Groundbreaking for the Monsanto Laboratory of the Life Sciences took place in 1965.
The building was designed by Murphy and Mackey — the same firm that designed Olin Library. The Monsanto Laboratory was constructed to fulfill the needs of the growing biology program.
The Monsanto Corporation
The building was named for the Monsanto Corporation, now Bayer, and was the first building on the Washington University in St. Louis Danforth Campus to be named after a corporate body.
Bayer Crop Science division has a global footprint that spans nearly every country. Monsanto Corporation was for many years a major supporter of research in the sciences at Washington University through such measures as the Washington University/Monsanto Biomedical Research Agreement, which brought more than $100 million of research funding to the university.