Donald Bertrand Tresidder was the fourth president of Stanford University, serving from 1943 until his sudden death in 1948.
14 Facts About Donald Tresidder
2.
Donald Tresidder had a longtime association with Yosemite National Park.
3.
Son of John Treloar Tresidder, Tresidder was born in Tipton, Indiana.
4.
On that visit to Yosemite, Donald Tresidder met his future wife Mary Curry, daughter of David and Jennie Curry, the owners of Camp Curry.
5.
Donald Tresidder spent his summers working in Yosemite as a porter and other odd jobs, and was briefly fired for taking his future wife rock climbing up the back side of Half Dome.
6.
For many years, Donald Tresidder played the role of the Squire at the Bracebridge Dinner, a lavish Christmas feast which was held every Christmas Day at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite.
7.
In 1929 Donald Tresidder asked photographer Ansel Adams to take over as director of the Dinner, which Adams agreed to do.
8.
Donald Tresidder served as president of Stanford from 1943 until 1948 and brought the school through the difficult years of World War II.
9.
Donald Tresidder often said that his main job at Stanford was fundraising for the school.
10.
Donald Tresidder set up a professional fundraising organization and streamlined administrative and accounting practices.
11.
Donald Tresidder established a scholarship program and upgraded the music program to a full department.
12.
Donald Tresidder abolished the sorority system on campus in 1944, after female students voted to support the move, saying there was "serious disunity" between women who pledged sororities and women who lived in dormitories.
13.
The organization's first director, William F Talbot, was initially instructed by Tresidder to avoid work that would conflict with the university's interests, particularly federal contracts that might attract political pressure.
14.
Donald Tresidder died of a heart attack at The St Regis Hotel in New York City on January 28,1948, while on University business.