Columbia University was founded in 1754 as King’s College by royal charter of King George II of England. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United States.
In July 1754, Samuel Johnson held the first classes in a new schoolhouse adjoining Trinity Church, located on what is now lower Broadway in Manhattan. There were eight students in the class. At King’s College, the future leaders of colonial society could receive an education designed to “enlarge the Mind, improve the Understanding, polish the whole Man, and qualify them to support the brightest Characters in all the elevated stations in life.”
The American Revolution brought the growth of the college to a halt, forcing a suspension of instruction in 1776 that lasted for eight years,The college reopened in 1784 with a new name—Columbia—that embodied the patriotic fervor that had inspired the nation’s quest for independence.
Read more at Columbia’s official webpage and at New York Architecture.
Columbia is a private Ivy League University located in Upper Manhattan, New York City. In 2015 The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2015 placed Columbia in 10th place.
The Pulitzer Prizes, established and endowed by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism founder Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911), are American awards regarded as the highest national honour in print journalism, literary achievements and musical composition.
You may find the following article interesting: 200th Anniversary of Columbia University Issue.
Viewsof Columbia University at Broadway and West 116th Street. Source: Forgotten New York