Seth Low: First President of Columbia University

This New Yorker used his skills of diplomacy to clean out corruption and make Columbia great.

Panoramic view of Columbia University with Low Memorial Library at the center. Public Domain

Known as the “Great Harmonizer” due to his stellar negotiation skills, Seth Low was a successful politician who revamped how city governments were managed. He was dedicated to leading with honesty and implementing much-needed reform within the post-consolidation city governments of Brooklyn and New York City.

Low was born in 1850 to a wealthy family in Brooklyn, New York, that operated a successful tea and silk trading company. He joined the family business after he graduated as valedictorian from Columbia College in 1870.