James-Ferdinand de Pury

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 de Pourtalès, a member of a French-Swiss noble family. His great-grandfather, Abraham Bernard, was a childhood friend and relative of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

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. He retired from business in 1879, dedicating his time to philanthropic causes and hosting society functions. The house, known as the Villa James de Pury, now houses the Musée d'ethnographie de Neuchâtel. The entrance of the museum contains a plaque commemorating de Pury.