Warren N. Dusenberry

Warren N. Dusenberry is considered the founder and first principal of Brigham Young Academy.

Dusenberry was born in White Haven, Pennsylvania, on November 1, 1836. Around the age of 4, he moved with his family to Pike County, Illinois, which was located near Nauvoo. In 1846, his mother converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, his father did not join the Church, and the family subsequently did not immigrate with the Saints to Utah Territory. In 1860, after briefly visiting an uncle in Provo, Utah, the family moved to California.

He attending Vacaville College (a Methodist high school) until 1862, then moved to Provo with his brother Wilson, his mother, and two sisters. In Provo, the Dusenberry brothers established the first Dusenberry School. They offered the standard curriculum, as well as classes in drama, music, and dancing. Their first school, however, encountered financial difficulties and closed after spring term in 1865. They established their second school in 1869, which was reorganized a year later as a branch of the University of Deseret. Again, financial difficulties closed the school in 1875.

Brigham Young Academy opened in 1875 with Warren Dusenberry as principal. He directed the school for one semester—December 1875 to April 1876—before stepping down to pursue other projects. Karl G. Maeser became his successor.

He owned a general store, served as a county tax assessor, attended law school, and became a lawyer. He also served as county judge of Utah County and later mayor of Provo.

Dusenberry was baptized on July 25, 1864, and served a mission to the Southern States. He was reassigned a year later and helped in the immigration office in Boston where he helped members of the Church of Jesus Christ prepare to come west.

He died on March 31, 1915, in San Francisco, California. He married Adelaide Elizabeth Webb on June 18, 1865.