Franklin Lorenzo Richards West (February 1, 1885 – October 21, 1966) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 educator and a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS Church).

Born and raised in Ogden

Ogden, Utah

Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...

, Utah Territory

Utah Territory

The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....

, he earned a B.S. from the Utah Agricultural College in 1904 and a Ph.D from the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 in 1911. West was a professor of physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 at the Utah Agricultural College, which is today Utah State University

Utah State University

Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....

. For 28 years he was the dean of faculty at the school.

From 1935 to 1937, West was the second assistant to Albert E. Bowen

Albert E. Bowen

Albert Ernest Bowen was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....

, the head of the LDS Church's Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. In 1936, he became the eighth Commissioner of Church Education, a position he held until he retired in 1953.

West was the author of five books, including three manuals for the Church Educational System

Church Educational System

The Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students and adult learners...

 and a biography of his maternal grandfather, LDS Church apostle Franklin D. Richards. West was also the grandson of Chauncey W. West

Chauncey W. West

Chauncey Walker West was a Mormon pioneer and was a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah Territory. He was among the first Mormon missionaries to preach in Sri Lanka....

, a Mormon pioneer

Mormon Pioneer

The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...

 and prominent leader of the LDS Church in Weber County, Utah

Weber County, Utah

Weber County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a stretch of the Wasatch Front, part of the eastern shores of Great Salt Lake, and much of the rugged Wasatch Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the population was 196,533, an increase of 24.1% over its population in 1990. By...

 for which he also wrote a biography.

West was married to Gladys Spencer, August 19, 1904 a grand-daughter of Brigham Young

Brigham Young

Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

 and a member of the prominent Thatcher Young family of Logan, Utah

Logan, Utah

-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...

. Children: Gladys Virginia and Marjorie. They later divorced and West married Violet Madsen, February 12, 1920 of Ogden, Utah. After Violet Madsen's death, he married Mrs. Sarah Frances Nelson Malmborg who surived him.