The Story about how Stanford University started

The statue of the Stanford Family on the University Campus/ źródło: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University

One day at the Harvard University principal's office a strange elderly couple appeared. They looked modest and and a bit tired as they had just got off a train at Boston Station. She wore a modest dress and the same her husband was in a comfortable but cheap suit.

At first glance, the secretary decided that those people at Harvard had nothing to look for. What's more they did not make an appointment and they wanted to talk with the school principal.

The secretary announced that the principal would be busy all day.

"We'll wait," the woman said quietly.

The secretary ignored the visitors for several hours hoping that at some point they would be disappointed and leave on their own. However, when she made sure that they wouldn't go anywhere themselves, she decided that she had no choice but inform the boss about the visitors.

"Maybe if you accept them for a minute and wake them up, then they'd rather leave? " she asked him.

The director sighed and agreed. As important as he is, he certainly does not have time to accept people like that from nowhere.

When the visitors entered, the director immediately measured them with his stern and arrogant gaze. The woman turned to him:

- We had a son, he studied at your university for a year. He loved this place and was very happy here but sadly passed away a year ago unexpectedly. My husband and I would therefore like to leave some memory of him on the territory of this university.

The principal was not happy about it at all, but on the contrary he was very irritated.

- Lady! - he replied impolitely - we can't build monuments to everyone who studied at Harvard and died. If we did, it would soon be a cemetery.

- No, I didn't mean so - the woman quickly objected, - we don't want to build a monument, nor a statue, we want to build a new building for Harvard.

The principal looked at the faded dress and a cheap suit and exclaimed, "God, do you people have any idea how much such a building costs? All Harvard buildings are worth over seven million dollars together!

The wife hasn’t said anything in a minute. The principal had a sinister smile of joy. So they will see them out of here after all!

The woman turned to her husband and said quietly:

- Is it so cheap to build a new university? So why don't we build our own university?

The man gave a nod in agreement. Harvard principal faded and looked confused.

The Stanford spouses got up and left the office without further ado.

And that's how in Palo Alto, California, they established a university that bears his name - Stanford University in memory of their beloved son.

According to Wikipedia: "Stanford University was founded by a train tycoon, US Senator Leland Stanford and his wife Jane Stanford. The university is named after their only late son, Leland. Leland Stanford, Sr. told his wife, "From now on, all the children in California will be like our own children".