Leland Stanford

Hello! My name is Leland Stanford. I was born on a farm in New York on March 9th, 1824. Life on the farm was busy, especially since I had seven brothers and sisters! Our house was always full of fun and hard work. As I grew older, I decided I wanted to help people with rules and laws, so I studied to become a lawyer.

In 1852, I packed my things and moved all the way across the country to a sunny place called California. It was a very exciting time because of something called the Gold Rush, when many people were hoping to find gold. I opened a store with my brothers, and we sold supplies to the gold miners who needed tools and food. My work in the community became well known, and a few years later, in 1862, the people of California chose me to be their governor.

While I was governor, I had a very big idea. I thought, what if we could build a railroad that stretched all the way across America? It would be like a long metal road for trains to travel on, connecting people from one side of the country to the other. I helped start a company called the Central Pacific Railroad to build the track from the west. It was hard work, but on a very special day in 1869, our railroad track finally met another one coming from the east. To celebrate, I got to tap a famous 'Golden Spike' to connect them for the very first time.

My wife, Jane, and I had a wonderful son named Leland Junior. We loved him more than anything. But something very sad happened in 1884. When he was only fifteen years old, he got very sick and passed away. Our hearts were broken. To honor our son and keep his memory alive, Jane and I decided to build a special school for other children to learn and grow. In 1885, we started Leland Stanford Junior University, which we named after him.

I lived to be 69 years old. The university Jane and I built is still a place where smart and curious students go to learn new things and make the world a better place. I'm so happy that our way of remembering our son helps so many people learn and dream big every single day.