Encyclopedia

Charles H. Townes, Ph.D., Class of 1935, received the 1964 Nobel Prize in physics. The Charles H. Townes Center for Science is named in his honor. He is a Charter Member of the Furman University Hall of Fame.

Impressed by the apparent potential of this area for a colony, [mariner Jean] Ribault, before returning to France, left behind more than two dozen volunteers, who constructed a small wooden fort that they named after their king.

Charleston was the first permanent European settlement in Carolina, its first seat of government, and the most important city in the southern United States well into the nineteenth century.

The cold-war base served as host to the 456th Troop Carrier Wing, flying and maintaining C-119 aircraft, known as “Flying Box Cars.” It provided support and intelligence data during the Cuban missile crisis and later transported supplies and troops to Vietnam.

Shot of "County Jail" sign. African-American Civil Rights activists, including Reverend James Blake, exit the county jail after being released. Matthew Perry and NAACP leaders greet them.

In its modern configuration, Charleston County is a long sliver of land—mainland and islands— bounded at the north and south by the South Santee and South Edisto Rivers. It has existed only since 1882.