In the 1880s, students in the School of Mines (now Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science) had chemistry requirements in their first two years. One doesn’t usually think about what that may have entailed in the 19th century, but apparently it often included purchasing a large wooden box of standard chemicals and tools […]
Tag: Columbia University
The Name Columbia College
Every year on October 31, Columbia College celebrates Charter Day, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the College’s charter. This is the anniversary of the original royal charter of 1754, but not of the current charter which has been in place since April 13, 1787. But in between those two, there was the little-remembered, […]
When the King Became a Doctor
On May 19, 1999, the King of Latin Music Tito Puente became Doctor Puente. During the Commencement ceremony, Ernest Anthony “Tito” Puente, Jr. was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Music. The Harlem-born conductor had delighted audiences for decades, but on this day, Columbia also recognized his support for future Latino musicians with the […]
New Acquisition: IBM/ROLM Phone Commemorative Jacket
The University Archives gets plenty of offers of historical materials – some that we want and some that we are not so interested in obtaining. And sometimes, there is something totally unique that we are incredibly excited to add to our collections. This was the case when we received an email this past summer from […]
When Diego and Frida Came to Columbia
In the spring of 1933, Diego Rivera was working on a mural commissioned by the Rockefellers for their new RCA Building (now known as Rockefeller Center). Donald Henderson CC 1925, MA 1926, was a politically active economics instructor at Columbia. In one week in May 1933 both found themselves targeted for their political beliefs. […]