31 Facts About Benjamin Cluff

Benjamin Cluff was a native of Provo and was born to Benjamin Sr.

Benjamin Cluff later lived in Coalville, Utah with his uncle where he became the city librarian at age 17 because of his love of reading.

Benjamin Cluff then went on a 3-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Hawaiian Islands in 1879.

Benjamin Cluff helped the fire brigade in Provo when the Lewis Building, which was the original location of Brigham Young Academy, caught on fire.

Benjamin Cluff worked closely with professors in the fields of astronomy and engineering, and became good friends with James Burrill Angell, president of the university.

Benjamin Cluff received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in 1890.

Benjamin Cluff served as president of the Ann Arbor Branch of the LDS church while there.

At the time he left for the University of Michigan, Benjamin Cluff had two wives, Mary the daughter of David John and Harriet "Hattie" Cullimore.

When Karl G Maeser, the acting principal of the academy, returned from an extended trip, he found that many of the affairs of the academy, especially financial affairs, were in disarray and because of Maeser's reaction, Cluff resigned as assistant principal.

Many worried that this would affect the academy by taking away some of its most prestigious teachers, including Benjamin Cluff who had been offered a position there.

Fortunately for the academy, Benjamin Cluff did not go to the LDS College.

One provision that Benjamin Cluff feared was the restriction of church schools other than the new Church University to give degrees to their students.

In 1893, Cluff went back to the University of Michigan to work on a master's degree and left George H Brimhall as acting president.

Benjamin Cluff kept his teachings well within the LDS world, and adhered to classical education standards.

Benjamin Cluff believed that the world outside Mormonism had a lot to offer the school.

Benjamin Cluff often referred to his time as administrator of the academy as the "New Epoch" because of his commitment to academic excellence and his motto, "learn to do by doing".

Benjamin Cluff, however began implementing several changes to the school according to his experiences at Michigan.

Benjamin Cluff began separation of the college from the high school, giving older students access to higher level materials.

The Collegiate Department of Brigham Young Academy was officially established in 1896 and was an extension of the college-level courses that Benjamin Cluff had been teaching since becoming principal.

Benjamin Cluff introduced an athletics program, which included baseball, football, and track and field.

Benjamin Cluff extended the length of class from thirty minutes to one hour blocks.

Around 1894, Benjamin Cluff was finding it increasingly difficult to find qualified teachers who were willing to take the salary that the academy was able to offer them.

That same year, Benjamin Cluff was able to hire a handful of non-Mormon teachers after much resistance from Maeser and Brigham Young Jr.

In 1899, Benjamin Cluff outlined his proposal to take Academy students on an expedition to ancient Book of Mormon ruins and complete other related historical studies in Central and South America.

Benjamin Cluff had to select the men who would accompany him, getting needed funding, and better organize the studies that would take place during the expedition.

The expedition stopped in Thatcher Arizona for a month while Benjamin Cluff went to visit Florence Reynolds, who was a teacher at the Juarez Academy in the Mormon Colonies in Mexico and would become Benjamin Cluff's second wife.

Benjamin Cluff met with Cluff and expressed the concern of church leadership and recommended the termination of the trip.

Today, the Benjamin Cluff Building on BYU's Provo campus is named for him.

Benjamin Cluff worked with mahogany and shipped some lumber to California which caused him to decide to move his family to California, where he opened a grocery store and gas station.

Benjamin Cluff died on June 14,1948, at the age of 90.

Benjamin Cluff was husband to three wives and fathered 25 children.