remains the best-selling book ever on political economy. In his treatise, he examines various potential tax bases, and concludes that taxation of privilege, through taxation of land value, is the most desirable alternative. He calls land speculation "a gross misuse of the power of government" that ought to be abolished by taxation, in order to create prosperity. He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Wilmington on that platform on the Progressive ticket. Francis I. du Pont died on March 16, 1942. References DuPont Heritage. Francis I du Pont Du Pont, Francis I. Du Pont, Francis I. Francis Irenee Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni People from Greenville, Delaware 19th-century American chemists 20th-century American chemists 20th-century American businesspeople