Columbia University

History Timeline

• 1754 — King's College founded by royal charter of King George II — the first college in New York
• 1767 — Columbia awards the first medical degree in the American colonies
• 1784 — Reorganized as Columbia College after American independence
• 1896 — Renamed Columbia University, moves to current Morningside Heights campus
• 1940s — Manhattan Project research conducted at Columbia (Enrico Fermi, I.I. Rabi)
• 1952 — First successful FM radio broadcast from Columbia engineering
• 1968 — Student protests over Vietnam War and gym construction in Morningside Park — iconic moment in American student activism
• 2000s — Manhattanville campus expansion in West Harlem
• 2020s — Major campus protests and debates over academic freedom and international politics

Academics & Research

• Nobel Laureates: 130+ affiliates (students, faculty, researchers) — among the highest of any university
• Pulitzer Prizes: The Pulitzer Prize is administered by Columbia — the university has more affiliated winners than any other institution
• Key Schools: Columbia Law School (T14), Columbia Business School (M7), Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Graduate School of Journalism
• Research Spending: $1.2+ billion annually — top 5 among US universities
• Libraries: 15+ million volumes across 20+ libraries — one of the largest academic library systems in the US

Key Data

• Endowment: $14+ billion (2024)
• Acceptance Rate: ~3.7% (undergraduate) — among the most selective in the world
• Students: ~9,000 undergraduates, ~25,000 graduate students
• Campus: 299 acres in Morningside Heights, Manhattan
• Notable Alumni: Alexander Hamilton, Barack Obama, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Warren Buffett

Interesting Facts

• The Pulitzer Prize was established by Joseph Pulitzer's 1904 will and is administered by Columbia University — the prize jury meets on Columbia's campus every year to select winners
• Columbia's Low Memorial Library, designed by Charles McKim, was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome — it was originally intended to be the university's main library but now serves as the administrative heart of the campus