On May 1, 1784, a New York State statute declared “that the College within the City of New York heretofore called King’s College be forever hereafter called and known by the name of Columbia College.” On May 5, 1784, the new board of Regents (or Trustees) made its first faculty appointment. They ordered “that a […]
Research in the Archives | Elizabeth McCall on archival housing
This is a guest post by RBML researcher Elizabeth McCall, who visited the archives this spring as part of her project on archival housing. Archival Layers of Keeping In preparing a project related to archival housing, I have been spending time in the reading rooms of Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library. My broader project […]
Research in the Archives | Helen Witty’s food writing
The RBML holds the papers of Helen Witty, a noted food writer and cookbook author. This piece from the online journal, The Recipes Project, highlights one of Witty’s unpublished projects… RECIPE FOR AN UNFINISHED BOOK: HELEN WITTY’s AMERICA PRESERVED Yield: One comprehensive book on sweet preserving, “complete enough to be the last word for the next 50 […]
1776: Battle of Harlem Heights
Is it true that the Battle of Harlem Heights was fought on the current Columbia campus? Yes, on September 16, 1776, General George Washington’s troops met with the British forces in what is now known as Morningside Heights. In fact, the heaviest fighting of the day took place in a buckwheat field by what is […]
Lost and Found: The King’s College Seal
The Columbia University seal is based on a design by the first president of King’s College, Samuel Johnson. In fact, the main difference between the original and the current seal is the name of the institution. Did you know that the original engraving of the seal was lost for over 120 years? […]