COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, a seat of learning in New York. The idea of establish ing a college in New York was more than 50 years in contemplation before it was carried into effect. In 1746 provision was made by law for raising money by public lotteries. Five years later the proceeds of these lotteries amounted to about $1,700 and were given to trustees. The fact that two-thirds of these trustees were in communion with the Church of England and that some of them were ves trymen of Trinity Church excited opposition to the proposal as a scheme to strengthen the Established Church and delayed the procure ment of a royal charter. Friends of the enter prise proceeded, however, with the arrange ment for opening the college-and elected for their first president the Rev. Dr. Samuel John son of Stratford, Conn., who assumed the office 17 July 1754, in the schoolhouse belonging to Trinity Church. There was a class of eight students.
The cosmopolitan character of the governing body of the college is due to its charter. To meet the objections that had been made, it was so drawn. as to include in its board of gover nors, besides other ex officio representaiives, not only the rector of Trinity Church, but the senior minister of the Reformed Protestant Dutch, Ancient Lutheran, French and Presby terian churches. It is probably due to this cir cumstance that Columbia almost alone of all the pre-Revolutionary colleges in the United States has never had a theological faculty connected with it. The trustees, at present, are members of the Episcopal Church, and also of the Re formed, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches, showing that this cosmopolitan char acter has never been lost. A prominent He brew rabbi was at one time a member of its councils.
The charter of King's College, the original name of Columbia, was granted by George II, and finally passed the seals on 31 Oct. 1754, from which day the college dates its existence. It received from Trinity Church, according to a promise previously given, a portion of a grant of land known as athe King's Farm," upon the site of which its first building was erected. It was stipulated in the royal charter that its president should be a communicant of the Episcopal Church and that proper selec tions from the liturgy of that church should he used in the religious services of the college. This caused much angry controversy. and after the Revolution it was stricken out of the char ter, but remains as the condition of the deed of gift from Trinity Church. King's College played a conspicuous part in securing and con firming the independence of the United States. The Revolutionary War caused a suspension of the activities of the college, and in 1776 the college building was used as a military hospital. After eight years the college work was resumed by act of the legislature, 1 May 1784, under the name of Columbia College.
On 13 April 1787 the legislature revived the original charter with amendments, which abolished ex officio membership of its govern ing body, canceled the requirement that the president should hold a certain form of re ligious belief or that a certain form of prayer should be used in the services of the college, and named a body of 29 trustees, which, when. reduced to 24 members, was tnade a self-per petuating body, under which government the college has remained. The medical faculty was organized in 1792 and a professorship of law was established in 1793.
The original site of the college wa.s in what became later the block bounded by College Place, Barclay, Church and Murray streets. In 1857 the college was moved to 49th and 50th streets and Madison avenue, where it remained until 1897. In 1892, for $2,000,000, purchase was made of 17% acres of land lying between 116th and 120th streets, Amsterdam avenue and the boulevard. Here in 1897 the college was
reorganized on the basis of a university.
Columbia University, in a technical sense, consists of the faculty of law, the first professor of which (1792), James Kent, during the period of his second appointment in 1823 delivered the courses of lectures which developed into the first two volumes of his famous (Commenta ries' ; the faculties of medicine; philosophy, po litical science; pure science and applied science. The College of Physicians and Surgeons, the outcome of the medical faculty, established in King's College in 1767, became in June 1860 the Medical College of Columbia. In 1891 it surrendered its separate charter and became an integral part of Columbia College. A peculiar ity of the Columbia organization is the system by which seniors in Columbia College, who have entered the college not later than the beginning of the junior year, are allowed to select part or all of the courses necessary for the bachelor's degree from among those designated by the university faculties, professional or non-profes sional, as open to them. The object of this arrangement is to shorten the time necessary to the attainment of the higher, particularly of the professional, degrees. The degree of master of laws is conferred for advanced work in law done under the faculties of law and political science together. The faculties of law, medi cine and applied science conduct respectively the schools of law, medicine and mines, chem istry, engineering and architecture, to which students are admitted as candidates for profes sional degrees on terms prescribed by the fac ulties concerned. The school of mines was due to the exertions of Thomas Egleston, who was made professor of mineralogy and metallurgy in 1864, and who opened the school of mines the same year in the basement of the old col lege building in 49th street. There is also the school of chemistry, engineering and architec tune, set off from the school of mines in 1896. Out of the school of mines grew the school of pure science, established in 1892. In 1912 a school of journalism was established and in 1916 a school of business. Under President Barnard's influence, in April 1889, the trustees gave their official approval to the plan for founding Barnard College for women studying for Columbia degrees. It is financially a sepa rate corporation, but educationally it is part of the system of the university. Teachers' Col lege, a professional school for teachers, is also financially a separate corporation and educa tionally a part of the university. It was founded in 1888, chartered in 1889 and included in the university in 1898. (See COLLEGES FOR TEACHERS). Some of these courses are ac cepted by Columbia University, and may be taken without extra charge, by students of the university in partial fulfilment of the require ments for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Mas ter of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. In 1914 15 the university had a total of 11,876 resident students in all departments, 3,305 extension students and 1,833 special students in Teach ers' College, and its library comprised 550,000 bound volumes. The library building is a gift from ex-President Low, and cost over $1,000,000.
The Presidents of the University have been: Samuel Johnson (1754-63) ; Myles Cooper (1763-75); the Rev. Benjamin Moore (1775 76) ; William S. Johnson (1787-1800) ; Charles H. Wharton (1801) ; the Rt. Rev. Benjamin M. Moore (1801-11) ; William Harris (1811-29) ; William A. Duer (1829-42) ; Nathaniel Moore (1842-49) ; Charles King (1849-64) ; Frederick A. P. Barnard (1864-89) ; Henry Drisler, act ing (1889-90) ; Seth Low (1890-1901) ; and Nicholas Murray Butler (inaugurated 1902).