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Purdue History

On July 2, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land Grant Act. With this act, the federal government would turn over public lands to any state that would agree to use the land sale proceeds to maintain a college teaching agriculture and the "mechanic arts."

In 1865, the Indiana General Assembly voted to participate in the plan and took steps to establish such an institution in Indiana.

On May 6, 1869, the General Assembly decided to locate the institution near Lafayette, Indiana, and accepted a $150,000 gift from John Purdue, as well as $50,000 from Tippecanoe County and 100 acres of land from local residents. The legislature established the new institution, naming it Purdue University.

Purdue's first president was Richard Owen, who started his term in 1872. On September 16, 1874, classes began with six instructors and 39 students. Purdue's first graduating class had 14 students.

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