Julius Stone, born near Devil’s Lake, Michigan, on June 1, 1855, was the son of Franz Theodore Stone, a Prussian scholar who had studied at the University of Koenigsburg and assisted Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel with his mathematical and astronomical research. Julius left school at the age of 13, though he continued to read and learn. He became a telegraph operator at age 16, and later went into coal mining before becoming interested in manufacturing and banking.
Appointed as an Ohio State University Trustee in 1908, he served on several committees and was acting Treasurer from 1915 to 1925. At the end of his term, in 1925, he purchased Gibraltar Island from Laura Barney, daughter of Jay Cooke, and presented it to the University as a permanent home for the Lake Laboratory.
In his letter to the Trustees, he asked that if the island was not deemed useful at some time in the future, they sell it and endow a Chair in the University in his father’s name. The Board, however, unanimously voted to accept the gift and to change the name to Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory, in honor of Julius’ father. For the remainder of his life, Julius continued to travel and explore, leading the first expedition by boat through the Grand Canyon. Even into old age, he was full of adventure, shooting the Colorado River rapids at the age of 83 before dying in 1947.
