In April 1776, the Committee on Safety ordered the King’s College governors (or Trustees) to close the College in 6 days so they could turn the building into a hospital. While the library and the academic equipment were packed up and stored in City Hall, classes did continue to meet. The students were allowed to […]
Tag: 1776
1784: Columbia College en Français?
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 […]
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 […]
1776: First Fallen Alumnus
Columbia’s colonial times predecessor, King’s College, educated many of the men who helped create the new nation such as Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Robert Livingston and Gouverneur Morris. But King’s College was also the one-time-home for some who died during the conflict. Harman Rutgers was the first King’s College alumnus to fall during the Revolutionary […]