The Columbia reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Columbia

Sponsorship the way you would do it

Columbia is a name used in the English language for many things and places. The name is derived from that of Christopher Columbus. The term "Pre-Columbian" is used for American cultures before the arrival of Columbus and other European explorers.

Image:ColumbiaHerselfSmall.jpg
Columbia, late 19th century
from a Columbia Records phonograph cylinder package

The name "Columbia" is/was a poetic name for the United States of America, which largely fell out of use in the early 20th century.

Columbia was also a female personification of the USA, similar to the male Uncle Sam, often seen in political cartoons through the early 20th century (see illustration at right) and still used by Columbia Pictures.

The term Columbian has been occasionally used as an alternative word for American when referring to someone from the United States, but has not entered general use, not least because of its confusing similarity to Colombian.

Things named Columbia include:

Places named "Columbia" include:


There is also the constellation Columba, the dove.





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