Portal:Utah/Selected biography/3
Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the first governor of the Utah Territory.
After the killing of Joseph Smith, Young became the de facto president of the church at Nauvoo, Illinois. Repeated conflict led Young to relocate his group of Latter-day Saints to a territory in what is now Utah; then part of Mexico. Young organized the journey that would take the faithful to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, in 1846, then to Utah's Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, a date now recognized as a Utah state holiday and known as Pioneer Day.
Shortly after the new Mormon colonies were brought into the United States through Mexican Cession, Young petitioned the U.S. Congress to create the State of Deseret. The Compromise of 1850 instead carved out Utah Territory, and Young was installed as governor. He was replaced as governor after the Utah War.