Columbus is a city in Lowndes County, Mississippi, on the Tombigbee River. It is approximately 150 miles northeast of Jackson, 90 miles north of Meridian, 60 miles south of Tupelo, 120 miles west of Birmingham, AL and 160 miles southeast of Memphis, TN. The population was 25,944 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lowndes County.

Columbus was founded in 1821 by Matthew Alexander and his dog Bigbee (duely named for the Tombigbee river). Before its incorporation, the town site was referred to informally as Possum Town, which remains its nickname even today.

During the American Civil War, Columbus was a hospital town. As a result, it largely avoided Union attack. Many of the casualties from the Battle of Shiloh were brought there, and thousands were buried in the town's Friendship Cemetery.

Columbus is the birthplace of playwright Tennessee Williams, author of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "A Streetcar Named Desire." Columbus is also the birthplace of baseball announcer Red Barber and boxing's first three-time world heavyweight champion, Henry Armstrong.

Columbus has hosted the Columbus Air Force Base (CAFB) since World War II. CAFB was founded as a flight training school. After a stint in the 1950s and 1960s as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base (earning Columbus a spot in Soviet Union target lists), CAFB returned to its original role. Today, it is one of only four basic Air Force flight training bases in the United States, and prized as the only one where regular flight conditions may be experienced.

Columbus boasted a number of industries during the mid-twentieth century. A series of new plants, including SeverCorr, American Eurocopter and Aurora Flight Sciences have constructed facilities near the Golden Triangle Regional Airport. Recently Paccar, manufacturers of premium commercial vehicles sold under the Kenworth, Peterbuilt and DAF nameplates, began building a manufacturing facility adjacent to the airport.

Columbus is at the center of an educational hub. Columbus is home to Mississippi University for Women, a liberal arts college that has received numerous distinctions by U.S. News and World Report. In addition, Columbus is about 25 miles east of Mississippi State University, 60 miles west of the University of Alabama and 95 miles southeast of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).