DuPont Circle was in the elite residential area of Washington D.C. at the turn of the century and was filled with Victorian mansions, many of which are now gone. The area, once called Millionaires Row is now basically Embassy Row. A young and diverse group of professionals are leading the area's restoration movement.
The circle was built to commemorate Samuel Francis du Pont, b. Sept. 27, 1803, d. June 23, 1865, who was an American naval officer. During the 1840s he was one of those in charge of establishing the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1861, early in the Civil War, he commanded the blockading squadron in the southern Atlantic and in November captured Port Royal, S.C. He was relieved of his command in April 1863 after he followed what he felt to be ill-conceived orders to attack Charleston, S.C. The attack ended in disaster for the Union navy.
He was the nephew of Eleuthere Irenee du Pont, b. June 24, 1771, d. Oct. 31, 1834, the founder of the Du Pont Company, established in 1802 on the Brandywine River, near Wilmington, Del. The company at first specialized in the manufacture of high-quality gunpowder.
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