Brimhall, George H. (George Henry), 1853-1932
Dates
- Existence: 1853 - 1932
Biographical History
George H. Brimhall (1852-1932) was a student, teacher, principal, department head, acting president, president, president emeritus, and head of the alumni association at Brigham Young University.
George Henry Brimhall was born in Salt Lake City on December 9, 1852, to George Washington Brimhall and Rachel Ann Mayer. At age eighteen, he attended high school at the Timpanogos Branch of the University of Deseret in nearby Provo taught by Warren and Wilson Dusenberry. He and some friends built a school they named the Young Men's Academy. There Brimhall met Alsina Elizabeth Wilkins, a student at the academy, whom he married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on December 28, 1874. Together, they had six children. In September 1885, Brimhall married a second wife, Flora Robertson, in the Logan Temple. Together, they had eight children.
He gained teacher's certificates and diplomas and was elected superintendent of Utah County Schools and Provo City Schools. In 1891, the BYA Board of Trustees chairman, Abraham O. Smoot, asked Brimhall, to join Brigham Young Academy's teaching staff and head the Normal (teacher training) Department. Brimhall received the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy and became BYA Alumni Association's first president. He received all of his higher education at BYA or BYU.
In 1898, Brimhall became a member of the General Church Board of Education. From 1900-1902, while Benjamin Cluff Jr. was away, he became acting principal of BYA. In December 1903, he received a letter from Joseph F. Smith asking him to be the president of the newly renamed Brigham Young University. He was inaugurated as BYU's second president on April 16, 1904 with Joseph B. Keller and Edwin S. Hinckley as his counselors.
Brigham Young University underwent a great deal of change under Brimhall's tenure. Student enrollment expanded, the degree of bachelor of pedagogy was replaced by the Bachelor of Arts and a master's degree was offered. In addition, The Banyan, the university's first yearbook was published, the block Y on a mountain above campus had been painted, thirty-seven acres of the upper (present) campus had been acquired, the first honorary degree had been conferred, and two new buildings (the Maeser Memorial Building and the Mechanic Arts Building, now known as the Brimhall Building) had been erected on upper campus.
Brimhall was released as president of BYU in 1921. He remained on campus and continued with his work for Church seminaries and as a member of the General Board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. Brimhall died on July 29, 1932 in Provo, Utah.
Citation:
"George H. Brimhall's Legacy of Service to Brigham Young University", Mary Jane Woodger and Joseph H. Groberg (George H. Brimhall; born 1852 in Salt Lake City on December 9, 1852, to George Washington Brimhall and Rachel Ann Mayer; attended high school at the Timpanogos Branch of the University of Deseret in nearby Provo taught by Warren and Wilson Dusenberry; built a school they named the Young Men’s Academy; met Alsina Elizabeth Wilkins; married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on December 28, 1874; had six children; In September 1885, Brimhall married a second wife, Flora Robertson, in the Logan Temple; had eight children; teacher’s certificates and diplomas; elected superintendent of Utah County Schools and Provo City Schools; In 1891, joined Brigham Young Academy’s teaching staff and headed the Normal (teacher training) Department; received the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy and became BYA Alumni Association’s first president; received all of his higher education at BYA or BYU; In 1898, Brimhall became a member of the General Church Board of Education; From 1900-1902, while Benjamin Cluff Jr. was away, he became acting principal of BYA; inaugurated as BYU’s second president on April 16, 1904 with Joseph B. Keller and Edwin S. Hinckley as his counselors; Brigham Young University underwent a great deal of change under Brimhall’s tenure. Student enrollment expanded, the degree of bachelor of pedagogy was replaced by the Bachelor of Arts and a master’s degree was offered. In addition, The Banyan, the university's first yearbook was published, the block Y on a mountain above campus had been painted, thirty-seven acres of the upper (present) campus had been acquired, the first honorary degree had been conferred, and two new buildings (the Maeser Memorial Building and the Mechanic Arts Building, now known as the Brimhall Building) had been erected on upper campus; Brimhall was released as president of BYU in 1921; He remained on campus and continued with his work for Church seminaries and as a member of the General Board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association; died on July 29, 1932 in Provo, Utah)Found in 49 Collections and/or Records:
James Austin Cope letters
Curriculum collection
Collection includes various reports and descriptions of courses offered by the University. 47 items.
Financial Services records
Contains annual financial reports and estimates of expenses including teachers' salaries and departmental budgets, real estate sales, statements from Knight Trust and Savings Bank, and correspondence concerning financial affairs between the Office of the President of Brigham Young University, the Brigham Young University Board of Trustees and the Latter-day Saints Church Commission of Education. Includes 47 items.
George H. Brimhall Memorial Essay Contest records
Contains the winning student essays and related information from the George H. Brimhall Memorial Essay Contest. Dated 2003 to 2020.
H. P. Hansen letter
Contains correspondence to Brigham Young University manuscript librarian Ralph Hansen about recollections of teachers, classes, housing, and life as a Brigham Young Academy student.
Daniel Harrington papers
Correspondence, legal papers, mementos, certificates, and family papers. Correspondents include James E. Talmage, George H. Brimhall, and Karl G. Maeser. Also included is a certificate signed by President Ulysses S. Grant.
History of Brigham Young University
History produced by J. Marinus Jensen, Newbern Butt, Elsie Carroll and Bertha Roberts of the Committee on University History, all appointed by Franklin Harris, 1937. 337 pages.
Robert A. Holmes letters
Handwritten letters all dated within 1911. One was addrssed to George H. Brimhall, president of Brigham Young University, while the other two were addressed to the editor of the "Improvement Era," a Mormon Church publication. Holmes speculates on the geography of the Book of Mormon and criticises the theories of B. H. Roberts, the Mormon scholar.
Honorary memberships for Brigham Young University presidents
Certificates of honorary membership in the Sons of Utah Pioneers for all Brigham Young University presidents from Warren Dusenberry through Cecil O. Samuelson.
J. Edward Johnson papers
Contains a draft of a biography of George H. Brimhall, which includes Johnson's personal recollections of Brigham Young University. Also contains a loose leaf manuscript of the biography composed by J. Edward Johnson entitled "George H. Brimhall: An Attempted Approximation of His Genius, Accomplishments, Stature," and a letter from Johnson concerning the manuscript. Materials date from approximately 1975.