Joseph Thomas Kingsbury was born on November 4, 1853 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...

. He served as president of the University of Deseret, now known as the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

, from 1892 to 1894. In 1894 he was replaced by James E. Talmage

James E. Talmage

James Edward Talmage born in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1911 until his death in 1933....

, but was once again appointed president in 1897.
He held that position until he resigned because of a campus controversy in 1916.

Biography

As early as 1888 Kingsbury had been on the faculty of what was then the University of Deseret, with assignments to teach physics, chemistry, mineralogy, geology, geography and civil government.

Kingsbury for a time was connected with the anti-Mormon

Anti-Mormon

Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed at members of the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

 Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Utah)

The Liberal Party, like the People's Party, flourished in Utah Territory as a local political party in the latter half of the 19th century—before Democrats and Republicans established themselves in Utah in the early 1890s....

 in Utah.

However in 1915 a major incident occurred at the University of Utah that caused the anti-Mormon and anti-Kingsbury elements on the board to align. After a speech in which a faculty member criticized Utah governor William Spry

William Spry

William Spry was an American politician and the third Governor of Utah.Spry was born at Windsor, Berkshire, England. He emigrated to Utah Territory with his parents at the age of eleven....

, Kingsbury decided to make Osborne J. P. Widtsoe

Osborne J. P. Widtsoe

Osborne John Peder Widtsoe was principal of the Latter-day Saints University in Salt Lake City, Utah and a professor of English at the University of Utah. He was also the first missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve in Rarotonga,-Biography:Widtsoe was born in...

the head of the English department at the University. In response to this 14 members of the faculty resigned.