Abstract
In the open fields of Indiana, roughly equidistant between Gary and Indianapolis and built on the then navigable Wabash river, lay in the middle 19th century a small town of 4,000 inhabitants, the town of Lafayette. A trade center for northwest Indiana, the town was inhabited mostly by German and Anglosaxon farmers and traders. As a result of the 1862 Morrill Act, the General Assembly of Indiana voted in 1865 to establish a land-grant university (1). The fierce competition between various towns continued for four years with Monroe, Marion and Tippecanoe counties becoming the three finalists. Finally, the balance tilted in favor of Lafayette, mainly because of the then generous contribution of $150,000 by John Purdue, $50,000 by the Tippecanoe County and 100 acres of land from local residents. Thus, in the fourth and final ballot in the Indiana House, Tippecanoe county received 52 votes, with 17 voting for Monroe and 8 for Marion county. In the Senate questions arose and the representatives of Bloomington (Monroe county) and Indianapolis (Marion county) “stigmatized as selfish vanity for Mr. Purdue to ask that the institution be named Purdue University (1).” On May 4, 1869 Purdue’s offer was accepted with 32 to 10 votes in the Senate and 76 to 19 in the House.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
W.M. Hepburn and L.M. Sears, Purdue University in Fifty Years of Progress, Hollenbed Press, Indianapolis, 1925.
M.G. Mellon, Purdue’s Chemical Laboratories, 1873–1973, manuscript deposited in the Chemistry Library, 1973.
H.B. Knoll, The Story of Purdue Engineering, Purdue University Studies, West Lafayette, IN, 1963.
Minutes of the Purdue Board of Trustees, April 26, 1907.
J.L. Bray, History of the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, privately published, September 1951.
Minutes of the Board of Trustees, Purdue University, June 14, 1911.
Debris, p. 25, Purdue University, 1927.
Debris, p. 29, Purdue University, 1929.
Debris, Purdue University, 1916.
J. Wei, The Rejuvenation of Chemical Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 1980.
H.C. Weber, The Improbable Achievement: Chemical Engineering at MIT, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 1980.
D.L. Katz, J.O. Wilkes and E.H. Young, History of Chemical Engineering at The University of Michigan, privately published, 1980.
Anonymous, Chem. Eng. Ed., 100 (Summer 1968).
Debris, p. 54, Purdue University, 1932.
Letter of R.N. Shreve to W.J. Hale of Dow Chemical Co., March 11, 1931.
Minutes of the faculty meeting, memorial resolution on J.L. Bray, January 20, 1953.
R.C. Reid, The Graduate Experience, Oklahoma State University, 1984.
O.A. Hougen, Chem. Tech., 10 (January 1979).
R.N. Shreve, Organic Technology, unpublished manuscript, April 1931.
Shreve’s file, Engineering Faculty, bound volume of letters and other items kept in the office of the Dean of Engineering, 1940–1976.
M.M. Abbott, Chem. Eng. Educ., 18, 50 (1984).
Report of Committee on Evaluation of Engineering Education, ASEE, 1955.
R. Aris, Ind. Eng. Chem. Fund., 16, 1 (1977).
O.A. Hougen, Fifty Years of Chemical Engineering Education in the United States, printed by Tokyo Institute of Technology, 1957.
O.A. Hougen, Chem.Tech., 10 (January 1979).
R.D. Noble, paper No. 2208, ASEE Meeting, June 20, 1978.
J. Haggin, Chem. Eng. News, 14 (December 3, 1985).
N.A. Peppas and R.S. Harland, The History of the School of Chemical Engineering of Purdue University, 1986.
H.L. Maxwell, Ind. Eng. Chem., 20, 871 (1928).
An Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs in the United States: Engineering, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1983.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Peppas, N.A., Harland, R.S. (1989). Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. In: Peppas, N.A. (eds) One Hundred Years of Chemical Engineering. Chemists and Chemistry, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2307-2_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2307-2_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7536-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2307-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive