View source for James-Ferdinand de Pury

{{short description|Swiss businessman and philanthropist}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = James-Ferdinand de Pury
| image         = 
| caption       = 
| birth_date    = 1823
| birth_place   = [[Neuchâtel]], Switzerland
| death_date    = 15 May 1902
| death_place   = Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| other_names   = 
| occupation    = businessman, philanthropist
| spouse        = Augustine-Marie Bevilaqua
| children      = 1
| parents       = Baron Charles Auguste de Pury<br>Countess Sophie Marianne de Pourtalès
}}
'''Baron James-Ferdinand de Pury''' (1823 – 15 May 1902) was a Swiss businessman and philanthropist. He amassed a large fortune through his business in the Brazilian tobacco trade, and was knighted by [[Pedro II of Brazil]]. His villa in Neuchâtel now houses the [[Musée d'ethnographie de Neuchâtel]].

== Biography ==
De Pury was born in 1823 in [[Neuchâtel]], the fourth child of Baron Charles Auguste de Pury, the mayor of [[La Côte]], and Countess Sophie Marianne [[Château de Pourtalès|de Pourtalès]], a member of a [[Swiss French people|French-Swiss]] noble family.<ref name="men">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Musée d'Ethnographie de Neuchâtel: de Pury James-Ferdinand|url=https://www.men.ch/fr/histoires/portraits/de-pury-james-ferdinand/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130200051/https://www.men.ch/fr/histoires/portraits/de-pury-james-ferdinand/|archive-date=November 30, 2017|access-date=January 1, 2021|website=www.men.ch}}</ref> His great-grandfather, Abraham Bernard, was a childhood friend and relative of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]].<ref name= men2/> While a relative of the philanthropist [[David de Pury]], he was not a descendant of the same family line.<ref name="men2">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Musée d'Ethnographie de Neuchâtel: James-Ferdinand de Pury détail|url=https://www.men.ch/fr/histoires/portraits/de-pury-james-ferdinand/james-ferdinand-de-pury-detail/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=www.men.ch}}</ref>

In 1846, when he was twenty-three years old, de Pury moved to [[Bahia]], Brazil to work for a tobacco company owned by his uncle, Auguste de Meuron.<ref name= men/><ref name= men2/> He was successful in the tobacco business and amassed a fortune.<ref name= men/> He was made a knight of the [[Order of the Rose]] by [[Pedro II of Brazil]] for his contributions to the tobacco trade.<ref name= men2/>
[[File:Neuchatelethno.jpg|thumb|right|250px|De Pury's villa in Neuchâtel]]
In 1863 he married Augustine-Marie Bevilaqua, a Brazilian woman who was twenty years his junior.<ref name= men/><ref name= men2/> They had one daughter, Mathilde, who was born in 1868.<ref name= men/> The family later moved back to Switzerland. In 1872, de Pury had a grand villa built on the Hill of St-Nicolas in Neuchâtel, designed by the architect [[:de:Léo Châtelain|Léo Châtelain]].<ref name= men/><ref name= men2/><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gloor|first=Lea|date=May 7, 2016|title=Neuchâtel: provisional grant for the restoration of the Villa de Pury|url=https://www.arcinfo.ch/articles/regions/neuchatel-et-littoral/neuchatel-subvention-provisoire-pour-la-restauration-de-la-villa-de-pury-553278|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706151132/https://www.arcinfo.ch/articles/regions/neuchatel-et-littoral/neuchatel-subvention-provisoire-pour-la-restauration-de-la-villa-de-pury-553278|archive-date=July 6, 2016|access-date=|website=Arcinfo}}</ref> He retired from business in 1879, dedicating his time to philanthropic causes and hosting [[high society (social class)|society]] functions.<ref name= men2/> De Pury provided the local art museum with several paintings for their collection and left a carved ivory piece made by the [[Vili people]] to the ethnography museum.<ref name= men2/><ref name="histour">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=February 1, 2020|title=Ethnography Museum of Neuchâtel, Switzerland|url=https://www.hisour.com/ethnography-museum-of-neuchatel-switzerland-52446/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215193426/https://www.hisour.com/ethnography-museum-of-neuchatel-switzerland-52446/|archive-date=February 15, 2020|access-date=|website=HiSoUR|language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Portail de la villa James de Pury.jpg|thumb|left|250px|entrance to the Villa James de Pury]]
De Pury's daughter died in 1882 and his wife died in 1900.<ref name= men2/> He died on 15 May 1902.<ref name= men2/> Left without an heir, he bequeathed his villa to the city of Neuchâtel so that it could be made into a museum.<ref name= men2/><ref name= histour/><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=February 26, 2018|title=Musee d'Ethnographie Neuchatel, Switzerland|url=http://museumtravelers.com/2018/02/26/musee-dethnographie-neuchatel-switzerland/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311184228/http://museumtravelers.com/2018/02/26/musee-dethnographie-neuchatel-switzerland/|archive-date=March 11, 2019|access-date=|website=Museum Travelers|language=en-AU}}</ref> The house, known as the Villa James de Pury, now houses the [[Musée d'ethnographie de Neuchâtel]].<ref name= men/><ref name= histour/> The entrance of the museum contains a plaque commemorating de Pury.<ref name= men2/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pury, James-Ferdinand de}}

[[Category:1823 births]]
[[Category:1902 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Swiss businesspeople]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in the tobacco industry]]
[[Category:De Pury family|James]]
[[Category:Nobility of Neuchâtel]]
[[Category:People from Neuchâtel]]
[[Category:Swiss nobility]]
[[Category:Swiss philanthropists]]
[[Category:19th-century philanthropists]]