Leland Stanford built his wealth in railroads in the 19th century—an era of rough-and-tumble politics and crony capitalism. He is best known today, however, as the founder of one of the world’s most highly regarded universities, an institution that brought elite education west of the Rockies and incubated many of the 20th century’s technological achievements.

Leland Stanford, in full Amasa Leland Stanford, (born March 9, 1824, Watervliet, New York, U.S.—died June 21, 1893, Palo Alto, California), American senator from California and one of the builders of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad. Stanford is often grouped with the 19th-century entrepreneurial tycoons who were labeled “ robber ...

The Leland Stanford Mansion is a stunning example of the splendor and elegance of the Victorian era in California. On your tour of the 19,000-square-foot Mansion you will see: 17-foot ceilings. Gilded mirrors and exquisitely detailed carved moldings. Beautifully restored woodwork.

A portrait of Senator Leland Stanford, Jane Lathrop Stanford, Leland Stanford Jr. taken in 1878. (Image credit: Stanford University Archives) When railroad magnate and former California Gov. Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, lost their only child, Leland, Jr., to typhoid in 1884, they decided to build a university as the most fitting memorial, and deeded to it a large ...

The Leland Stanford Mansion. The Leland Stanford Mansion was built between 1856 and 1857 as a two-story home for merchant Shelton Fogus. The home was purchased by Central Pacific Railroad co-founder and President, Leland Stanford, in 1861, just before he became California’s eighth governor. Stanford quickly added a separate governor’s ...

Leland Stanford. Much like his future partners, Leland Stanford remade himself in gold rush California as a shopkeeper. In 1852, fed up with lawyering, he left the Midwest to become a partner in a ...