A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Oct. 23, 1903, a unique university was born in Provo, Utah.
The school’s origins began in 1875, formed as Brigham Young Academy. According to historical accounts, the instructors first welcomed 1,000 students to BYA at its current campus location on Jan. 4, 1892, making it one of the largest schools in the Rocky Mountains.
The decision to change the school’s name to Brigham Young University was made in the fall of 1903, and the school’s board of trustees made it official on Oct. 23-24, dividing the school into Brigham Young University and Brigham Young High School.
Four years later, the famous giant “Y” that is embedded on a mountain above the campus was created.
Colleague Tad Walch shared in this Deseret News story that in 1903, the Wright brothers were headed Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to continue their experiments in human flight, President Teddy Roosevelt was preparing to sign a treaty allowing American ships to access the Panama Canal, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company and the first Tour de France was contested.
The Deseret News noted the school change in 1903.
“Provo, Utah Co., Oct. 24—Founders day at the Brigham Young university was observed yesterday with more than usual interest on account of a change in the name of the institution from Brigham Young academy to Brigham Young university, being made by the stockholders and formally announced,” read the special correspondence.
Latter-day Saint President Joseph F. Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the sponsoring organization of BYU, announced the change.
Here are some fun historical stories through the years about BYU from Deseret News archives:
“9 important events in BYU history”
“100 years of BYU: Institution evolution”
“125 years since Brigham Young Academy opened in Provo”
“False dichotomies, paired aspirations and ‘becoming BYU’”
“BYU announces type of degrees, location for new medical school”
“BYU Law School is ranked in the top 25. 50 years ago, it struggled to recruit a faculty”
“How are BYU’s unique standards being viewed?”
“Stone-Cold Sober XXIII: BYU repeats (and repeats) atop Princeton Review list”
“Brigham Young Academy given a second life”
“Perspective: A valentine dispatch from America’s most stone-cold sober campus”
“Picturing history: Birthplace and early sites of President Brigham Young in Vermont, New York”
