Thos Welton Stanford

Thomas Welton Stanford (1832-1918) was a younger brother of Leland Stanford and came with his brothers to California, lured by the Gold Rush. In 1859 he and his brother DeWitt moved to Melbourne in Australia. Thomas became a wealthy man selling Singer sewing machines in Australia. In November of 1893, just five months after Leland's death, he was appointed to the Stanford University Board of Trustees and served on the Board until his death in 1918. He was generous to the University, donating half of the money he inherited from Leland and also providing funds for the Thomas Welton Stanford Library that opened in 1900, serving as the University's library until the Main Library opened in 1919. He donated the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery which is sill the Art Department's primary gallery. Thomas was greatly interested in psychic phenomena and donated money to the University that was earmarked for "psychical research".