Although his philanthropy was not unique for the period, his generous gifts to Brigham Young University (an interest he shared with his wife, Amanda) earned him the reputation as the "patron saint" of BYU. He also gave freely to the Mormon Church and to many church-related projects, thereby revealing a kindly, religiously motivated disposition. Furthermore, his comfortable but unostentatious home in Provo, Utah, did not rival the extravagantly garish mansions built by big businessmen from San Francisco's Nob Hill to New York's Fifth Avenue. Nor did he seek high political office like mining kings George Hearst, James Fair, William Sharon, John P. Jones, Nathaniel Hill, Jerome Chaffee, Horace Tabor, William Clark, or Utah's Thomas Kearns--all of whom served in the "millionaire's club" of the United States Senate.

Essentially more sensitive and modest than most business leaders during this age of ruthless capitalism and conspicuous consumption, he probably deserved the endearing nickname of "Uncle Jesse"--a rich but giving uncle. In fact, he believed that his money was for the purpose of doing good and building up his church; he regarded the matter as a "trusted stewardship." As he once said, "The earth is the Lord's bank, and no man has a right to take money out of that bank and use it extravagantly upon himself." Few nabobs of the era would have been willing to make that statement. Although he strayed from the Mormon Church in his early years and briefly affiliated with the anti-Mormon Liberal party in Utah, one must assume that his otherwise devout faith helped prevent him from falling prey to the capitalistic corruption and self-indulgent excesses so tempting and common to the business leaders of the Gilded Age and the western mining industry. Jesse Knight might not have been the only Mormon mining magnate in Utah, but he left a mark on his church and upon the educational and industrial development of the state.

Richard H. Peterson