史丹佛大學的由來 黄重文提供

人不可貌相
                                                           
         －－史丹佛大學的由來

The ruins of Stanford Library
after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

好幾年前，哈佛的校長對人的錯誤判斷，付了很大的代價。
 一對老夫婦，女的穿著一套褪色的條紋棉布衣服，而她的丈夫則是穿著布製的便宜西裝，也沒有事先約好，就直接去拜訪哈佛的校長。校長的祕書在片刻間就斷定這兩個鄉下老土根本不可能與哈佛有業務來往。
 先生輕聲的說：「我們要見校長。」 
 祕書很不禮貌的說：「他整天都很忙。」 
 女士回答說：「沒關係，我們可以等。」 
 過了幾個鐘頭，祕書一直不理他們，希望他們知難而退，自己走開。他們一直等在那裡。祕書終於決定通知校長，「也許他們跟您講幾句話就會走開。」
 校長不耐煩的同意了，校長很有尊嚴而且心不甘情不願的面對這對夫婦。

女士告訴他：「我們有一個兒子曾經在哈佛讀過一年，他很喜歡哈佛、他在哈佛的生活很快樂。但是去年，他出了意外而死亡。我丈夫和我想要在校園裡為他立一紀念物。」
校長並沒有被感動，反而覺得可笑，粗聲地說：「夫人，我們不能為每一位曾讀過哈佛而死亡的人建立雕像的。如果我們這樣做，我們的校園看起來會像墓園一樣。」
 女士很快的說：「不是，我們不是要豎立一座雕像，我們想要捐一棟大樓給哈佛。」
 校長仔細的看了一下條紋的棉布衣服及粗布的便宜西裝，然後吐一口氣說：「你們知不知道建一棟大樓要花多少錢嗎？我們學校的建築物超過七百五十萬元。」
這時，這位女士沈默不講話了。 
 校長很高興，總算可以把他們打發了。只見這位女士轉向她丈夫說：「只要七百五十萬就可以建一座大樓？那我們為什麼不建一座大學來紀念我們的兒子？」她的丈夫點頭同意。
 而哈佛的校長覺得很混淆和困惑。

就這樣，史丹佛先生夫人(Mr.and Mrs. Leland Stanford)　離開了哈佛，到了加州，成立了史丹佛大學(Stanford　University)來紀念他們的兒子

Stanford was founded by railroad magnate and California Governor Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Stanford. It is named in honor of their only child, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died of typhoid just before his 16th birthday. They decided to dedicate a university to their only son, and Leland Stanford told his wife, "The children of California shall be our children."

There exists a popular story that a lady in "faded gingham" and a man in a "homespun threadbare suit" went to visit the president of Harvard about making a donation, were rebuffed, and then founded Stanford. ^[7] This story is untrue. The historical account is that the Senator and Mrs. Stanford visited Harvard's President Eliot and asked how much it would cost to duplicate Harvard in Palo Alto. Eliot replied that he supposed $15 million would be enough. The Stanfords were rebuffed, however, in securing a famous, Ivy League educator as Stanford's founding president. They eventually settled on David Starr Jordan, president of the Indiana University, although they had offered leaders of the Ivy League twice his salary to direct Stanford.^[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University#History