Supplement, dated October 7, 2008,
                      to the Prospectus, dated May 1, 2008,
                                       for
                           Tri-Continental Corporation

On October 7,  2008,  Tri-Continental  Corporation  (the  "Corporation")  held a
Special  Meeting of  Stockholders  in Baltimore,  Maryland (the  "Meeting")  and
announced that  Stockholders  approved each of the Board's two  recommendations.
Stockholders  approved a new investment  management services agreement (the "New
Agreement")   between  the   Corporation  and   RiverSource   Investments,   LLC
("RiverSource"),  a subsidiary of Ameriprise  Financial,  Inc. (Proposal 1), and
elected ten new Directors to the Corporation's Board (Proposal 2).

The  effectiveness  of each of Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 are  contingent  on the
closing of the acquisition of J. & W. Seligman & Co. Incorporated  ("Seligman"),
the  Corporation's  current  manager,  by RiverSource (the  "Acquisition").  The
Acquisition  is  expected  to  occur  in the  fourth  quarter  of  2008.  If the
Acquisition  does  not  take  place,  then the New  Agreement  will  not  become
effective  and the current  management  agreement  between the  Corporation  and
Seligman will continue in effect.

Stockholders  of the  Corporation  elected the  following  ten Directors to take
office upon the closing of the  Acquisition:  Kathleen  Blatz,  Arne H. Carlson,
Pamela G. Carlton, Patricia M. Flynn, Anne P. Jones, Jeffrey Laikind, Stephen R.
Lewis, Jr., Catherine James Paglia, Alison Taunton-Rigby and William F. Truscott
(collectively,  the "New Directors"). Mses. Blatz, Carlton and Taunton-Rigby and
Mr.  Truscott have been elected to the class of Directors whose term will expire
at the annual  meeting to be held in 2009,  Ms. Jones and Mr.  Carlson have been
elected to the class of Directors  whose term will expire at the annual  meeting
to be held in 2010,  and Mses.  Flynn and Paglia and  Messrs.  Laikind and Lewis
have been elected to the class of Directors whose term will expire at the annual
meeting  to be held in 2011,  and (in each  case)  until  their  successors  are
elected and qualify.  Messrs. Leroy C. Richie and John F. Maher will continue to
serve as Directors of the Corporation after the Acquisition,  which would result
in an overall increase from ten Directors to 12 Directors of the Corporation. If
the Acquisition  does not take place for any reason,  the size of the Board will
not be  increased,  the  New  Directors  will  not  serve  as  Directors  of the
Corporation,  and the Directors of the Corporation serving prior to the election
of the New Directors will continue to serve as Directors of the Corporation.