<p>to the people arguing over the whole thing about “most of the 20th century… harvard, columbia, uchicago:” it was apparently in the first half of the century. if i’m correct, it says that columbia was for a large part of the century the major research institution in america.</p>
<p>now, none of us were around back then to personally verify any of this information, and you have to understand that public perceptions change over time, and it’s likely that such perceptions of the ‘top’ universities were largely different well in the past from what they are today. i’ll trust what i’ve read claiming that columbia, uchi and harvard were the major players in days past. makes sense, what with the manhattan project happening at both columbia and uchicago. also, just look at all the incredible inventions and discoveries that have happened at columbia, as well as its most impressive alumni: almost all in the first half of the 20th century.</p>