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Purdue University is a public land-grant university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is particularly noted for its schools of engineering and agriculture, and as of recently, for its school of business. Equally renowned and lesser publicized are Purdue's strength in liberal and fine arts. Indiana's school of veterinary medicine is at Purdue.
Purdue's sports teams are called the Boilermakers. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A, and in the Big Ten Conference. The team name purports to have come from a former practice of illegally employing industrial workers for its football team.
Classes at Purdue began in 1874 but it was not founded by philanthropist John Purdue, as is commonly believed. The state of Indiana sought a location to establish its land-grant university, and John Purdue offered $150,000 and 100 acres of land near the city of Lafayette. The university was named for him because of his generous donation. Legend has it that the Purdue gift carried the stipulation that all permanent university buildings must be brick or the entire 100 acres reverts to John Purdue's heirs. This legend cannot be substantiated.
Famous alumni
Neil Armstrong - The first man to walk on the moon
Sun Liren - Chinese Nationalist General who excelled in Burma Campaign during the World War II
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