John Purdue (1802-1876)
To help celebrate Purdue University’s 150th anniversary in 2019, the Purdue University Retirees Association (PURA) recruited some of its members to portray historic characters from Purdue’s past.
The reenactors researched their characters, developed costumes and personas, then appeared at a number of public events sharing the stories of these important Purdue figures with the public.
John Norberg pictured here, portrayed John Purdue. Left photo courtesy of PURA member Jim McCammack.
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In 2019, PURA chose PURA member John Norberg’s book Ever True – 150 Years of Giant Leaps at Purdue University as it’s annual Common Read.
On the day before his 217th birthday, October 30, 2019, “John Purdue” (A.K.A. John Norberg) talked with PURA members about some of “his” people (Purdue faculty, students, benefactors and staff) who made a difference at the university, in the community, state, nation, and the world, drawing from the content of the book.
For instance, he talked about Professor Harvey Wiley, who became the father of the FDA, played ball with the students and wore knickers when riding his enormous wheeled bicycle with the tiny aft wheel. These activities were deemed inappropriate for a faculty member by the trustees.
Frieda and Winifred Parker and their parents—black Americans—persisted until President Hovde convinced other university personnel to provide housing for all students, black and white, on campus.
Other examples were: Purdue President Edward C. Elliott—for whom the Elliott Hall of Music is named—who once pronounced he would not allow one penny of university money to go for anything related to music; Annie Peck, a renowned mountain climber, who taught Latin, elocution, and German at Purdue; Ei-ichi Negishi, Nobel laureate, who left a press conference at which his award was being announced to teach his sophomore chemistry class.
Mr. Norberg’s book is available from Purdue University Press at: thepress.purdue.edu.
Return to PURA Historical Character Project Page