President Joseph M. Tanner papers, 1896

Joseph Marion Tanner was born around 1859 to Myron and Mary Jane Mount Tanner. He attended Brigham Young University and Harvard University. Tanner was a member of what is now known as the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-day Saints and served religious missions to Germany and Turkey. As a polygamist, Tanner had four wives, Annie Clark, Josephine Snow, Carrie Peterson, and Lydia Holmgren and 19 children.

Tanner was involved in much of early Utah education and held various positions. Notably he served as President of the Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah and was the third President of Utah State University (formerly known as the Agricultural College of Utah). He was also the first supreme court reporter from Utah.

Later in his life, Tanner was involved in a Farming project in Alberta, Canada. He died August 1927.