the library was named for j. henry meyer (1855–1921), a wealthy california businessman who was an early supporter of stanford, particularly the stanford libraries. he was born in sacramento and settled in san francisco. he was a banker and an important influence on the development of the street railway systems in san francisco and los angeles. he helped underwrite the establishment of stanford's lane medical library, and in 1916 he created a stanford endowment fund to collect important western historical manuscripts. two of his three children graduated from stanford, and they continued his tradition of supporting the university. their support, together with a grant from the u.s. office of education, made the undergraduate library possible, and it was named in their father's honor.