1910s > World War I
A Medieval Pageant
In 1914 Columbia planned a lavish celebration of the 700th birthday of Roger Bacon, the English Philosopher and Franciscan monk often regarded as the father of empiricism. Unfortunately, the costume pageant coincided with the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but not perhaps without leaving a legacy. The event's two main organizers were John Coss and John Erskine – two young academics who would go on to play a major role in the creation of Contemporary Civilization and the Core.
The "Big Four"
A portrait of the "Big Four" at a Liberty Loan Mass Meeting held at Carnegie Hall on October 18, 1919. Left to right, standing: Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University and financier J.P. Morgan. Sitting, left to right: Rufus Isaacs, Lord Reading, the British ambassador to the United States, and Benjamin Strong, Jr., governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.
World War I Activity on Campus
Soldiers Training on Columbia's Campus, between the back of Low Library and the front of University Hall, circa 1918
Service Flag hanging from the front of Low Library, circa 1918. The stars on the flag indicate how many Columbia University men had died in World War I.