CD8 + T cells with stem cell-like properties (T SCM ) sustain adaptive immunity to intracellular pathogens and tumors. However, the developmental origins and chromatin regulatory factors (CRFs) that establish their differentiation are unclear. Using an RNA interference screen of all CRFs we discovered the histone methylase Mll1 was required during T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation for development of a T SCM precursor state and mature memory (T MEM ) cells, but not short-lived or transitory effector cell-like states, in response to viral infections and tumors. Mll1 was essential for widespread de novo deposition of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) upon TCR stimulation, which accounted for 70% of all activation-induced sites in mature T MEM cells. Mll1 promoted both H3K4me3 deposition and reduced TCR-induced Pol II pausing at genes whose single-cell transcriptional dynamics explained trajectories into nascent T SCM precursor states during viral infection. Our results suggest Mll1-dependent control of Pol II elongation and H3K4me3 establishes and maintains differentiation of CD8 + T SCM cell states.