Baltzar Hans Jacobson papers, 1883-1996

Baltzar Hans (B.H.) Jacobson (1879-1930) was born as Philo John Smith in Harrisville, Wisconsin on 17 December 1879. When his mother died in 1884, young Baltzar was sent to live with his grandparents, who changed his name. The family eventually settled on a small farm in Millcreek, Utah. Until the age of 13 when he first entered public school, B.H. was educated at home in Danish, his first language. He entered the University of Utah, Normal School in 1894 and graduated in 1897. From this point until recieving his B.A. in 1901, he studied intermittently while working as a teacher and administrator in the towns of Woodruff and Snowflake, Arizona. After his graduation, he proceeded to teach an additional two years in Moab, Utah before returning once more the the University of Utah to prepare for Rhodes Scholar candidacy.

In 1904, he became the first Rhodes Scholar from Utah and studied foreign languages at Oxford University from 1904-1907. Upon graduating, he returned to Utah and married Sarah Rebecca Stay on 28 November 1907. He was a Seventy and an active participant in the teacher training program in his Latter-day Saint congregation. He taught foreign language classes and religion classes at the L.D.S. College from 1907 to 1930. Jacobson was a prolific language learner, and when he died on 17 October 1930, he spoke sixteen languages fluently.