John Eleuthère du Pont

Who was John Eleuthère du Pont?

John Eleuthère du Pont was a convicted murderer, an American multimillionaire, and member of the prominent du Pont family. He was an ornithologist and conchologist, publishing several books on birds; a philatelist, coach, and sports enthusiast. As a philanthropist, he founded and directed the Delaware Museum of Natural History, which opened in 1972. He also contributed to Villanova University and other institutions.

In the 1990s he established a wrestling facility at his Foxcatcher Farm after becoming interested in that and the pentathlon events. He became a prominent supporter for amateur sports in the United States and a sponsor for USA Wrestling. In the 1990s friends and acquaintances were concerned about erratic behavior, but his wealth shielded him. In 1997 he was convicted of the murder in the third degree of his friend Dave Schultz, an Olympic champion freestyle wrestler. He was ruled to have been mentally ill but not insane and was sentenced to prison, where he died thirteen years later. The story is retold in the true crime book Wrestling with Madness, and is the subject of the 2014 film Foxcatcher.