Widtsoe, John Andreas, 1872-1952

Mormon educator at Brigham Young University at Provo, Utah and at the Utah Agricultural College at Logan, Utah.

John Andreas Widtsoe (1872-1952) moved from Norway to Logan in 1883 after his mother converted to the Mormon faith. Widtsoe graduated from the Brigham Young College in 1891 and attended Harvard University graduating with a degree in Chemistry in 1894. He became a professor at the Utah Agricultural College (now Utah State University) and after receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Goettingen in 1899, was named the Director of the Experiment Station in 1900. In 1905 he left Logan for Brigham Young University but he returned in 1907 to become the President of USU. In 1916 he resigned to become the president at the University of Utah. In 1921 he resigned that position and became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the LDS Church.

Member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.

John Andreas Widtsoe (1872-1952) moved from Norway to Logan in 1883 after his mother converted to the Mormon faith. He graduated from the Brigham Young College in 1891 and attended Harvard University graduating with a degree in Chemistry in 1894. Widtsoe married Leah Eudora Dunford (1874-1965) on June 1, 1898. He became a professor at the Utah Agricultural College (now Utah State University) and after receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Goettingen in 1899, was named the Director of the Experiment Station in 1900. In 1905 he left Logan for Brigham Young University but he returned in 1907 to become the President of the Utah Agricultural College. In 1916 he resigned from that position and become the president at the University of Utah. In 1921 he left that position and became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the LDS Church.

Mormon educator at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah and at the Utah Agricultural College, Logan, Utah.

Apostle in the Mormon Church.

John Andreas Widtsoe, the son of John Andersen and Anne Karine Gaarden Widtsoe, was born in Daloe, Froyen, Norway, on 31 January 1872. His father died in 1878. In 1878, Anne Karine Gaarden Widtsoe became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in 1883 emigrated to Utah with her sons, John and Osborne, and her daughter, Anne Karine. John A. Widtsoe graduated from the Normal School of Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah, in 1891. That same year, he entered Harvard University, graduating with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1894. He worked as a chemist at Utah Agricultural College's Experiment Station, until going to Germany to enter the University of Goettingen in 1898. The following year, he graduated with the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees. In 1900, Widtsoe was appointed director of the Utah Experiment Station. He also served as president of Utah Agricultural College, 1907-1916; and as president of the University of Utah, 1916. Widtsoe's Church service was just as varied. He was ordained an Apostle on 17 March, 1921, in which office he received numerous assignments. He served as director of the Genealogical Society from 1921 until his death; as president of the European Mission, 1927-1933; as Church Commissioner of Education, 1922 and again in 1934; and as editor of the Improvement Era from 1935 until his death. He was also a member of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association General Board, 1906-1936, and an adviser to the Church Welfare Plan in 1937. In private life, Widtsoe married Leah Eudora Dunford, the daughter of Alma Dunford and Susa Young Gates, in 1898. The couple had seven children: Anne, John Andreas, Karl Marselius, Mark Adriel, Helen, Mary, and Leah Eudora. Four of the children died in infancy, and Marsel died in 1927. Widtsoe died in 1952.

John Widstoe was born in 1872 and died in 1952.

Fifth President of Utah State University.

Author, theologian, and an apostle in the Mormon Church.

Chemist and Apostle in the Mormon Church.

John Andreas Widtsoe (1872-1952) served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and was a professor of agriculture at Brigham Young University.

John Andreas Widtsoe was born 31 January 1872 in Norway. He and his widowed mother and brother emigrated to Utah Territory in 1888. There he married Leah Dunford, a granddaughter of Brigham Young, on 1 June 1898 in Salt Lake City, Utah. John graduated from Harvard University in 1894 and with his Ph.D. from University of Goettingen, Germany, in 1899. He then taught in the agricultural college of Utah State University and in this same department at Brigham Young University. He was called into the LDS quorum of the twelve apostles in 1921. He died 29 November 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

John Andreas Widtsoe (1872-1888) was a professor and apostle.

John Andreas Widtsoe was born 31 January 1872 in Norway. He and his widowed mother and brother emigrated to Utah Territory in 1888. There he married Leah Dunford, a granddaughter of Brigham Young, on 1 June 1898 in Salt Lake City, Utah. John graduated from Harvard University in 1894 and with his Ph.D. from University of Goettingen, Germany, in 1899. He then taught in the agricultural college of Utah State University and in this same department at Brigham Young University. He was called into the LDS quorum of twelve apostles in 1921. He died 29 November 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A native of Daloe, Norway, John Andreas Widtsoe immigrated to the United States with his mother and younger brother Osbourne after converting to Mormonism. They arrived in Logan, Utah in November 1883. In 1889, Widtsoe entered the Brigham Young College, under the tutelage of BYC President Joseph M. Tanner. Tanner later served as President of the UAC from 1894 to 1899. Tanner helped effectuate Widstoe's attendance at Harvard University, where he graduated in 1894. After graduation, Widtsoe returned to Logan to head Chemistry work for Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1898, he enrolled at the University of Goettingen, Germany, and was awarded a Ph.D in 1899. Also in 1898, Widtsoe married Leah Eudora Dunford, whom he had first met while in Cambridge, England five years earlier. In 1900, the couple returned to Logan, where Widtsoe became Director of the Experiment Station.

Following the resignation of his mentor Joseph M. Tanner from the UAC presidency, a minority of the college's Board of Trustees championed Widtsoe as his successor. The board divided over Widtsoe's candidacy, with the majority supporting William J. Kerr. Widstoe continued directing the Experiment Station through 1905, when a disagreement with Kerr resulted in his dismissal. For the next two years, Widtsoe directed his energy to establishing an agricultural program at Brigham Young University in Provo. In 1907, he returned to Logan as the newly elected President of the UAC.

Widtsoe assumed the presidency amidst controversy, as the Board of Trustees again divided on his candidacy. This time, however, the Board supported his candidacy, and rather elected to dismiss President Kerr. Widtsoe also began his tenure as president following a legislative mandate that had restricted the College's curriculum. After 1907, the College was mandated to concentrate on agriculture, mechanical arts and domestic science, and was prohibited from offering courses in engineering, law, medicine or pedagogy, a curriculum that the State Legislature viewed as more appropriately being offered at the University of Utah.

Widtsoe served as College President through 1915, when he was selected to become the President of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.