John Purdue

John Purdue (; October 31, 1802 – September 12, 1876) was a wealthy American industrialist in Lafayette, Indiana, and the primary original benefactor of Purdue University. Early life Most details of Purdue's early life were either not recorded or lost. He was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, to Charles and Mary Short Purdue. He had eight sisters and no brothers. Sometime after 1813 (possibly as late as 1823), the family moved to Ross County, Ohio. During the move, the second oldest daughter, Nancy, died, and shortly after the move, his father died. Shortly thereafter John was apprenticed to an Adelphi merchant, and his mother and at least a few of his sisters moved north and settled near Westerville, Ohio. Teacher From 1823 to 1831, he was a school teacher around Ohio and in Michigan.