View source for Heraldry of Columbia University

{{Short description|Seal and coat of arms of Columbia University}}
[[File:Columbia University bookplate.png|thumb|A [[bookplate]] displaying the [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] of Columbia University]]
[[Columbia University]] represents itself using several symbols, including a university [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] and a [[coat of arms]]. The seal was first adopted in 1755, shortly after the university's founding, and with few variations continues to be used today. The coat of arms was adopted by the university in 1949. Additionally, the individual schools of Columbia possess their own logos, most of which contain some variant of the King's Crown symbol. Exceptions to this rule include the [[Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons|College of Physicians and Surgeons]], which in addition to a logo adopted a variant of the university seal, and the [[Columbia University School of General Studies|School of General Studies]], which inaugurated its own coat of arms in 1950 based on the Columbia arms.

The King's Crown is one of the most popular and pervasive symbols of the university, and it is currently used as the school's official logo. It traces its roots back to a copper crown that once surmounted Columbia's first building, and since the early 20th century, it has become a frequent design motif on campus and closely tied to the university's identity. It is incorporated into the logos of most of the university's individual schools, with the exception of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the School of General Studies, [[Columbia Business School]], and the [[Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences|Graduate School of Arts and Sciences]].

== University seal ==
[[File:ColumbiaSeal.png|thumb|The seal of Columbia University]]

=== Description ===
The seal was described in its adoption as follows:<blockquote>

The College is represented by a Lady sitting in a Throne or Chair of State, with Severall Children at her Knees to represent the Pupils, with I Peter II., 1, 2, &c., under them to express the Temper with which they should apply Themselves to seek for True Wisdom... One of the [New-born Babes] She takes by the hand with her left hand expressing her benevolent design of Conducting them to true Wisdom and Virtue. To which purpose She holds open to the a Book in her right hand in which is [in] Greek letters "{{smallcaps|λόγια ζῶντα}}", the living or lively Oracles, which is the Epithet that St. Stephen gives to the Holy scriptures—Acts. 7:38. Out of her Mouth over her left Shoulder goes a Label with these words in Hebrew Letters {{smallcaps|[[Psalm 27|ori-el]]}} [אוּרִיאֵל], God is my light; alluding to Ps. 27:1. expressing her Acknowledgment of God the Father of Lights, as the Fountain of all that Light, both Natural and Revealed with which She proposes to enlighten or instruct her Children or Pupils; whereof the Sun rising under the Label is the Emblem or Hieroglyphic, alluding to that expression Mal. IV, 2., The Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in his Wings. Over her head is [[Jehovah]] [יהוה] in a [[Glory (religion)|Glory]], the Beams coming triangularly to a Point near her head, with these words around her for her motto, In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen—In thy light shall we see light Ps. 36:9. On the Edge around are engraved in Capitals, Sigillum Collegii Reg. Nov. Ebor. in America—The Seal of King's College at New York in America.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sherwood|first=Sidney|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hVkJIqTKFSYC&dq=The+College+is+represented+by+a+Lady+sitting+in+a+Throne+or+Chair+of+State%2C+with+several+children+at+her+knees+to+represent+the+Pupils%E2%80%A6One+of+them+She+takes+by+the+hand+with+her+left+hand+expressing+her+benevolent+design+of+Conducting+them+to+True+Wisdom+and+Virtue%E2%80%A6Out+of+her+Mouth+over+her+left+Shoulder%2C+goes+a+label+with+these+words+in+Hebrew+Letters+-+God+is+my+Light%E2%80%A6&pg=PA135|title=The University of the State of New York: History of Higher Education in the State of New York|date=1900|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:ColumbiaRegentsSeal.jpg|left|thumb|The seal from 1784 to 1787]]
The text around the seal has changed multiple times to reflect changes in the university's status. Following American independence, the name of the university was changed from King's College to Columbia College. Under the Regents from 1784 to 1787, when Columbia served as the state university of [[New York (state)|New York]], the text read {{smallcaps|universitas · status · novi · eboraci}}, meaning "State University of New York". When Columbia reverted to being a private institution, the text was changed again to say {{smallcaps|sigillum · collegii · columbiae · novi · eboraci}}, meaning "The Seal of Columbia College of New York". When Columbia was renamed again to Columbia University in 1896, however, the text around the seal was not changed.

The seal of the [[Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons]] is identical to the one of the university, but contains an extra outer ring of text which reads {{smallcaps|columbia · university · college · of · physicians · and · surgeons}}.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chodos|first=Joel|date=December 4, 2017|title=Deciphering the Columbia Seal, Motto, and More|url=http://www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org/ps-news/fall-2017/deciphering-columbia-seal-motto-and-more|url-status=live|access-date=July 11, 2021|website=Columbia Medicine Magazine|language=en |archive-date=July 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712060929/http://www.columbiamedicinemagazine.org/ps-news/fall-2017/deciphering-columbia-seal-motto-and-more }}</ref>

=== History ===
[[File:116th Street Columbia University IRT 007.JPG|thumb|A [[faience]] plaque of the university seal at the [[116th Street–Columbia University station]]]]
The seal was adopted by the [[Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York|Columbia University Board of Trustees]] on June 3, 1755, one year after the university's founding, making it Columbia's oldest symbol. It was designed by Columbia's first president, [[Samuel Johnson (American educator)|Samuel Johnson]].<ref name="Matthews 19042">{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=Brander|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorycolumbi02unkngoog|title=A History of Columbia University: 1754–1904|author2=John Pine|author3=Harry Peck|author4=Munroe Smith|publisher=Macmillan Company|year=1904|location=London, England}}</ref>{{Rp|19}} The use of the seal is restricted to the trustees, and is used to authenticate its official acts.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=May 2015|title=blue290: A Practical Guide to Columbia's Standards of Visual Identity|url=http://www.columbia.edu/files/columbia/content/blue_290_indentity_guidelines_may_2015.pdf|access-date=July 11, 2021|website=columbia.edu|archive-date=August 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803022232/http://www.columbia.edu/files/columbia/content/blue_290_indentity_guidelines_may_2015.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The seal appears in several places on Columbia's campus, notably on the floor at the entrance of [[Low Memorial Library]], on the back of the statue [[Alma Mater (New York sculpture)|''Alma Mater'']], and in several locations in [[Butler Library]]. The depiction of the seal on the back of ''Alma Mater'' is [[Supporter|supported]] by two infants holding torches, and has a King's Crown as a crest. Additionally, the seal is used as a decorative motif at the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[116th Street–Columbia University station]].<ref name="focus">{{Cite archive|collection=Records of the National Park Service, 1785 – 2006|institution=National Archives|item-url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313889|series=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 – 2017|item=New York MPS 116th Street—Columbia University Subway Station (IRT)|item-id=75313889|box=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York}}</ref>{{rp|4–5}}{{Sup|, }}<ref name="NYCL-1096">{{cite web|date=October 23, 1979|title=Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1096.pdf|access-date=2019-11-19|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]}}</ref>{{rp|9–10}}

The Columbia seal is noted for its intricacy, and was the first instance in which both Latin and Greek (as well as Hebrew) were used on a college or university seal. It may have served as an inspiration for the seal of [[Northwestern University]], in its use of an open book with Greek text on it to signify the spread of knowledge.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ivy League: Variations: The Seal of Northwestern University|url=https://canvas.northwestern.edu/eportfolios/1301/Variations/The_Ivy_League|access-date=2021-07-12|website=canvas.northwestern.edu}}</ref>

== Coat of arms ==
{{Infobox emblem
|image= Coat of Arms of Columbia University.svg
|image2=
|image2_caption=
|year_adopted={{Start date and age|1949|02|10}}
|crest=A lion's head [[Erasure (heraldry)|erased]] Or
|shield=[[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]] a chevron [[Argent]] between three king's crowns [[Or (heraldry)|Or]]
|motto=''In lumine Tuo videbimus lumen'' ([[Latin]] for 'In Thy light shall we see light')<ref>{{bibleverse-nb||Psalms|Psalms 36:9|KJV}}</ref>
|armiger=[[Columbia University]]
|color=#B9D9EB
|text_color=#000000
|name=Arms of Columbia University
|image2_width=}}
The coat of arms of Columbia University is the [[armorial bearing]] that has been [[Assumed arms|assumed]] by the university.

=== Blazon ===
<blockquote>''Azure a chevron Argent between three king's crowns Or.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Columbia University|url=http://usheraldicregistry.com/index.php?n=Registrations.20061022P |access-date=July 11, 2021|website=usheraldicregistry.com}}</ref></blockquote>

=== History ===
Columbia's coat of arms is one of the newer symbols of the university, having been adopted in 1949. It was designed by three men (Milton Halsey Thomas, the curator of the university's archives, Phillip M. Hayden, the secretary of the university, and Harold H. Booth, a specialist in heraldry) in order to create a symbol for the university that could be used more freely for decorative purposes than the seal.

The blue and white colors of the official design are drawn from the traditional school colors, which were in turn taken from the [[Philolexian Society]] and the [[Peithologian Society]], respectively. The [[Chevron (insignia)|chevron]] was taken from the personal coat of arms of [[Samuel Johnson (American educator)|Samuel Johnson]], while the crowns on the shield represent the King's Crown, one of the oldest symbols of the university, which dates back to the school's pre-revolutionary royal origins as [[Columbia College (New York)|King's College]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 10, 1949|title=Trustees Plan New Shield; Crowns, Chevrons Contained|work=[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]|url=http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19490210-01.2.9&srpos=1&e=------194-en-20--1--txt-txIN-shield------|access-date=July 11, 2021}}</ref>

While the [[blazon]] describes the shield as [[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]] (blue) with a chevron [[Argent]] (silver), some designs (also sanctioned by the university) have depicted the shield as a darker blue with a [[Columbia blue]] chevron (which violates the [[rule of tincture]]). In addition, some designs display crowns Argent instead of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] (gold).<ref name=":0" /> Older depictions of the arms may also include a [[Crest (heraldry)|crest]] with a lion's head [[Erasure (heraldry)|erased]] Or, a reference to the [[Roar-ee the Lion|Columbia Lion]].

=== School of General Studies ===
The [[Columbia University School of General Studies]] possesses its own coat of arms, which was designed and adopted in 1950. It is described as<blockquote>''Azure a chevron Argent between a king's crown, and owl, and a lion's head erased crowned Or.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=School of General Studies, Columbia University|url=http://usheraldicregistry.com/index.php?n=Registrations.20061022Q|access-date=July 11, 2021|website=usheraldicregistry.com}}</ref></blockquote>The motto underneath, ''Lux in Tenebris Lucet'', meaning "The light that shines in the darkness", was taken from [[John 1:5]], and reflected the fact that General Studies students attended classes during the night at the time of its adoption.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History {{!}} School of General Studies|url=https://gs.columbia.edu/content/history|access-date=July 11, 2021|website=gs.columbia.edu}}</ref>

== King's Crown ==

=== History ===
[[File:ColumbiaKingsCrown.jpg|thumb|The original crown of King's College]]
The King's Crown is one of the most enduring symbols of Columbia, and a product of the university original relationship with the British monarchy. The symbol itself was derived from the copper crown that once sat atop the [[cupola]] of College Hall, the main building of the university's Park Place campus, which was built in 1760.<ref name="Matthews 19042" />{{rp|26}} Following the revolution, the university preserved the crown, whose royal image has been a source of irony. When it was shown to [[Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe]], the British [[List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States|envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary]] to the United States, in 1820, he reportedly remarked to a professor: "You should preserve that crown carefully, sir, for you republicans will by-and-by need a crown." The crown currently resides in the Trustees' Room of [[Low Memorial Library]], along with the cornerstone of College Hall. It has served as the basis for the appearances of all succeeding renditions of the King's Crown, particularly with the crosses attached to its band.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cusack |first=Andrew |date=July 30, 2009 |title=Crosses Return to Columbia Crown |url=https://www.andrewcusack.com/2009/columbia-crown/ |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=www.andrewcusack.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ssaAAAAYAAJ |title=Harper's New Monthly Magazine |date=1884 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |pages=718 |language=en |chapter=King's College}}</ref>

Though the King's Crown has been used as a symbol of Columbia in some capacity throughout most of the university's history, it was only popularized and made official at the turn of the 20th century.<ref name=":0" /> It first appeared on campus as a decorative motif with the installation of [[Alma Mater (New York sculpture)|''Alma Mater'']] on the Low Library steps in 1903. Designed by [[Daniel Chester French]], the scepter in the sculpture's right hand is topped with a miniature crown.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 8, 1928 |title=Columbia's Alma Mater Robbed of Crown; Under Canvas Cover She Awaits Its Return |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/08/08/98298460.html?pageNumber=16 |url-status=live |access-date=September 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928170913/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/08/08/98298460.html?pageNumber=16 |archive-date=September 28, 2021}}</ref> ''Alma Mater'' was quickly followed by the donation of the Class of 1881 Flagpole in 1906, which has a crown-shaped [[finial]], and by 1912, the university had adopted its current flag, which consists of a white crown on a blue field.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 14, 1906 |title=Dr. Butler Predicts Social Reconstruction |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/06/14/101782631.html?pageNumber=16 |access-date=August 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/officialguidetoc00colu/mode/2up |title=An Official Guide to Columbia University |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1912 |location=New York |pages=16}}</ref> The crown currently adorns many of the buildings and gates on the university's campus, and is also incorporated into the university's coat of arms and [[Academic regalia of Columbia University|its academic regalia]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Peter |date=July 2, 2013 |title=Take A Tour Of The Most Beautiful College Campus In New York City |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/columbia-university-photo-tour-2013-6#the-gate-is-flanked-by-two-statues-if-you-look-closely-at-the-woman-on-the-southern-end-you-can-see-her-book-has-latin-writing-a-reference-to-the-importance-of-the-humanities-6 |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Wolgast |first=Steven L. |date=January 1, 2009 |title=King's Crowns: The History of Academic Dress at King's College and Columbia University |url=https://newprairiepress.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1073&context=burgonsociety |journal=Transactions of the Burgon Society |volume=9 |pages=80–137 |doi=10.4148/2475-7799.1073 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Currently, there are four designs of the crown in use by the university: a modern, minimalist version that has been the official symbol of the university since 2006, and one that replaces the crosses on the crown with diamonds, which was first used by the [[Columbia University Irving Medical Center]] in the early 2000s, in addition to separate designs for [[Columbia College (New York)|Columbia College]] and the [[Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science]].<ref name=":0" />

{{Gallery
|File:GateCrown.jpg|A King's Crown decorating a gate on campus|File:AlmaCrown.jpg|The scepter of ''[[Alma Mater (New York sculpture)|Alma Mater]]'', adorned with a King's Crown atop four sprays of wheat|File:ColumbiaRobeLapel.jpg|The crown embroidered on [[Academic regalia of Columbia University|the university's academic regalia]]|File:Columbia University Kings Crown Society bookplate.png|A book plate designed for ''King's Crown'', a student organization from the early 20th century|File:NYC - Columbia University graduation day - 0999.jpg|[[Low Memorial Library]] draped with King's Crown banners for commencement|title=Uses of the King's Crown}}

== See also ==
* [[Coat of arms of Yale University]]
* [[Heraldry of Harvard University]]

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
{{commons category|Emblems of Columbia University}}
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/identityguidelines/identity1.html History of the University Identity] – Columbia University

{{Columbia University}}
{{Academic heraldry}}

[[Category:Columbia University]]
[[Category:Culture of Columbia University]]
[[Category:Coats of arms of universities in the United States]]
[[Category:Seals of organizations]]