The story is popular on the network that the Stanfords couple wanted to establish in honor of her dead son-studio corps at Harvard University, but after a disgusting reception at his president, she decided to create his own educational institution. We decided to check if this version is confirmed by historical data.

The story sounds like this: “A woman in a faded dress, accompanied by her husband, dressed in a modest suit, left the train at the Bostonsky station and headed for the office of the President of Harvard University. They did not make a meeting. The secretary at first glance determined that such provincials have nothing to do in Harvard.
“We would like to meet with the president,” the man said in a low voice.
“He will be busy all day,” the secretary answered dryly.
“We will wait,” the woman said.
Within a few hours, the secretary ignored visitors in the hope that at some point they will be disappointed and leave. However, making sure that they were not going to go anywhere, he still decided to bother the president, although he really did not want to.
“Maybe if you accept them for a moment, they will leave rather?” He asked the president.
He sighed indignantly and agreed. Such an important person like him does not have time to accept people dressed in faded checkered dresses and poor costumes. When the visitors entered, the president with a severe and arrogant look looked at a couple. A woman turned to him:
- We had a son, for one year he studied at your university. He loved this place and was very happy here. But, unfortunately, he suddenly died a year ago. My husband and I would like to leave his memory in the university.
The president was not at all happy, and even, on the contrary, became irritated.
- Madam! He answered arrogantly. “We cannot put statues to everyone who studied at Harvard and died.” If we did this, then this place would be like a cemetery.
“No,” the woman hastened to object, “we do not want to install a statue, we want to build a new Harvard case.”
The president examined the faded checkered dress and a poor suit and exclaimed:
- Frame? Can you imagine how much such a case costs? All Harvard buildings cost more than $ 7 million!
The woman was silent. The president smiled. Finally they will leave! The woman turned to her husband and said quietly:
- So little is worth building a new university? Why then do not we build our university?
The man nodded in the affirmative. Harvard President turned pale, he looked confused. Mr. and Mrs. Stanford got up and left the office. They founded in the Palo Alto in California in memory of their beloved son the university, which bears their name-Stanford University. ”

History can be found in various communities in Facebook And "VKontakte", on blogs on "Yandex.Zen" And Livejournalas well as on entertainment sites and forums.

Stanford University located In California, in the city of Palo Alto, south of San Francisco. He Open In 1891 and was founded by a couple of Stanfords. Construction began in 1885. Complete Name University-University of Leland Stanford Jr. Its founders are the railway tycoon Leland Stanford and his wife Jane (in the girlishness of Latrop). The couple, indeed, had the only son Lland. However, further historical facts do not quite correspond to reality.

Portrait of Senator Leland Stanford, his wife and son. 1878 (Stanford University Archives)

Leland Jr. died During a trip to Italy in Florence in 1884 from typhoid fever. At that time he was only 15 years old and he was not a student at Harvard University. After only a year, parents, in order to perpetuate the memory of the son, began the construction of the university, which is now his name.

There are two historical railway stations in Boston, but a couple could not arrive for any of them from history. Northern Station was open in 1893, and the southern one more later, in 1899. Of course, individual platforms in Boston were before that, but they were not considered stations.

In the described times, Harvard President was Charles William Elliot. He himself in 1919 at the request of the first president of Stanford University told About a meeting with a couple of Stanfords. He said that the spouses had several projects to perpetuate his son's memory. Along with the university, they considered the idea of a complex consisting of a museum, institute and a lecture hall, as well as a project of a technical school. Elliot writes: “I replied that you should not try to create a university free for students without investing less than $ 5 million. Silence followed, Mrs. Stanford looked thoughtful. But after some pause, Mr. Stanford smiled and turned to his wife: "Well, Jane, we can handle it, would it?" And Mrs. Stanford nodded. "

Separately, it is worth mentioning about the faded costumes of the couple. There is no historical evidence that Stanford preferred to dress modestly. Looking at the family photo above, you can make sure that their appearance consistent with their social position.

The fact that already in 1919, just 20 years after the opening of the university, already needed comments by President Harvard, suggests that this story, most likely, began to spread long before the appearance of the Internet with his forums and social networks. It is worth noting that the official journal of Stanford University also refutes This story.

Thus, the story that interests us is nothing more than a historical bike that does not correspond to reality.