'''Karl Gottfried Maeser ''' (January 16,1828 – February 15,1901) was a prominent Utah educator and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).  He is most famous for having served 16 years as principal of Brigham Young Academy, now Brigham Young University (BYU), where he is seen as the true founder of the institution.<ref>A search of the BYU website for "Karl Maeser" generates 658 references, such as "BYU's legacy of success dates back to 1876, when Karl G. Maeser began his term as its first permanent principal" (see http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/43902)</ref>  

A Native of Saxony, Maeser served as a missionary for the church in four nations and held many leadership positions in the church, including serving as the head of the Church Educational System and in the central leadership of the Sunday school.

==Life==
Born in Meissen, Germany, Maeser attended parochial school as a boy.<ref>Burton. ''Maeser''. p. 2</ref>  By 1855 Maeser was a teacher at the Budich Institute in Dresden.  He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Dresden.  He was baptized by William Budge.  At this time all Latter-day Saints were urged to gather together in Utah.  Maeser and his family began the journey towards Utah, but in England he was called to serve as a missionary, serving both there and in Scotland, and delaying their journey to Utah.<ref>Burton, Alma P., ''Karl G. Maeser: Mormon Educator'' (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1953) p. v</ref>  Maeser then immigrated to the United States in 1856.  After coming to the United States Maeser served as a missionary in Virginia, where he also did various jobs to earn a living, including teaching music students.  Among Maeser's students in Virginia were the daughter's of former United States President John Tyler.<ref>Winder, Michael K., ''Presidents and Prophets: The Story of America's Presidents and the LDS Church''. (Salt Lake City: Covenant Communications, 2007) p. 62</ref>  Maeser arrived in Utah Territory on September 1st, 1860.

In 1860 Maeser was appointed to head the church meetings in Salt Lake City held in the German language.  However shortly after this, most of the Swiss Church members moved to Santa Clara, Utah and other locations in southern or central Utah, so the meetings in Salt Lake City were ended.  In 1870 there were again enough German speaking church members in Salt Lake City for them to hold their own church meetings, and Maeser was again the one who presided at these meetings.<ref>Jensen, Richard L., "Mother Tongue: The Use of Non-English languages in the Church in the United States, 1842-1983" in Bitton, Davis and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, ed., ''New Views of Mormon History'' (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1987) p. 277</ref>

In his early days in Utah Maeser served as the tutor for Brigham Young's children, but also instructed other children who came to the Young household for this purpose including Ellis Reynols Shipp.<ref>McCloud, Susan Evans. ''Brigham Young: A Personal Portrait'' (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 1996)</ref>

In 1876, Maeser became the second principal of Brigham Young Academy in Provo, Utah, which was later to become Brigham Young University.<ref>[http://abc.eznettools.net/D300015/X329586/History/HistoryDecades/From1869to1903.html History of BY High from 1869 to 1903<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He was the first superintendent of the Church Educational System from 1888 to 1901.

Once, during some difficult times as the school was struggling, Maeser pondered going elsewhere. He had a dream, or what he called a vision in which he saw "Temple Hill filled with buildings - great temples of learning."<ref> http://unicomm.byu.edu/about/presidents/maeser.aspx?lms=3</ref>

A moving story comes from when the old Lewis building where the academy first met burned down.  Reed Smoot, a former student of Maeser's approached him and said "Dr. Maeser, the academy is no more." Maeser responded "no such thing, the building has burned but the academy lives on in us."

For a short period of time Maeser was an assistant organist for the Mission of the church.  In 1869 Maeser began publication of a Church periodical while sering as a missionary in Switzerland. 

Maeser was married twice, first to Anna Mieth in 1854, and then in 1875 to Emilie Damke as a plural wife.

==Brigham Young Academy==
When Maeser arrived at Brigham Young Academy in 1876 it was dying.  Enrollment had declined since Warren N. Dusenberry had started the school a few months before.  There were only 29 students at the time of Maeser's arrival.<ref>Wilkinson, Ernest L. ''Speeches of The Year'' BYU 1962, p. 2</ref>

Maeser believed that "Come follow me" and not "Thou Shalt" was the best principal for teaching. <ref>[http://education.byu.edu/news/2005_features/maeser_chalkboard.html MSE :: Maeser Chalkboards Preserved<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Maeser had a profound effect on his students.  One of them, Alice Louise Reynolds wrote "He had the ability to inspire.  He made his students feel the worth of life; he told us that the Lord had sent each of us to do a special work, and that the proper preparation was necessary for that mission."<ref> http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=172; quoting They Galdly Taught. ed. Jean Anne Waterstradt {Provo: BYU, 1988) vol. 3, p. 132</ref>

Among the students who studied under Maeser were Reed Smoot, George Sutherland, William H. King<ref>Conference Report, October 1950, p. 32</ref>,Alice Louise Reynolds, William Spry<ref>1962 speechs of the Year, p. 7</ref>, Bryant S. Hinckley, and James E. Talmage.

'''Karl Gottfried Mäser''' (* Vorbrücke; † mormonischer Theologe und Pädagoge.

== Leben ==
Der Sohn eines Zeichners der Friedrichstadt und an der Kgl. Polytechnischen Schule in Dresden eine Lehrerausbildung mit Auszeichnung abgeschlossen hatte, wurde er Lehrer in Dresden, Tutor in Böhmen und stellvertretender Direktor einer Schule in Dresden-Neustadt.

1854 heiratete er Anna Mieth, 1855 ließ er sich als Mitglied der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage taufen, weswegen er seine Stellung als Oberlehrer aufgeben musste. Mäser wanderte 1856 aus und wurde missionarisch tätig. So wirkte er in London und Schottland und begab sich am 4. Juli 1857 nach Amerika, wo es ihn zunächst nach Philadelphia dann nach Virginia zog und er als Musiklehrer tätig war. 

Jedoch wollte er nach Utah, wo er am 1. September 1860 angekommen, eine Schule für Jungen und Mädchen, sowie eine Abendschule für Männer und Frauen in Salt Lake City gründete. Im Folgejahr wurde er als Leiter der Unionsakademie berufen, die er 1862 weitgehend ausbaute und dies ebenfalls bei anderen Schulen in Utah vollzog. Nachdem er auch als Hauslehrer bei Brigham Young tätig war, ging er als Leiter der Mormonischen Missionen für die Schweiz und Deutschland nach Europa zurück und war an der Herausgabe der deutschsprachigen Kirchenzeitung „Der Stern“ beteiligt. 

1870 kehrte er nach Salt Lake City zurück, war an der Gründung der allgemeinbildenden Abteilung der University of Utah beteiligt und nach der Gründung der ersten Kirchenuniversität, der Brigham Young University in Provo am 16. Oktober 1875, deren Rektor. In dieser Funktion stellte er 1894 bei der Weltausstellung in San Francisco, das Kirchen-Erziehungswesen in den Vereinigten Staaten dar. 

Ihm zum Gedenken wurde 1928 an seinem Geburtshaus, in der heutigen Meißener Zscheilaer Straße 10, eine Gedenktafel angebracht.