Stanford University was established by a pair of respected parents. They are Mr. Stanford, a railroad magnate and his wife, Jane Stanford.

In 1884, Leland Stanford Jr., their only son got a terrible cold when their family was on vacation in Italy. Because of the poor medical conditions, he died before long. It was said that little Leland was not even 16 years old. His parents were so sad. And they realized that their family property would never be used on their son any more.

So this couple decided to dedicate a university to their only son, and named it after the poor young man. As Mr. Stanford had said, “the children of California shall be our children instead of little Leland.”

Before building the school, Mr. and Mrs. Stanford visited the President of Harvard, asked for advice about how to establish a university like Harvard in California. At last, they donated $5million dollars and located their farm as the campus to start a new university—the Stanford University.