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Real Name |
Columbia |
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First Appearance |
Unknown |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Columbia also known as Miss Columbia, is a female national personification of the United States similar to how Uncle Sam is a male personification. She is portrayed with auburn, brown, and sometimes black hair, usually wears simple white garment, draped in the American flag, or wearing some other dress with different colors. She is often illustrated with a liberty cap and holding an American flag, and sometimes wielding a shield with the coat of arms of the United States on it. She is also known as "Miss Columbia", implying that she is unmarried.
Columbia was also a historical name applied to the Americas and to the New World. The association has given rise to the names of many American places, objects, institutions and companies, including the District of Columbia; Columbia, South Carolina; Columbia University; "Hail, Columbia"; Columbia Rediviva; and the Columbia River.
Images of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World, erected in 1886) largely displaced personified Columbia as the female symbol of the United States by around 1920, although Lady Liberty was seen as an aspect of Columbia.
Public Domain Appearances[]
Literary appearances[]
- “To His Excellency, General Washington” (poem), by Phillis Wheatley (Apr. 1776)
- The Vision of Columbus, by Joel Barlow (1787), rewritten as The Columbiad (1807)
Theatrical and musical appearances[]
- “Hail, Columbia” (song), words by Joseph Hopkinson, music by Philip Phile (1798)