| Leland Stanford Jr. | |
|---|---|
Leland Stanford (1872) |
|
| Born | May 14, 1868 Sacramento, California |
| Died | March 13, 1884 (aged 15) Florence, Italy |
| Other names | Leland DeWitt Stanford |
| Known for | Namesake of Stanford University |
Leland Stanford Jr. (May 14, 1868 in Sacramento, California – March 13, 1884 in Florence, Italy), Leland DeWitt Stanford until age nine,[1] was the only child of Governor Leland Stanford of California and his wife Jane Stanford née Lathrop, and is the namesake of Stanford University, adjacent to Palo Alto, California, United States.
Leland Jr. caught typhoid two months before his sixteenth birthday, while on a Grand Tour of Europe with his parents. He originally fell ill in Athens. His parents rushed him to Italy for medical treatment, first to Naples, then to Rome, and eventually to Florence, where he died after weeks of alternately improving and worsening.[2] After they returned to the United States, his parents devoted their fortune to a memorial, Leland Stanford Junior University, in his honor. Leland Stanford Sr. told his wife that "the children of California shall be our children."[3][4][5] The university opened its doors in 1891.
Leland Stanford Jr. is interred beside his parents at the Stanford family mausoleum on the Stanford campus. After the death of his father on June 21, 1893, his mother guided the development of the university until her death on February 28, 1905.
Although the University is generally referred to as simply "Stanford University," it is also sometimes called by its official name, "Leland Stanford Junior University." In particular, the Stanford Band always refers to itself as "the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band" (LSJUMB).[6] A student drinking song refers to the institution as "the Leland Stanford Junior Farm".[7] Furthermore, as a jest, some students at rival schools will occasionally refer to Stanford as a "Junior College", taking advantage of the original name.