Wikipedia Biographical Summary:

"...Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death. Young was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of the Utah Territory, United States, and is the namesake of Brigham Young University..."

"...Young was born to a farming family in Whitingham, Vermont and worked as a traveling carpenter and blacksmith, among other trades. Young first married in 1824 to Miriam Angeline Works. Though he had converted to the Methodist faith in 1823, Young was drawn to Mormonism after reading the Book of Mormon shortly after its publication in 1830. He officially joined the new church in 1832 and traveled to Upper Canada as a missionary. After his first wife died in 1832, Young joined many Mormons in establishing a community in Kirtland, Ohio. Young was ordained a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835, and he assumed a leadership role within that organization in taking Mormonism to the United Kingdom and organizing the exodus of Latter Day Saints from Missouri in 1838..."

"...Young was ordained President of the Church in December 1847..."

"...As colonizer and founder of Salt Lake City, Young was appointed the territory's first governor and superintendent of American Indian affairs by President Millard Fillmore..."

"...Young was a polygamist, marrying a total of 55 wives, 54 of them after he converted to become a Latter Day Saint. The policy was difficult for many in the church. Young stated that upon being taught about plural marriage, "It was the first time in my life that I desired the grave." By the time of his death, Young had 56 children by 16 of his wives; 46 of his children reached adulthood..."

"...Sources have varied on the number of Young's wives, due to differences in what scholars have considered to be a "wife"..."

"...Young did not live with a number of his wives or publicly hold them out as wives, which has led to confusion on the number and identities. This is in part due to the complexity of how wives were identified in the Mormon society at the time. If a woman was married and her husband died, she often married another man in proxy of her former husband..."

"...[Young died in] Salt Lake City at 4:00pm on August 29, 1877..."

"...His last words were "Joseph, Joseph..." upon anticipation of being reunited with his predecessor, Joseph Smith. On September 2, 1877, Young's funeral was held in the Tabernacle with an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 people in attendance..."

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'Brigham Young', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 April 2011, 21:14 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brigham_Young&oldid=424917973> [accessed 29 April 2011]

Additional Resources:

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/young.htm

http://www.lds.org/library/pio_sto/Pioneer_Trail/41_Brigham_Young.html

Marriages:

Records indicate that the following women were sealed/married to Brigham Young. Individuals with "Master Profiles are in bold. The sixteen who bore him children are designated by an asterisk:

1. * Miriam Works (1806-1832)
2. * Mary Ann Angell (1808-1882)
3. * Lucy Ann Decker (Seely) (1822-1890)
4. Augusta Adams (Cobb) (1802-1886)
5. * Harriet Elizabeth Cook (1824-1898)
6. * Clarissa Caroline Decker
7. * Emily Dow Partridge (Smith) (1824-1899)
8. * Clarissa Ross
9. * Louisa Beaman (Smith) (1815-1850)
10. Eliza Roxcy Snow (Smith) (1804-1887)
11. Elizabeth Fairchild (1828-1910)
12. Clarissa Blake (1796-1863)
13. Rebecca Greenlief Holman (1824-1848)
14. Diana Chase (1827-1886)
15. Susan Snively (1815-1892)
16. Olive Grey Frost (Smith) (1816-1845)
17. Mary Ann Clark (Powers) (1816-)
18. * Margaret Pierce (Whitesides) (1823-1907)
19. Mary Harvey Pierce (1821-1847)
20. * Emmeline Free (1826-1875)
21. * Mary Elizabeth Rollins (Lightner, Smith) (1818-1913)
22. * Margaret Maria Alley (1825-1852)
23. Olive Andrews (Smith) (1818-)
24. Emily Haws (Whitmarsh) (1823-)
25. Martha Bowker (1822-1890)
26. Ellen A. Rockwood (1829-1866)
27. Jemima Angell (Young)(1804-1869)
28. Abigail Marks (Works) (1781-1846)
29. Phebe Ann Morton (Angell) (1786-1854)
30. Cynthia Porter (Weston) (1783-1861)
31. Mary Eliza Nelson (Greene) (1812-1886)
32. Rhoda Richards (Smith) (1784-1879)
33. * Zina Diantha Huntington (Jacobs, Smith) (1821-1901)
34. Amy Cecilia Cooper (1804-1852)
35. Mary Ellen De La Montague (Woodward) (1805-1894)
36. Julia Foster (Hampton) (1811-1891)
37. Abigail Harback (Hall) (1790-1849)
38. Mary Ann Turley (1827-1904)
39. Naamah K. J. Carter (Twiss) (1821-1909)
40. Nancy Cressy (Walker) (1780-1871)
41. Jane Terry Tarbox Young (1819-1847)
42. * Lucy Bigelow (1830-1905)
43. Mary Jane Bigelow (1827-1868)
44. Sarah Malin (1804-1858)
45. * Eliza Burgess (1827-1915)
46. Mary Oldfield (Kelsey) (1791-1875)
47. Eliza Babcock (1828-1874)
48. Catherine Reese (Clawson) (1804-1860)
49. * Harriet Emeline Barney (Sagers) (1830-1911)
50. Harriet Amelia Folsom (1838-1910)
51. * Mary Van Cott (Cobb) (1844-1884)
52. Ann Eliza Webb (Dee) 1844-1925)
53. Elizabeth Jones (Lewis, Jones) (1814-1895)
54. Lydia Farnsworth (Mayhew) (1808-1896)
55. Hannah Tapfield (King) (1807-1886)

"...While Maria Lawrence appears on several published lists of Brigham Young’s wives, I have found no marriage record to substantiate a union between her and Brigham Young..." Deane Jessee

Additional Marriage Information:

Brigham Young had a total of 55 wives in his lifetime, although not all at the same time. He had children with 16 of his wives, and the majority of the others he never lived with and were never publically considered his 'wives' - they were mostly widows and divorcees that he had promised to take care of. At his death, he had been divorced 10 times and widowed 19 times. Although 23 wives were still living, his will mentioned only the 16 whom he had lived with. These 16 split his estate.

Brigham's first wife was Miriam Angeline Works. She died before Brigham was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church). He re-married Mary Ann Angell and joined the Church. His first polygamous marriage was 8 years later, to Lucy Ann Decker, who had been abandoned by her husband. Brigham then married Augusta Adams, who's husband had left her as well. The next wives were Harriet Elizabeth Cook and Clarissa Caroline Decker. His next wife, Emily Dow Partridge, was a widow. Clarissa Ross was next, a 30 year old spinster. Louisa Beaman and Eliza R. Snow were his next wives, also both widows. He next married Elizabeth Fairchild, who divorced him after 11 years of marriage. Clarissa Blake, Rebecca Holman, Diana Chase, and Suzanne Snively married him in October 1844. Diana divorced him only a few years later. The next three marriages were to widows: Olive Grey Frost, Mary Ann Clark, and Margaret Pierce. Mary Pierce and Emmeline Free came next, after which Brigham was sealed to Mary Elizabeth Rollins. Mary Rollins was married and living with a non-Mormon, and so was sealed to Brigham for "eternity only" meaning that she would not be considered his wife until the afterlife. In January 1846, Brigham married Margaret Alley, Olive Andrews, Emily Haws, Martha Bowker, Ellen Rockwood, Jemima Angel, Abigail Marks, Phebe Morton, Cynthia Porter, Mary Eliza Nelson, and Rhoda Richards. All but Margaret, Martha, and Ellen were widows.

Zina Diantha Huntington, a widow, came next. She was followed by Mary Ellen de la Montague (a divorcee, who was divorced from Young and re-married to her previous husband only a few months later), Julia Foster (a divorcee), Abigail Harback (a widow), Amy Cecilia Cooper (a 41 year old spinster), and Mary Ann Turley (who divorced Brigham 5 years later). Naamah Carter, a divorcee, was next, followed by Nancy Cressy and Jane Terry, both widows. Lucy Bigelow, Mary Jane Bigelow, Sarah Malin (a 43 year old spinster), and Eliza Burgess were next. Mary and Sarah divorced him after 4 years. He then married widows Mary Oldfield, Catherine Reese, Mary VanCott, and Elizabeth Jones; and divorcees Harriet Barney and Ann Eliza Webb. Ann divorced Brigham 7 years later. He married Eliza Babcock and Amelia Folsom as well. Eliza divorced him a short time later. Brigham's final two wives, Lydia Farnsworth and Hannah Tapfield, were in a similar situation as Mary Rollins. They were married and living with non-Mormon husbands, so were sealed to Brigham for 'Eternity Only'.

SOURCE: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_wives_did_Morman_leader_Brigham_Young_have