Columbia University

Columbia University, officially Columbia University in the City of New York, is a private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as '''King's College''' on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it is the oldest institution of higher education in New York and the fifth-oldest in the United States.

Columbia was established as a colonial college by royal charter under George II of Great Britain. It was renamed Columbia College in 1784 following the American Revolution, and in 1787 was placed under a private board of trustees headed by former students Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In 1896, the campus was moved to its current location in Morningside Heights and renamed Columbia University.

Columbia is organized into twenty schools, including four undergraduate schools and 16 graduate schools. The university's research efforts include the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and accelerator laboratories with Big Tech firms such as Amazon and IBM. Columbia is a founding member of the Association of American Universities and was the first school in the United States to grant the MD degree. The university also administers and annually awards the Pulitzer Prize.

Columbia scientists and scholars have played a pivotal role in scientific breakthroughs including brain–computer interface; the laser and maser; nuclear magnetic resonance; the first nuclear pile; the first nuclear fission reaction in the Americas; the first evidence for plate tectonics and continental drift; and much of the initial research and planning for the Manhattan Project during World War II.

, its alumni, faculty, and staff have included seven of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America; John Jay, Robert R. Livingston, Egbert Benson, and Gouverneur Morris. Additionally, Founding Fathers George Clinton and William Samuel Johnson served as presidents of the university.}} four U.S. presidents; 34 foreign heads of state or government; Kassim al-Rimawi (Jordan, 1980), Giuliano Amato (Italy, 1992–1993 and 2000–2001), Hafizullah Amin (Afghanistan, 1979), Nahas Angula (Namibia, 2005–12), Marek Belka (Poland, 2004–05), Chen Gongbo (China, 1944–45), Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (Poland, 1996–97), Gaston Eyskens (Belgium, 1949–50, 1958–61 and 1968–73), Mark Eyskens (Belgium, 1981), Ashraf Ghani (Afghanistan, 2014–21), José Ramos-Horta (East Timor, 2007–12 and 2022– ), Toomas Hendrik Ilves (Estonia, 2006–16), Wellington Koo (China 1926–27), Lee Huan (Taiwan, 1989–90), Benjamin Mkapa (Tanzania, 1995–2005), Mohammad Musa Shafiq (Afghanistan, 1972–73), Nwafor Orizu (Nigeria, 1965–6), Santiago Peña (Paraguay, 2023–present), Mikheil Saakashvili (Georgia, 2004–13), Juan Bautista Sacasa (Nicaragua, 1933–36), Salim Ahmed Salim (Tanzania, 1984–85), Ernesto Samper (Colombia, 1994–98), T. V. Soong (China, 1945–47), Sun Fo (China, 1932; Taiwan, 1948–49), C. R. Swart (South Africa, 1959–67), Tang Shaoyi (China, 1912), Abdul Zahir (Afghanistan, 1971–72), and Zhou Ziqi (China, 1922). Faculty and fellows include Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil, 1995–2002), Alfred Gusenbauer (Austria, 2007–2008), Václav Havel (Czechoslovakia, 1989–1992; Czech Republic, 1993–2003), Lucas Papademos (Greece, 2011–2012), Mary Robinson (Ireland, 1990–1997).}} two secretaries-general of the United Nations; Kofi Annan was a global fellow at SIPA from 2009 to 2018.|group=n}} ten justices of the United States Supreme Court; 103 Nobel laureates; 125 National Academy of Sciences members; 53 living billionaires; 23 Olympic medalists; 33 Academy Award winners; and 125 Pulitzer Prize recipients. Provided by Wikipedia