United States National Museum. Dept. of Geology

The Department of Geology was formed during the reorganization of the United States National Museum (USNM) in 1897. At that time, the various departments in the geological and paleontological sciences became divisions and the Departmentof Geology was set up as the organizational unit controlling those divisions. The Department remained an administrative entity of the USNM until 1963 when it divided into the Departments of Mineral Sciences and Paleobiology.

Head Curators of the Department of Geology included George P. Merrill, 1897-1929; Ray S. Bassler, 1929-1948; William F. Foshag, 1948-1956; and G. Arthur Cooper, 1956-1963.