Stanfordwasfoundedin1885bytheformerGovernorofCaliforniaandfutureU.S.SenatorLelandStanfordandhiswife,JaneLathropStanford,asamemorialtotheironlyson,LelandStanfordJr.,whodiedoftyphoidinEuropeafewweeksbeforehis16thbirthday.TheStanfordsusedtheirfarmlandstocreatetheuniversity,andhopedtoestablishamajorresearchuniversityintheWest,thefirstofitskind.Inaddition,theuniversitywasestablishedasaco-educationalinstitution,enrollingbothmaleandfemalestudents.

　　StanfordUniversityenrollsabout6,700undergraduatesfromallovertheUnitedStatesandtheworld,aswellasabout8,000graduatestudents.Thereareapproximatelyover160,000livingStanfordalumni,bothundergraduateandgraduate.[6]Therearealso18NobelPrizelaureatesaffiliatedwithStanford.TheUniversity,becauseofitscloselocationtoSiliconValley,offersstrongprogramsinbusinessmanagementandengineering;manyStanfordalumnihavefoundedcompaniesassociatedwithtechnology,suchasHP,SunMicrosystemsandGoogle.Itisalsoknownasahighlyselectiveschool,withcompetitiveadmissionscycles.Itiscurrentlyranked4thamongnationaluniversitiesbyU.S.NewsandWorldReport.