont’s massive research and development lab in Wilmington that now houses the Delaware Innovation Space, has been the home of many inventions over the years, from nylon to Teflon to ink jet technology. The company has had its share of infamy, but few points in its history are as controversial as the ones that relate to war.

During the Civil War, DuPont’s Brandywine River Mill (now part of Hagley Museum) produced about a third of the gunpowder for the Union, according to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. During World War I, the company expanded to provide gunpowder to the Allies in quantities so great it was charged with war profiteering in 1934 by the Senate Munitions Investigating Committee — a charge it denied, in an 18-month investigation that would eventually end without closure.

Then, in World War II, DuPont designed, constructed and operated a plutonium plant for the Manhattan Project, helping produce the first atomic bombs, which would be used in Allied attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Want to learn more? Lucas S. Clawson, a Hagley historian, will be giving a talk on DuPont and The Manhattan Project at the Delaware Public Archives in Dover on Aug. 3 at 10:30 a.m.

Find more info here.

Companies: DuPont

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

DelawareBio and UDel make joint hire to boost biotech innovation

Every startup community wants ‘storytelling.’ Too few are doing anything about it.

How one-click job listings overtook the process — and slowed down tech hiring

Delaware is a top US state for broadband connectivity, ranks No. 4 nationwide

Technically Media