Short answers, pulled from the story.
Columbus was founded on the 14th of February 1812, at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. The state legislature chose the location because of its central position in Ohio and proximity to major transportation routes; Franklinton landowners donated two 10-acre plots to help attract the capital, and Columbus officially became the state capital in 1816.
A state lawmaker and local resident admired the 15th-century Italian explorer enough to persuade other legislators to adopt the name, according to the book Columbus: The Story of a City. No reliable history exists explaining why Columbus, who had no connection to Ohio before the city's founding, was selected.
Columbus had a population of 905,748 at the 2020 census, making it the 14th-most populous city in the United States and the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago. The Columbus metropolitan area had an estimated 2.23 million residents.
Major companies headquartered in the Columbus area include Cardinal Health, Nationwide, American Electric Power, Huntington Bancshares, and Vertiv, all Fortune 500 companies. The area is also home to Wendy's, White Castle, Abercrombie and Fitch, L Brands, Big Lots, DSW, and Express, as well as research institutions such as the Battelle Memorial Institute and Chemical Abstracts Service.
Columbus is home to the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League and the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer. The Crew, one of the original MLS teams, won MLS Cup titles in 2008, 2020, and 2023; ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, their current stadium, will host nine Olympic soccer matches during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
In July 2024, the hacker group Rhysidia claimed responsibility for a ransomware attack on Columbus. Mayor Andrew Ginther stated the stolen files were unusable due to encryption or corruption, but security researcher David Leroy Ross (alias Connor Goodwolf) demonstrated the files were intact and contained sensitive data including domestic violence case names and Social Security numbers of crime victims. Columbus sued Ross and obtained a restraining order against him, prompting cybersecurity researchers to call for the lawsuit to be dropped.