Caesar Augustin Grasselli (1850-1927) was the third generation to head the Grasselli Chemical Company. Following his death, one of America's oldest chemical businesses was merged into the E.I. du Pont Company.

Caesar Grasselli, son of Eugene Ramiro Grasselli, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He inherited his father's interest in and aptitude for chemistry and the family enterprise. Starting at age 15 he received on-the-job training, including stints as bricklayer and pipefitter, from his father. In addition, a chemistry professor from Karlsruhe University (in Germany) tutored him and he attended Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. "C.A.," as he was known, married in 1871 and went on an extended honeymoon, in part a business holiday, visiting chemical plants in France, Germany, and Britain as well as the ancestral home at Torno, Italy; he made a similar chemical tour in 1899. He became a partner in Eugene Grasselli & Son in...