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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MINES — COLUMBIUM

ture, 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 separate corporation, but educationally it is part of the system of the university. Teachers' College, a professional school for teachers, is also financially a separate corporation and educationally 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 accepted by Columbia University, and may be taken without extra charge, by students of the university in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. In 191415 the university had a total of 11,876 resident students in all departments, 3,305 extension students and 1,833 special students in Teachers' 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 (177576); 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, acting (1889-90); Seth Low (1890-1901); and Nicholas Murray Butler (inaugurated 1902).

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MINES. See COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. COLUMBIAN COLLEGE. See GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THE

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COLUMBIAN FORMATION, a of gravels, sands and clays of Pleistocene Age covering the coastal plain of the Atlantic slope from New Jersey southward and typically developed in the District of Columbia. The formation in the north covers the plain up to elevations of 400 feet, and in the south up to 100 feet. It includes estuarine and delta deposits, and the fossils are recent marine and terrestrial species, indicating a very slight submergence and re-elevation of the coast. The formation may correspond to the Champlain stage of the glaciated portion of the continent. CHAMPLAIN STAGE; GLACIAL PERIOD.

COLUMBIAN UNIVERSITY. GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THE. COLUMBIAN WORLD'S FAIR. WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.

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COLUMBIDÆ, kō-lŭm'bi-de, the family of true pigeons, the typical one of the order Columbæ, of which it embraces the bulk of the known species, more than 300 belonging to this family of true pigeons and doves. Over half of them are found in the Malayan and Austro-Malayan Archipelago, and 75 in South and Central America, while all other parts of the world, except the polar regions, have their representative species in

smaller numbers. Although our native species give but a faint idea of the richness of color and other peculiarities of adornment of the tropical pigeons, the structural features are remarkably constant and well exemplified in the domestic pigeon. The bill is moderate and compressed, having at its base a soft skin in which the nostrils are placed. The feet have three divided toes before and one behind, all of which are on the same level; the tarsi scutellate. The wings are rather long and exceptionally powerful; the plumage generally compact and the feathers without aftershafts. One of the most variable features is the tail, which may be short and square or long and pointed, and its rectrices from 12 to 16. Although classed by Cuvier with the gallinaceous birds, the Columbida differ from them in structure and especially_in habits, being monogamous and good flyers. Besides they are unlike the domestic fowl which is the type of the Gallina, in that the males assist in nest-building and incubation and the young are not able to walk, and are nourished by the parent birds, which secrete in the double crop a milky fluid utilized to soften their food. Moreover the Columbida drink at a single draught. They_eat_seeds and berries, more rarely insects. See DOVE; PIGEON; etc.

COLUMBINE, a popular name for Aquilegia vulgaris or other species of the genus Aquilegia. The common columbine has drooping purplish-blue flowers with five flat sepals; five petals, with long spurs, often curved; five follicles; the root-leaves twice or thrice ternate, the others once ternate. Numerous species of the genus occur in North America. cærulea, the Rocky Mountain columbine, with very large, sky-blue flowers, the showiest plant of the genus, is the State flower of Colorado.

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COLUMBITE, a mineral of variable composition, consisting of a compound niobate (columbate) and tantalate of iron and manganese. When niobium is present in large amount relatively to the tantalum, the mineral is called "columbite," and when the reverse is the case, it is called "tantalite"; the two minerals passing into each other, in nature, by insensible gradations. Typical columbite has a hardness of 6, and a specific gravity of from 5.4 to 5.8, the specific gravity increasing with the proportion of tantalum present. The crystals are short and prismatic, often tabular and belong to the orthorhombic system. The mineral is black or brownish-black in color and is often iridescent. In the United States columbite is known to occur in most of the States lying near the Appalachian Mountain system and also in Colorado, South Dakota and California. One crystalline mass of it, found in the Black Hills region, is said to have weighed about a ton. The existence of columbite in the United States was first made known through a specimen sent by Governor Winthrop of Connecticut to Sir Hans Sloane, president of the Royal Society of Great Britain.

COLUMBIUM, a metallic element, better known as niobium. It was discovered by Hatchett in 1801 and named columbium and rediscovered by H. Ross in 1846 who named it niobium. It is found in small quantities in various minerals; but principally in columbite and tantalite. Columbium has been found in various parts of the United States, Sweden,

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Mexico and other Central and South American countries. It is a very hard metal, especially when combined with carbon, its normal condition. It was called niobium on account of its resemblance to tantalum with which it occurs. The allusion to the name is classical as Tantalus was the father of Niobe. Chemical symbol Nb; atomic weight 93.5. It is a brilliant metal of steel-gray color. Chemically it is akin to bismuth.

COLUMBO, the root of a climbing plant, Jateorrhiza columba, of the family Menispermacea, which grows in great profusion in the island of Mozambique. It is also called calumba. The root, sliced transversely into discs, is dried and used in medicine in the form of an infusion as an appetizer and tonic. It contains a bitter alkaloid, berberine, and another bitter principle, columbin. It is free from tannic acid, so, unlike most bitters, it may be mixed with the preparations of iron. It was formerly employed for diarrhoea, dysentery and gas in the bowels, being carried to India, whence it is exported.

COLUMBUS, Bartholomew (Sp. Bartolomeo Colón; It. Bartolommeo Colombo, his real name), Italian navigator, brother of Christopher Columbus: b. Genoa before 1455; d. San Domingo, 12 Aug. 1514. The events of his early years are not on record. In 1470 we find him established at Lisbon as a mariner and constructor of maps- one of those adventurous navigators whom the patronage of the Portuguese princes had drawn to their capital. About 1486 he visited the Cape of Good Hope, probably with Barthelemi Diaz. His brother sent him to England to seek the aid of Henry VII in 1488, but it appears certain that Christopher was ignorant of his fate, further than that he was captured by pirates. He did, however, attain the ear of the English monarch and presented him with a map of the world, but it does not appear that he succeeded in securing English aid. On his return to France, where he became cartographer to Anne de Bourbon (de Beaujeu), he learned that his brother had already discovered the new world and had sailed on a second voyage (1493). Hastening to the Spanish court, he was received as became the brother of the admiral. Queen Isabella sent him in command of three store ships to the new colony of Hispaniola (1494) where Christopher received him with joy and appointed him adelantado or lieutenant-governor of the Indies. In this position Bartolommeo showed great bravery and decision. He shared his brother's imprisonment, and with him was liberated on reaching Spain, where the Spanish monarchs confirmed his title and gave him the lordship of the small island of Mona near San Domingo, with 200 Indians as his personal body-guard. The fierce energy of his character, however, made them jealous of giving him too much latitude in public affairs.

COLUMBUS, Christopher (Sp. Cristóbal Colón; It. Cristoforo Colombo, his real name), Italian navigator, the discoverer of America: b. Genoa probably 1451; d. Valladolid, Spain, 20 May 1506. His father, Domenico Colombo, a poor weaver, gave him a a careful education in that trade better characterized as an industrial art or handicraft, highly regarded in Italy during the 15th century, and indeed with

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good reason esteemed long before and long after the very noble Quattrocento. (See Professor Venturi's account of the Quattrocento or 14th century, in the article ITALY - HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF ITALIAN ART). The details of his early life are confused and unsatisfactory. The date of his birth has never been definitely established; different historians range between 1430 and 1456, those most often given being 1436 and 1446. Judging from the ages of his younger brother (b. 1468) and his still younger sister, the year 1451 given above seems the most likely estimate. He is shown by documents cited by Henry Vignaud to have sailed to Chios when about 23 or 24 years of age. Again, in 1476, he sailed for England, and about one year later engaged in commerce at Lisbon. There he married Felipa Moñiz Perestrello, a daughter of a distinguished navigator who had founded a colony in Porto Santo, an island recently discovered and belonging to the Madeira group, and had left many charts and nautical instruments. Columbus made use of these materials, and his opinion that the other side of the globe contained land, belonging to eastern Asia and connected with India, which was, as yet, little known, became more and more fixed. While the Portuguese were seeking to reach India by a southeast course round Africa, he was convinced that there must be a shorter way by the west. He applied in vain to Genoa for assistance, and equally fruitless were his endeavors to interest John II of Portugal in the enterprise. He also sent letters on the subject to Henry VII of England, with the same ill success. He then determined to apply to the Spanish court, Ferdinand and Isabella being at this time the sovereigns of Spain, and after an eight years' struggle with the obstacles thrown in his way by ignorance and malice, he received three small vessels. These were named the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María; and the documents show the complement of men to have been, for the crews 90, officers and all others 30, total 120. The Capitulations of Granada provided that, after successful accomplishment and conclusion of the adventure- not before - its leader should be advanced to the dignities and offices of peer, admiral and viceroy of such regions as he should or might discover and take possession of "certain islands in the sea of whose existence Columbus knew." No reference to the Indies appears in records of the negotiations for this great voyage.

It was early in the morning of Friday, on 3 Aug. 1492, that Columbus set sail from the port of Palos. Eighteen years had elapsed since he had first conceived the idea of this enterprise. The most of that time had been passed in almost hopeless solicitation, amidst poverty, neglect and ridicule; the prime of his life wasted in the struggle. Nor should it be forgotten that it was to Isabella alone that he was finally indebted for the means of executing his project, which had been coldly rejected by the prudent Ferdinand. Having provided himself at the Canary Islands with fresh water, he sailed at first due west but later southwest into an ocean never before navigated. But when 21 days had elapsed without the sight of any land, the courage of his men began to sink. It was certain, they said, that they should perish, and their visionary commander ought to

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be forced to return. Some of them even proposed to throw him overboard; and Columbus had to exert all the powers of his daring and commanding spirit to quell the mutiny. It seems clear that his triumph in this crisis was due in part to Pinzón's able and loyal assistance. A phenomenon, which surprised even him, filled his pilots with consternation: the needle deviated a whole degree. But the sea appeared suddenly covered with grass, and again showed symptoms of shoals and rocks. Numbers of birds were also seen. Columbus sailed in the direction from which they flew. For some days the voyage was continued with revived courage, until at last the dissatisfaction of the crews began again to break out into open violence; but Columbus, after endeavoring in vain to pacify his men by promises, finally assumed a different tone, and told them it was useless to murmur; that he was determined to persevere. Fully convinced that he must be near the land, he promised a reward to the man who should first catch sight of it. On the night of 11 and 12 October Columbus himself descried a light which sometimes flickered in the distance and sometimes disappeared, and at two o'clock on the morning of the 12th a cannon shot from the Pinta announced that a sailor belonging to that vessel had sighted land. That sailor was Rodrigo de Triana.

It was the island of Guanahani, which Columbus believed to belong to eastern Asia, the Indies or India, a belief which he carried with him to his grave. Hence the mistaken names of Indians applied to the natives of America, and that of West Indies applied to the group of islands of which Guanahani forms one. On landing Columbus threw himself upon his knees and kissed the earth, returning thanks to God. The natives collected round him in silent astonishment, and his men, ashamed of their disobedience and distrust, threw themselves at his feet, begging his forgiveness. Columbus, drawing his sword, planted the royal standard, and in the name of his sovereigns took possession of the country, which, in memory of his preservation, he called San Salvador. He then received the homage of his followers, as admiral and viceroy, and representative of the sovereigns. Being informed by the natives that there was a rich gold country toward the south, Columbus directed his course toward that region, and reached Cuba on 28 October, and Española (Hispaniola, Haiti), on 6 December; but as one of his vessels was wrecked and the other separated from him, he resolved to carry the news of his success to Spain. Having built a wooden fort from the wreck of his vessel, he left in it 39 volunteers, and set out on his return, 4 Jan. 1493. The day after he left the island he met the Pinta, which had been missing. Both vessels were afterward nearly wrecked in a tremendous storm. Columbus, more interested for his discovery than for himself, wrote an account of his voyage on a piece of parchment, which he secured in a cask, and threw the whole overboard, in the hope that it might be carried ashore. He had hardly finished his work when the gale subsided. On 15 March he re-entered the port of Palos amid the acclamations of the people, the thunder of cannon and the ringing of bells. He hastened immediately to Barcelona, where the court then was, and entered the city in a triumphal pro

cession, with the productions of the newly discovered countries carried before him. A chair was placed for him next to the throne, and, seating himself, he gave an account of his discoveries. He was created a grandee, and all the marks of royal favor were lavished upon him.

On 25 Sept. 1493, he set sail from Cadiz with three large ships of heavy burden and 14 caravels, carrying 1,500 men. On 3 November he discovered the island of Dominica, and afterward Maria Galante, Guadeloupe and Porto Rico, and on the 22d arrived at Hispaniola. Finding the colony he had left destroyed, he built a fortified town, which he called, in honor of the queen, Isabella, and of which he appointed his brother Diego governor. He immediately left the island in order to make new discoveries, visited Jamaica, and returning after a voyage of five months, worn down with fatigue, found to his great joy that his brother Bartolommeo, who had escaped from his captivity, had arrived at Isabella with provisions and other supplies for the colony. Meanwhile a general dissatisfaction had broken out among his companions, who, instead of the expected treasures, had found hardships and labor. They set on foot many calumnies and gave the most unfavorable description of the country and the viceroy. Columbus thought he could not better oppose these reports than by sending considerable treasures to his sovereigns, and for this purpose collected gold from the natives, which was not done without violence and some cruelty. Aguado, a personal enemy of Columbus, was sent as commissioner to investigate the complaints against the great discoverer, who, thinking it time to vindicate himself in the presence of his sovereigns, prepared to return to Spain. Having appointed his brother Bartolommeo adelantado or lieutenant-governor, he barked for Spain in March 1496 with 225 Spaniards and 30 natives. In Spain calumny was silenced by his presence, and probably still more by his treasures. Yet his enemies were powerful enough to detain the supplies intended for the colony a whole year, and to retard the fitting out of a new expedition.

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It was not till 30 May 1498, that he sailed with six vessels on his third voyage. To man these vessels criminals had unwisely been taken -a measure which Columbus himself had advised, and which had been taken up with great satisfaction by his enemies. Three of his vessels he sent direct to Hispaniola; with the three others he took a more southerly direction, for the purpose of discovering the mainland, which information derived from the natives induced him to suppose lay to the south of his former discoveries. He visited Trinidad and the continent of America, the coasts of Paria and Cumana, and returned to Hispaniola, convinced that he had reached a continent. His colony had been removed from Isabella, according to his orders, to the other side of the island, and a new fortress erected called San Domingo. Columbus found the colony in a state of confusion. After having restored tranquillity by his prudent measures, in order to supply the deficiency of laborers he distributed the land and the inhabitants, subjecting the latter to the arbitrary will of their masters, and thus laying the foundation of that system of slavery which has lasted down to our time. His enemies, in

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