If you've been to BYU, you've seen or been in the MARB. The MARB is named for Thomas L. Martin. I knew nothing about Dr. Martin until a BYU BioAg magazine came to our home in the Spring of 2007. In it was an article about his life. His story shocked and amazed me--and inspired me. I gave it a quick paraphrasing and wanted to share the story with you.
Thomas L. Martin was born in England in 1885. He had four older siblings who had died of malnutrition because his family was so poor. His mom worked in a factory and his dad worked in the mines. A wet nurse took care of him while his mom went to work. The conditions at the wet nurse's home were horrible--his mother actually discovered maggots on his body. So she decided to stay home and take care of her baby boy.
Thomas was sick a lot. So sick, in fact, that he didn't walk until he was almost 6 years old. When he did walk he was very bowlegged and walked very low to the ground. He only ever reached a stature of 5 feet tall.
He struggled in school and after 3rd grade his schoolmaster called him "hopeless." He dropped out of school after 5th grade so he could work in the mines. His family was struggling to earn money so they could emigrate to Utah (they had converted to the LDS faith a few years before). The mine supervisor told him to go back to school--he wasn't big enough to work in the mines. Thomas was determined, though, and told the supervisor that he was a Mormon earning money to go to Utah. The supervisor let him stay.
In 1902, at 16 years old Thomas made it to Provo. He worked for another 3 years so that his parents and siblings could join him in Utah. At 19, despite deep financial strain, he went back to school--entering the 7th grade.
He graduated valedictorian of his 1912 class of BYU. His wife (another student at BYU) encouraged him to continue to pursue his dream of a PhD, saying, "We have sacrificed too much to give up on this PhD idea." He graduated with his PhD from Cornell in 1919.
He taught at BYU for 37 years and mentored many students along the way, encouraging many to go on to earn their PhD's.
The original article can be found here:
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