Brigham Young
Led 70,000 Mormon pioneers 1,300 miles to the Great Basin in 1847, founding over 350 settlements across the American West.
1801–1877 (age 76)·American religious leader·Birthday: June 1
Biography
Brigham Young organized the exodus of Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo, Illinois, after the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844. He directed the first company of 148 pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, a journey of 1,300 miles. As President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 to 1877, he governed the provisional State of Deseret. Young established a theocracy that controlled the Utah Territory, clashing with federal authorities during the 1857 Utah War. He supervised the colonization of a vast region spanning present-day Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of California and Mexico. His doctrine of plural marriage involved an estimated 55 wives. Young founded the University of Utah in 1850 and the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution in 1868. He died in Salt Lake City, having transformed a refugee band into a permanent, self-sufficient civilization that altered the demographic map of the United States.
#1 When Brigham Was Born
The biggest hits of 1801
Brigham's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1801Born
1806Started school
1814Became a teenager
1817Could drive
1819Could vote
1822Turned 21
1831Turned 30
1841Turned 40
1851Turned 50
1861Turned 60
President: Abraham Lincoln
1871Turned 70
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1877Died at 76
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
Key Achievements
- Served as the first Governor of the Utah Territory from 1850 to 1858.
- Oversaw the construction of the Salt Lake Temple, begun in 1853 and completed 40 years after his death.
- Organized the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, which financed the migration of over 70,000 converts to Utah.
Did You Know?
Was a trained painter and glazier before converting to Mormonism.
Reportedly learned the location of the Salt Lake Valley from the writings of explorer John C. Frémont.
His recorded sermons fill 19 volumes in the Journal of Discourses.
“This is the right place.”
