1. The birth of a university

 

 

In 1876, former California Governor Leland Stanford purchased 650 acres of Rancho San Francisquito for a country home and began the development of his famous Palo Alto Stock Farm. He later bought adjoining properties totaling more than 8,000 acres. The little town that (0)  to emerge near the land took the name Palo Alto (tall tree) (1) due toafterbecausebelow a giant California redwood on the bank of San Francisquito Creek. The tree itself is still there and (2) eventually gotfinally turnedshould becomewould later become the university's symbol and centerpiece of its official seal.

Leland Stanford, who grew up and studied law in New York, moved west after the gold rush and, (3) justsimilarlikeso many of his wealthy contemporaries, made his (4) richesstudiesfortunemoney in the railroads. He was a leader of the Republican Party, governor of California and later a U.S. senator. He and Jane had one son, who died of typhoid fever in 1884 when the family was traveling in Italy. Leland Jr. was just 15. (5) OverWithinJustThroughout weeks of his death, the Stanfords decided that, because they no longer could do anything for their own child, "the children of California shall be our children." They quickly set about to find a (6) foreverunceasingeternallasting way to memorialize their beloved son.

The Stanfords considered several possibilities – a university, a technical school, a museum. (7) AlongAt the timeDuringWhile on the East Coast, they visited Harvard, MIT, Cornell and Johns Hopkins to seek (8) answeradvicewordeducation on starting a new university in California. Ultimately, they decided to establish two institutions in Leland Junior's name – the University and a museum. From (9) beginningstartthe outsetnow they made some untraditional choices: the university (10) had beenshould have beenhas beenwould be coeducational, in a time when most were all-male; non-denominational, when most were (11) granted byassociated withsupplied withinformed by a religious organization; and avowedly practical, producing "cultured and useful citizens."

On October 1, 1891, Stanford University opened its doors after six years of planning and building. The prediction of a New York newspaper that Stanford professors would "lecture in marble halls to empty benches" was quickly disproved. The first student body consisted of 555 men and women.