Brigham Young
1801-1877. Founder of the Mormon* settlement in Utah. Born in a worker's home in Whitingham, Vermont, he had little schooling, but great leadership ability. He joined Joseph Smith's* Mormons in 1832, led the group to Kirtland, Ohio, became an apostle in 1835, and chief of the Twelve Apostles in 1838. He led the Mormons from Independence, Missouri, to Nauvoo, Illinois, and thence to Salt Lake in 1847, and organized the state of Deseret. He became in 1850 governor of the Territory of Utah. He did most of the planning for the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City and founded the University of Utah.