Jane Stanford

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Jane Stanford (August 25, 1828–February 28, 1905), was the wife of Leland Stanford and cofounded Stanford University with her husband.

Born Jane Eliza Lathrop in Albany, New York, she married Leland Stanford on Sept. 30, 1850.

Upon the death of their only son, Leland Stanford, Jr., the elder Leland turned to his wife, Jane, and said, famously, "The children of California shall be our children." They then founded Leland Stanford Junior University in their son's honor. After Leland's death, Jane took control of the University, and it was at Jane Stanford's direction that Stanford University gained an early focus on the arts, and it was she who advocated the admission of women.

Jane Stanford also figured prominently in the issue of academic freedom when she sought, and ultimately succeeded, in having Stanford University economist Edward A. Ross fired for making speeches favoring Democrat William Jennings Bryan and for his liberal economic teachings. This resulted in the American Association of University Professors' "Report on Academic Freedom and Tenure" (1915, by Arthur Oncken Lovejoy and Edwin R. A. Seligman,) and in the writing of the AAUP 1915 Declaration of Principles.

There have been allegations that Jane Stanford was murdered with strychnine at the Moana Hotel in Hawaii while recovering from a previous murder attempt in California. One version suggests University President, David Starr Jordan, murdered Mrs. Stanford, although this has never been proven. This has been used to justify a rich rivalry between two of the Palo Alto middle schools, Jordan Middle School, named after David Starr Jordan, and Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School. However, this theory is belied by the fact that an intense rivalry existed when the current Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School was called the Ray Lyman Wilbur Junior High School (as it was until 1985).

She is buried at the Stanford family mausoleum on the Stanford campus.