Geology was formally established at LSU during the period from 1892-1898 and designated the Department of Geology, Mineralogy and Botany. By 1922, the Department had been renamed the Department of Geology. That year, the arrival of a young Ph.D. from Stanford University, Henry V. Howe, marked the beginning of what would become a comprehensive program of teaching and research in the earth sciences at LSU. Dr. Howe came with a mandate from Governor John M. Parker to build a department "to train Louisiana boys for the oil industry."