History
The BGN was established in 1890 as the "Board on Geographical Names" and has undergone several name changes. In 1934, it was transferred to the Department of the Interior. The 1969 BGN publication Decisions on Geographic Names in the United States stated the agency's chief purpose as:
" submitted for decisions to the Board on Geographical names by individuals, private organizations, or government agencies. It is the Board’s responsibility to render formal decisions on new names, proposed changes in names, and names which are in conflict. define the spellings and applications of the names for use on maps and other publications of Federal agencies"
Read more about this topic: United States Board On Geographic Names
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