In 1884, the philanthropist Jane Stanford experienced heartbreak that would change her life forever.
While vacationing in Europe, Jane’s only child, Leland Stanford Jr., contracted typhoid and died at 15. Jane and her husband, Leland Stanford, decided to memorialize their son by founding a university in his honor. Commonly known as Stanford University, the California school’s official name is the Leland Stanford Junior University.
From Jane’s point of view, says Isabelle Rogers, an assistant registrar at the university’s Cantor Arts Center, “they didn’t have a child anymore, and so she thought that all of California could be her children.”
A new exhibition exploring Jane’s legacy is on view at the Cantor through May 18, 2028. Titled “Jane!,” the show focuses on its namesake’s grief over the loss of her son, her philanthropic efforts, her love of travel and collecting artifacts, and her mysterious death from strychnine poisoning in 1905…