While the teaching of history at Columbia had begun in the mid 19th century, a separate department of history was only formally established on November 16, 1896. Five professors of history taught at the department at the time of its establishment: Herbert L. Osgood,...

William Milligan Sloane (1850-1928) appointed Seth Low Professor in 1895. Sloane served as head of the History Department from 1896 to 1916. Born in Ohio, he attended Columbia College and later studied in Berlin, where he served as private secretary to George...

James Harvey Robinson (1863-1936), appointed professor of European history in 1895. Robinson taught courses on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Reformation and the French Revolution. His class “The History of the Intellectual Class of Europe” was...

John W. Burgess (1844-1931), appointed Professor for History and Political Science in 1876. Taught courses on medieval history, colonial history, history of the Civil War and United States constitutional history. Burgess played a leading role in pioneering both the...

Francis Lieber (1798-1872) was appointed Professor of History and Political Science in 1857. Born in Berlin, Lieber served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was imprisoned twice on charges of radicalism, and in 1827 immigrated to Boston. During the...