John Purdue was a wealthy American industrialist in Lafayette, Indiana, and the primary original benefactor of Purdue University.

Lafayette is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located 63 miles (101 km) northwest of Indianapolis and 125 miles (201 km) southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 census, the population of Lafayette was 70,783. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which contributes significantly to both communities. Together, they form the core of the Lafayette metropolitan area, which had a population of 235,066 in 2020.