brief biography of andrew carnegie

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was a self-made steel tycoon and one of the wealthiest businessmen of the 19th century. He later dedicated his life to philanthropic endeavors.

(1835-1919)

Who Was Andrew Carnegie?

After moving to the United States from Scotland, Andrew Carnegie worked a series of railroad jobs. By 1889, he owned Carnegie Steel Corporation, the largest of its kind in the world. In 1901 he sold his business and dedicated his time to expanding his philanthropic work, including the establishment of Carnegie-Mellon University in 1904.

Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Although he had little formal education, Carnegie grew up in a family that believed in the importance of books and learning. The son of a handloom weaver, Carnegie grew up to become one of the wealthiest businessmen in America.

At the age of 13, in 1848, Carnegie came to the United States with his family. They settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and Carnegie went to work in a factory, earning $1.20 a week. The next year he found a job as a telegraph messenger. Hoping to advance his career, he moved up to a telegraph operator position in 1851. He then took a job at the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1853. He worked as the assistant and telegrapher to Thomas Scott, one of the railroad's top officials. Through this experience, he learned about the railroad industry and about business in general. Three years later, Carnegie was promoted to superintendent.

Steel Tycoon

While working for the railroad, Carnegie began making investments. He made many wise choices and found that his investments, especially those in oil, brought in substantial returns. He left the railroad in 1865 to focus on his other business interests, including the Keystone Bridge Company.

By the next decade, most of Carnegie's time was dedicated to the steel industry. His business, which became known as the Carnegie Steel Company, revolutionized steel production in the United States. Carnegie built plants around the country, using technology and methods that made manufacturing steel easier, faster and more productive. For every step of the process, he owned exactly what he needed: the raw materials, ships and railroads for transporting the goods, and even coal fields to fuel the steel furnaces.

This start-to-finish strategy helped Carnegie become the dominant force in the industry and an exceedingly wealthy man. It also made him known as one of America's "builders," as his business helped to fuel the economy and shape the nation into what it is today. By 1889, Carnegie Steel Corporation was the largest of its kind in the world.

Some felt that the company's success came at the expense of its workers. The most notable case of this came in 1892. When the company tried to lower wages at a Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, the employees objected. They refused to work, starting what has been called the Homestead Strike of 1892. The conflict between the workers and local managers turned violent after the managers called in guards to break up the union. While Carnegie was away at the time of strike, many still held him accountable for his managers' actions.

Philanthropy

In 1901, Carnegie made a dramatic change in his life. He sold his business to the United States Steel Corporation, started by legendary financier J.P. Morgan. The sale earned him more than $200 million. At the age of 65, Carnegie decided to spend the rest of his days helping others. While he had begun his philanthropic work years earlier by building libraries and making donations, Carnegie expanded his efforts in the early 20th century.

Carnegie, an avid reader for much of his life, donated approximately $5 million to the New York Public Library so that the library could open several branches in 1901. Devoted to learning, he established the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, which is now known as Carnegie-Mellon University in 1904. The next year, he created the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1905. With his strong interest to peace, he formed the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910. He made numerous other donations, and it is said that more than 2,800 libraries were opened with his support.

Besides his business and charitable interests, Carnegie enjoyed traveling and meeting and entertaining leading figures in many fields. He was friends with Matthew Arnold, Mark Twain, William Gladstone, and Theodore Roosevelt. Carnegie also wrote several books and numerous articles. His 1889 article "Wealth" outlined his view that those with great wealth must be socially responsible and use their assets to help others. This was later published as the 1900 book The Gospel of Wealth .

Carnegie died on August 11, 1919, in Lenox, Massachusetts, at the age of 83.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Andrew Carnegie
• Birth Year: 1835
• Birth date: November 25, 1835
• Birth City: Dunfermline, Scotland
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Andrew Carnegie was a self-made steel tycoon and one of the wealthiest businessmen of the 19th century. He later dedicated his life to philanthropic endeavors.
• Business and Industry
• Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
• Death Year: 1919
• Death date: August 11, 1919
• Death State: Massachusetts
• Death City: Lenox
• Death Country: United States

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Andrew Carnegie Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/andrew-carnegie
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: May 26, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.
• The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.
• I cannot tell you how proud I was when I received my first week's own earnings. One dollar and twenty cents made by myself and given to me because I had been of some use in the world!
• I always liked the idea of being my own master, of manufacturing something and giving employment to many men.
• In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves.
• I should as soon leave to my son a curse as the almighty dollar.
• No party is so foolish as to nominate for the presidency a rich man, much less a millionaire. Democracy elects poor men.
• There is always room at the top in every pursuit. Concentrate all your thought and energy upon the performance of your duties. Put all your eggs into one basket and then watch that basket.
• Do not make riches, but usefulness, your first aim.
• I congratulate poor young men upon being born to that ancient and honorable degree which renders it necessary that they should devote themselves to hard work.
• The aim of the millionaire should be, first, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display and extravagances.

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Biography of Andrew Carnegie, Steel Magnate

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Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835–August 11, 1919) was a steel magnate, leading industrialist, and philanthropist. With a keen focus on cost-cutting and organization, Carnegie was often regarded as a ruthless robber baron , though he eventually withdrew from business to devote himself to donating money to various philanthropic causes.

Fast Facts: Andrew Carnegie

• Known For : Carnegie was a preeminent steel magnate and a major philanthropist.
• Born : November 25, 1835 in Drumferline, Scotland
• Parents : Margaret Morrison Carnegie and William Carnegie
• Died : August 11, 1919 in Lenox, Massachusetts
• Education : Free School in Dunfermline, night school, and self-taught through Colonel James Anderson's library
• Published Works :  An American Four-in-hand in Britain, Triumphant Democracy, The Gospel of Wealth, The Empire of Business, Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
• Awards and Honors : Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Glasgow, honorary doctorate, University of Groningen, the Netherlands. The following are all named for Andrew Carnegie: the dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii , the cactus Carnegiea gigantea , the Carnegie Medal children’s literature award, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
• Spouse(s) : Louise Whitfield
• Children : Margaret
• Notable Quote : “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”

Andrew Carnegie was born at Drumferline, Scotland on November 25, 1835. When Andrew was 13, his family emigrated to America and settled near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father had worked as a linen weaver in Scotland and pursued that work in America after first taking a job in a textile factory.

Young Andrew worked in the textile factory, replacing bobbins. He then took a job as a telegraph messenger at the age of 14, and within a few years was working as a telegraph operator. He educated himself through his voracious reading, benefitting from the generosity of a local retired merchant, Colonel James Anderson, who opened his small library to "working boys." Ambitious at work, Carnegie was promoted to be an assistant to an executive with the Pennsylvania Railroad by the age of 18.

During the Civil War , Carnegie, working for the railroad, helped the federal government set up a military telegraph system, which became vital to the war effort. For the duration of the war, he worked for the railroad.

Early Business Success

While working in the telegraph business, Carnegie began investing in other businesses. He invested in several small iron companies, a company that made bridges, and a manufacturer of railroad sleeping cars. Taking advantage of oil discoveries in Pennsylvania, Carnegie also invested in a small petroleum company.

By the end of the war, Carnegie was prosperous from his investments and began to harbor greater business ambitions. Between 1865 and 1870, he took advantage of the increase in international business following the war. He traveled frequently to England, selling the bonds of American railroads and other businesses. It has been estimated that he became a millionaire from his commissions selling bonds.

While in England, he followed the progress of the British steel industry. He learned everything he could about the new Bessemer process , and with that knowledge, he became determined to focus on the steel industry in America.

Carnegie had absolute confidence that steel was the product of the future. And his timing was perfect. As America industrialized, putting up factories, new buildings, and bridges, he was perfectly situated to produce and sell the steel the country needed.

Carnegie the Steel Magnate

In 1870, Carnegie established himself in the steel business. Using his own money, he built a blast furnace. He created a company in 1873 to make steel rails using the Bessemer process. Though the country was in an economic depression for much of the 1870s, Carnegie prospered.

A very tough businessman, Carnegie undercut competitors and was able to expand his business to the point where he could dictate prices. He kept reinvesting in his own company, and though he took in minor partners, he never sold stock to the public. He could control every facet of the business, and he did it with a fanatical eye for detail.

In the 1880s, Carnegie bought out Henry Clay Frick’s company, which owned coal fields as well as a large steel mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Frick and Carnegie became partners. As Carnegie began to spend half of every year at an estate in Scotland, Frick stayed in Pittsburgh, running the day-to-day operations of the company.

The Homestead Strike

Carnegie began to face a number of problems by the 1890s. Government regulation, which had never been an issue, was being taken more seriously as reformers actively tried to curtail the excesses of businessmen known as "robber barons."

The union which represented workers at the Homestead Mill went on strike in 1892. On July 6, 1892, while Carnegie was in Scotland, Pinkerton guards on barges attempted to take over the steel mill at Homestead.

The striking workers were prepared for the attack by the Pinkertons, and a bloody confrontation resulted in the death of strikers and Pinkertons. Eventually, an armed militia had to take over the plant.

Carnegie was informed by transatlantic cable  of the events in Homestead. But he made no statement and did not get involved. He would later be criticized for his silence, and he later expressed regrets for his inaction. His opinions on unions, however, never changed. He fought against organized labor and was able to keep unions out of his plants during his lifetime.

As the 1890s continued, Carnegie faced competition in business, and he found himself being squeezed by tactics similar to those he had employed years earlier. In 1901, tired of business battles, Carnegie sold his interests in the steel industry to J.P. Morgan, who formed the United States Steel Corporation. Carnegie began to devote himself entirely to giving away his wealth.

Carnegie’s Philanthropy

Carnegie had already been giving money to create museums, such as the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh. But his philanthropy accelerated after selling Carnegie Steel. Carnegie supported numerous causes, including scientific research, educational institutions, museums, and world peace. He is best known for funding more than 2,500 libraries throughout the English-speaking world, and, perhaps, for building Carnegie Hall, a performance hall that has become a beloved New York City landmark.

Carnegie died of bronchial pneumonia at his summer home in Lenox, Massachusetts on August 11, 1919. At the time of his death, he had already given away over a large portion of his wealth, more than $350 million.

While Carnegie was not known to be openly hostile to the rights of workers for much of his career, his silence during the notorious and bloody Homestead Steel Strike cast him in a very bad light in labor history.

Carnegie's philanthropy left a huge mark on the world, including the endowment of many educational institutions and the funding of research and world peace efforts. The library system he helped form is a foundation of American education and democracy.

• “ Andrew Carnegie's Story .”  Carnegie Corporation of New York .
• Carnegie, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie. PublicAffairs, 1919.
• Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth and Other Timely Essays. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1962.
• Nasaw, David. Andrew Carnegie . Penguin Group, 2006. 
• The Homestead Steel Strike
• Robber Barons
• 6 Robber Barons From America's Past
• The Bessemer Steel Process
• Labor History of the 19th Century
• Meaning and History of the Term Robber Baron
• A Short History of Steel
• The History of Steel
• World History Timeline From 1830 to 1840
• Overview of the Second Industrial Revolution
• Biography of Jay Gould, Notorious Robber Baron
• Allan Pinkerton and His Detective Agency
• Henry Bessemer and the Production of Steel
• Economic Growth: Inventions, Development, and Tycoons
• Abraham Lincoln and the Telegraph
• The Rust Belt

Andrew Carnegie

The Father of Philanthropy

World History Edu

• Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie: Biography and 10 Major Achievements

by World History Edu · September 1, 2021

Andrew Carnegie – Biography and accomplishments

Following the rise of Andrew Carnegie’s career from a mere worker in a cotton factory in Pittsburgh, U.S., to his critical acclaim as one of the greatest steel industrialists, the article below explores the true life story and 10 major accomplishments of the Scottish-born philanthropist cum business magnate.

Continue reading to learn more about the business mind and life Andrew Carnegie.

Fast Facts: Andrew Carnegie

Born : November 25, 1835

Place of birth : Dunfermline, Scotland

Died : August 11, 1919

Place of death : Shadow Brook in Lenox, Massachusetts, U.S.

Buried : Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in North Tarrytown, New York, U.S.

Height : 5’3’’

Organizations established : The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Hero Fund, Carnegie Mello University, and Carnegie Institution for Science, among others

Parents: William Carnegie and Margaret Morrison Carnegie

Wife : Louise Whitfield (married in 1887)

Daughter : Margaret Carnegie Miller

American industrialist and philanthropist made an immense amount of wealth producing steel. At the height of his business, he was considered one of the richest men in the United States. In the two decades leading to his death, he gave away about $350 million to charitable causes.

Quick biography of Andrew Carnegie

Unbeknownst to many people, Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland. He had two siblings – Thomas and Ann, with the latter dying during infancy. He was the second child of his parents – Margaret Morrison Carnegie and William Carnegie.

When he was around 13 years old, his family relocated to North America and made Allegheny City in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, their home.

Growing up in Scotland, Andrew Carnegie attended the Free School in Dunfermline, Scotland. Interestingly, the school was founded by Adam Rolland of Gask, the famous Scottish philanthropist and judge and co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

After moving to the United States, he discontinued his formal education. This means that he had just a few years of formal schooling in Scotland.

His family took a loan from his maternal uncle George Lauder, Sr. in order to pay for their travel cost to the United States.

In the U.S., Carnegie and his family settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He and his father both secured jobs at a cotton factory. The teenage Andrew Carnegie worked as a bobbin boy. His grass-to-grace story began with him earning not more than $1.50 a week.

About thirteen years after arriving from Scotland, Andrew Carnegie was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Civil War (1861-1865). Instead of serving, Carnegie paid close to $900 to have someone serve in his place. Bear in mind, such a practice was quite common at the time.

Prior to the Civil War, Carnegie worked different jobs in order to eke out a living. He once worked as messenger for a telegraph office (the Ohio Telegraph Company) in Pittsburgh. Steadily he rose to become a secretary and then a telegraph operator.

Andrew Carnegie truly applied himself while working in the telegraph office as he was able to build many contacts with very important businessmen, especially those in the railroad sector.

He was always an avid reader, benefiting a lot from the personal library of Colonel James Anderson. His love for reading was one of the reasons why he excelled in his many exploits.

Inspired by the kind gesture of Colonel Anderson, Carnegie vowed to build as many libraries in future. His goal was to give poor young boys the chance to develop their intellectual capacities, just as he had done when he was young.

He did not marry until his mother died in 1886. He married Louise Whitfield who was 21 years his junior in 1887. Together with Louise he had one child – a daughter, Margaret, born in 1897.

Andrew Carnegie died on August 11, 1919, aged  83. He is said to have died of bronchial pneumonia at his home in Shadow Brook in Lenox, Massachusetts.

He was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Did you know : Andrew Carnegie dropped out of school at a very young age?

The people that influenced Andrew Carnegie

It’s been said that his maternal uncle, George Launder Sr., had a profound influence on his early life. Launder was the one who introduced him to the works of Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns.

Some of Andrew Carnegie’s childhood heroes were Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace , Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor, and Robert the Bruce (Robert I).

Carnegie is said to have been inspired by the ideas and philosophy of Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), an English philosopher and biologist. Although Spencerian evolution and some of Spencer’s ideas were inconsistent with Carnegie’s philosophy in life, Carnegie still claimed that he took quite a lot of inspiration from Spencer.

English philosopher Herbert Spencer, a major influence on Andrew Carnegie, supported the survival of the fittest philosophy, where he was against any attempt to help the weak and downtrodden in society. Spencer called such moves a disservice to nature and evolution.

The renowned philanthropist and business magnate began his career as worker in a Pittsburgh cotton factory

Major Achievements of Andrew Carnegie

World History Edu presents 10 major accomplishments of Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Excelled in almost every position that he held

After distinguishing himself very well in the telegraph office, he took up a job offer (from railroad executive and American businessman Thomas Alexander Scott) for the position of telegraph operator at the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.

With huge amounts of dedication, hard work, and perseverance, Carnegie was able to prove himself time and time again. By his mid-20s, he had risen to superintendent at the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.

With a lot of hard work and determination, Carnegie rose to become the division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in the late 1850s. Image: Carnegie, c. 1878

Carnegie made tremendous amount of investments in coal, iron, and oil companies

Many of the business management tools he used to such great efficiency in his later life were forged while working at the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. With the help of his mentor Thomas A. Scott, Andrew Carnegie took to making investments in a number of companies, mostly in iron and oil industries. For example, a significant amount of fortune as an investor in the Columbia Oil Company in Pennsylvania.

By the late 1850s, Carnegie had begun buying shares in companies that produced railroad sleeping cars. From there, he moved to investing in different areas of the railroad industry.

Manufacturer of railroad sleeping cars

Owing to his strong business relationship with the likes of American inventor Theodore Tuttle Woodruff and engineer/industrialist John Edgar Thomson, Carnegie was able to venture into the manufacturing side of the railroad industry. He had amassed adequate amount of capital to start a company that manufactured rails and parts used in making bridges.

Just a few months before the American Civil War, Andrew Carnegie pulled off a very lucrative and viable merger between his company and the companies of his two associates – George Pullman and Theodore Tuttle Woodruff. The new company became leading producers of railroad sleeping cars.

Served as the Superintendent of the Military Railways of the Union Government in Washington D.C.

At the onset of the American Civil War (1861-1865), Carnegie’s association with Thomas A. Scott, the then-Assistant Secretary of War, allowed him to serve as a top ranking official in charge of the Union’s railways and telegraph. His efforts led to the re-establishment of rail lines to the nation’s capital that had been crippled by rebels loyal to the South.

In the summer of 1861, his expertise in the industry came very handy when he helped transport injured Union soldiers following the loss at Bull Run (i.e. the first major battle of the American Civil War).

His works during the Civil War immensely contributed to easier communication and transportation that in turn was crucial in securing victory for the Union Army.

Factors that led to the US-Mexico war in 1846

Established the Keystone Bridge Company

His investments in iron and coal industries were buoyed on by the tremendous growth of the railroad industry following the end of the Civil War. With his company Keystone Bridge Works in Pittsburgh, he started carving a reputation as a renowned producer in the ironworks trade.

His departure from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company allowed him to concentrate his efforts in his new company. Regardless, he was still able to strike very profitable deals with his former employers.

Andrew Carnegie built a formidable steel empire

Carnegie was a prolific investor in a number of ventures in the iron and oil industries. By his early 30s he had amassed a significant amount of wealth. He went on to become a colossal player in the industry in about two decades or so. | Image: Carnegie as he appears in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Carnegie’s biggest splash in American industry came in his activities in the steel manufacturing. The industrialist is revered as the greatest steel industrialist in America’s history.

His entry into the steel industry came in the 1870s when he co-founded a steel company near Pittsburgh. About two decades later, his deployment of sound management tools had allowed him to not only increase his business profits but also efficiency across the board in the industry. He attained this by improving upon the Bessemer process, a process in steel manufacturing that reduced the high carbon content of pig iron.

Made the Carnegie Steel Company the largest manufacturer of pig iron and steel rails

Carnegie was the owner of many factories, having a controlling stake across the supply chain. He was able to produce at a very cheap, which in turn translated into the reduction of prices of steel. The biggest beneficiary of his improved steel manufacturing technique and the vertical integration of his supply chain was the railroad industry.

With distribution and transportation sorted out, Carnegie was able to produce a whopping 2,000 tons of pig iron daily. The 1880s also witnessed Carnegie acquire his rival Homestead Steel Works.

By the last decade of the 19 th century, the Carnegie Steel Company (established in 1892) was the undisputed king in the steel industry. His empire included companies like the Lucy Furnaces, the Union Mill, the Keystone Bridge Works, and the J. Edgar Thomson Steel Works, among others.

Sold his company for more than a quarter of a billion dollars in 1901

Fueled by his desire to give back to the society, Carnegie retired from business in his mid-60s. But first he reorganized his business holdings, turning them into joint stock corporations.

In 1901, the very successful and efficient Carnegie Steel was then sold to famous American banker John Pierpont Morgan for $303 million.

With the sale of Carnegie Steel, Andrew Carnegie became one of the richest men in the world at the time. He pegged up there with the likes of John D. Rockeffeller of Standard Oil.

The banker J.P. Morgan then merged Carnegie Steel with other steel businesses to create the world’s first billion-dollar corporation.

In 1901, Andrew Carnegie sold his steel empire – Carnegie Steel – to legendary banker JP Morgan for hundreds of millions of Dollars. Image: J. P. Morgan in his earlier years

Andrew Carnegie advocated world peace and collective prosperity

The steel magnate Andrew Carnegie consistently expressed his distaste for American imperialism and British colonialism. For example, following the Spanish-American War, he opposed the U.S. acquisition of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, and Cuba.

He was noted for committing a lot of effort and resources into promoting democracy and ending colonization in the West Indies and Asia.

Following the U.S. acquisition of the Philippines from for $20 million, Andrew Carnegie offered to pay the United States $20 million for the freedom of Filipino people in 1898.

He was against military intervention in other countries

Urged then U.S. president William McKinley to remove American troops from the Asian country

A big advocate of international peace, Andrew Carnegie was against U.S. military intervention in other countries. To support his international peace efforts, he donated heavily to the International Court of Arbitration’s Peace Palace in The Hague. He also established the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1910 with $10 million endowment.

In 1914, he collaborated with a number of leaders from the religious, academic and political communities to establish the Church Peace Union (CPU), a nonprofit organization dedication to promoting international peace. Today, the organization is known as the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

Disappointed over the outbreak of World War I , Carnegie would most likely be smiling in his grave knowing that his ideas served as some bit of inspiration for the formation of the League of Nations.

Andrew Carnegie Quotes

Andrew Carnegie quotes

More interesting facts about Andrew Carnegie

A US Postage stamp commemorating Andrew Carnegie as an industrialist, philanthropist, and founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1960

• Andrew Carnegie was a big admirer of laissez-faire economic policies of governments. It’s been said that he believed less government intervention and regulations promoted the greater good of the society.
• He disliked unions. According to him, the unions prevented prices from falling because they agitate for high wages which in turn increases the cost.
• Carnegie is said to have been inspired by John Bright (1811-1889), a British liberal statesman and orator who was an avid  promoter of free trade.
• His pursuits in the intellectual fields, especially literature, resulted in him becoming friends with famous writers and poets of the era, including American humorist and novelist Mark Twain and English Poet Mathew Arnold. Carnegie and English philosopher Herbert Spencer were also friends.
• Andrew Carnegie also developed the acquaintances of many leading politicians in Washington D.C., including U.S. presidents and Congressmen. He was also friends with British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.
• Andrew Carnegie joined the American Anti-Imperialist League in 1898. The organization also included Mark Twain and two former U.S. Presidents Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland . Carnegie served as the Vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League.

Tags: American Industrialists Carnegie Steel New York Scotland

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Arthinkal Magazine

• Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie – A Brief Biography (1835-1919)

by arthinkal · Published December 12, 2021 · Updated December 27, 2022

Andrew Carnegie. Theodore C. Marceau, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, who led the expansion of the American Steel industry in the late 19th century.

Carnegie became one of the richest Americans in history and a leading philanthropist. In his later years, he used his wealth to improve society and encouraged other wealthy people to do the same. He is often regarded as the definition of a self-made man.

Andrew Carnegie was born on 25th November 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland, to William and Margaret Carnegie.

The family lived in a small weaver’s cottage much like all the other houses in the town. The cottage had one main room, which served as a living room, bedroom, and dining room. Half of the ground floor was shared with a neighboring family.

Barely a year after Carnegie’s birth, the family moved to a bigger house after the demand for heavy demask increased, benefiting his father.

Early Education

Andrew Carnegie was educated at the Free School in Dunfermline, which had been a gift to the town from Scottish judge and philanthropist Adam Rolland of Gask.

In his early years, Carnegie was greatly influenced by his maternal uncle, George Lauder Sr., who was a Scottish political leader. Lauder introduced him to the great heroes of Scottish history such as Sir William Wallace , Robert the Bruce , and Rob Roy , and to the writings of poet and lyricist Robert Burns , who is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland.

Moving to Pennsylvania

By 1847, the Carnegies were in great financial difficulty and were struggling to make ends meet.

Carnegie’s father’s weaving business had suffered and the country was starving. Unable to deal with life in Scotland anymore the family borrowed money from Lauder and decided to move to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in America, in search of a better life.

In September of 1848, they arrived in Allegheny.

Carnegie’s First Job

As soon as the family arrived in America, Andrew Carnegie and his father began working at a Scottish-owned cotton mill called Anchor Cotton Mills .

Carnegie worked as a bobbin boy, where he changed spools of thread in a cotton mill, working 12 hours a day for 6 days a week. He was soon approached by a Scottish manufacturer of bobbins, John Hay, who offered him a job for two dollars a week. However, this job proved to be much more difficult and tiring than the factory. He had to run a small steam engine and fire the boiler in the cellar of the bobbin factory.

By his own admission, he found the job too overwhelming. He kept trying the steam gauges, constantly worrying that either the steam might be too low and the workers would complain that they did not have enough power, or that the steam might be too high and the boiler might burst.

Working as a Telegraph Messenger

In 1849, Andrew Carnegie, aged 14, began working as a telegraph messenger boy for the Ohio Telegraph Company , working out of its Pittsburg Office for two and a half dollars per week. He got the job on his uncle’s recommendation.

Carnegie worked hard and sincerely, memorizing all the locations of Pittsburg businesses and the faces of important men. He learned to distinguish the different sounds produced by the incoming telegraph signals, while also developing the ability to translate these signals by ear, without using the paper slip.

He became so good at his job that he was soon made an operator.

Passion for Reading

Even though Andrew Carnegie had not received much formal education, he developed a passion for reading and learning.

This passion for reading and learning was further fueled by Colonel James Anderson , who was an educator, US Army Officer, and railroad contractor. Colonel Anderson opened up his personal library to working children every Saturday night. Carnegie became a regular visitor and borrower of books from the library. He read widely and with great interest, and the books he read had a profound influence on his cultural and intellectual development.

He was grateful to Colonel Anderson for allowing him to use his library and he made a promise to himself that if he ever became wealthy, he too would help poor children with opportunities to learn and educate themselves.

Working for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company

In 1853, Andrew Carnegie, aged 18, was asked by Thomas Alexander Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to work for the railroad company as a secretary cum telegraph operator for four dollars per week.

Carnegie weighed his options and accepted the offer as he saw more potential for career growth and experience at the railroad company than at the telegraph company.

Six years later, in 1859, Carnegie was promoted to superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This promotion was significant to his later success. He began earning $1,500 a year and quickly hired his younger brother, Tom, and his cousin, Maria Hogan, to work as telegraph operators.

It was during this time that he learned about management and cost control. He also made two very important and close connections with John Edgar Thomson (President of the Railroad Company) and Thomas Alexander Scott, which would later prove quite beneficial for him.

Early Investments

While he was serving as the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Andrew Carnegie began making his first investments with the help and guidance of Thomas A. Scott.

Many of these investments included inside trading in companies that the railroad did business with, or payoffs made by contracting parties as part of a quid pro quo. Such corruption was frequently indulged in by Scott and Thomson themselves.

In this way, Carnegie invested in the investment company Adams Express and even received some shares in American inventor Theodore Tuttle Woodruff ‘s sleeping car company. He then reinvested his returns in railroad-related industries such as bridges, rails, and iron. It was through these investments that he slowly began accumulating some fortune.

Civil War Years

In 1861, during the Civil War, Thomas Scott was appointed as Assistant Secretary of War in charge of military transportation.

While he worked in his new capacity, Scott appointed Andrew Carnegie as Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government’s telegraph lines in the east. Carnegie helped to open up the rail lines into Washington D.C. that had been cut out by the rebels. It is said that he rode the locomotive that carried the first brigade of Union troops to Washington, and personally supervised the transportation of the forces after their defeat at Bull Run.

Under his directions, the telegraph and railroad services rendered great service to the Union cause, helping the forces to their eventual victory.

Post-War Years

Carnegie’s investments in the Columbia Oil Company and in other companies in the iron industry had begun to reap rewards. His investments were highly successful and he was gaining a large fortune from them now.

After the war, Andrew Carnegie decided to leave the railroad company and devote his time to the ironworks trade. He established and developed several ironworks, eventually establishing the Keystone Bridge Company and the Union Ironworks , wherein he gave stocks to Scott and Thomson.

Carnegie continued to remain close to Scott and Thomson, using this connection to acquire contracts for his ironworks business. His businesses supplied bridges and rails to the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had by then become his best and most profitable client.

Conquering the Steel Industry

By the mid-1880s, Andrew Carnegie was controlling the most extensive integrated iron and steel operations ever owned by an individual in America, resulting in his acquiring a massive fortune in the steel industry.

Carnegie’s steel empire became the largest manufacturer of steel rails, pig iron, and coke in the world, and had the ability to produce approximately 2,000 tons of pig iron per day.

In 1892, Carnegie and several of his close associates formed the Carnegie Steel Company to manage businesses at steel mills in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. His steel empire grew to include several other iron and steel companies.

Retiring from Business

By 1901, Andrew Carnegie, aged 66, was contemplating retirement from business life. He had already reformed his enterprises into conventional joint-stock companies in order to prepare for his retirement.

On 2nd March 1901, John Pierpont Morgan (America’s biggest financier and banker), bought out Carnegie’s steel companies and that of several other major producers in the steel industry and integrated them into a single company called the United States Steel Corporation .

The buyout was the largest industrial takeover in American history to date. The newly formed company was the first corporation in the world with a market capitalization of over one billion dollars.

Carnegie’s steel enterprises were bought out for $303,450,000, finally allowing Carnegie to retire from the business and surpass John D. Rockefeller as the richest American for the next several years.

Carnegie the Writer

In spite of his tremendous success as a businessman and an industrialist, Andrew Carnegie was much more than just that. He had a literary side to him, with literary ambitions. He frequently contributed articles to various magazines such as the North American Review and The Nineteenth Century . Several of his articles dealt with labor issues.

He wrote four well-received books on travel, Our Coaching Trip , Brighton to Inverness , An American Four-in-hand in Britain , and Round the World . Two of his most famous works include Triumphant Democracy (in which he extols the beauty of American Democracy over British Monarchy), and The Gospel of Wealth (in which he describes the responsibility and importance of philanthropy by the rich).

His works on business include The Empire of Business and The Secret of Business is the Management of Men . His autobiography, titled Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie , was published posthumously.

Carnegie even befriended several literary figures such as Matthew Arnold, Herbert Spencer, and Mark Twain .

Anti-Imperialist Views and Philosophy

Andrew Carnegie was a staunch anti-imperialist when it came to American colonization of the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Although he did not say much regarding the American colonization of the latter three, he was particularly opposed to the annexation of the Phillippines.

Carnegie believed that the Filipinos should be allowed to live with their independence and that annexing it would be a violation of the democratic principle that America claimed to adhere to. He even urged William McKinley to withdraw American troops from the Philippines.

When the United States bought the Phillippines from Spain for 20 million dollars, Carnegie offered the same amount from his personal wealth so that the Phillippines could purchase its independence from the United States. But, unfortunately, nothing came of it.

In 1898, he joined the American Anti-Imperialist League , which was established to oppose the American annexation of the Phillippines, and soon became its vice president. The League included other important figures such as Mark Twain, Benjamin Harrison, and Grover Cleveland.

Carnegie’s philosophy in life was quite different and even benevolent in many aspects when compared to other rich men of the time. He believed that the first third of one’s life should be spent on getting all the education one can. The next third should be spent on making all the money one can. And the last third should be spent on giving away all the money earned for worthwhile causes.

Carnegie identified as a Positivist and was highly influenced by British radical and liberal statesman John Bright .

Views on Wealth

Andrew Carnegie also seemed to hold interesting views on wealth, which was again in stark contrast to most rich men of the time.

He believed that progressive taxation and the imposition of heavy estate tax at death were essential and necessary and that the growing disposition to tax more heavily large estates left at death was an important indication of the growth of a salutary change in public opinion. It was his opinion that the wealth hoarded by men all their lives should be put to proper use for public ends and for the good of the community.

Carnegie also believed that money was not as important as the mind, saying that it was the mind that made the body rich. He considered the class that only had money and nothing else to be pitiably wretched. For Carnegie, money was a useful drudge of things higher than itself.

He also remarked that amassing wealth was one of the worst species of idolatry and nothing was more debasing than the worship of money.

Philanthropy

In his final years, Andrew Carnegie dedicated his time and energy to philanthropic activities.

He would go on to dedicate the rest of his life to providing funds for the social and educational advancement of society. He established several public libraries throughout America, Canada, Britain, and other English-speaking countries like New Zealand, Australia, West Indies, Fiji, South Africa, and Ireland.

The first of his public libraries was opened in 1883 in his hometown of Dunfermline. In total, Carnegie is said to have as opened and funded around 3,000 public libraries.

Carnegie also invested heavily in educational institutions. He founded the Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT) at Pittsburg and the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS) in Washington D.C. He also served on the boards of Cornell University and Stevens Institute of Technology .

In his native Scotland, Carnegie established a charitable trust called the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland . He donated 10 million dollars for its establishment, which was then an unprecedented sum.

Carnegie was also an important benefactor of the Tuskegee Institute for African-American education, which was run by the African-American educator Booker T. Washington , and also funded the National Negro Business League founded by Washington to promote the interests of African-American businesses.

Toward the end of his life, Carnegie became probably one of the greatest philanthropists of his time.

On 11th August 1919, Andrew Carnegie, aged 83, died of bronchial pneumonia in Lenox, Massachusetts, at his Shadow Brook estate.

By the time of his death, Carnegie had given away almost 90% of his wealth, while the remaining 10% was given to pensioners, charities, and foundations.

Carnegie was interred at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetry in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

To many, Andrew Carnegie’s life represents the quintessential American dream. An immigrant who arrived in America poor and then went on to become one of the richest and most successful men in America.

Since his death, Andrew Carnegie is largely known for his great philanthropy work. And many who know about him admire his business acumen and shrewdness.

Carnegie did go to some lengths, which might be deemed controversial or wrong, or corrupt, to acquire his fortune over the years. But he made up for it by being a generous philanthropist in the later years of his life.

He now serves as an inspiration to people who want to make something out of their lives. He was a self-made man, who educated himself and acquired great wealth and success through hard work, perseverance, and shrewdness. He is a shining example to everyone out there that it does not matter how or where one is born, but through education, hard work, and perseverance, one can go on to achieve whatever one dreams of achieving.

Carnegie’s legacy continues to live on through his numerous foundations, charities, and universities.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (October 30, 2007)
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A Brief Biography of Andrew Carnegie

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Andrew Carnegie

Updated: November 2, 2018 | Original: May 30, 2012

Meet Andrew Carnegie and find out how the wealthiest man of his day ended up giving away his vast fortune.

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Andrew Carnegie

• Occupation: Entrepreneur
• Born: November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland
• Died: August 11, 1919 in Lenox, Massachusetts
• Best known for: Becoming wealthy from the steel business, giving his wealth to charities
• Nickname: Patron Saint of Libraries

• During the Civil War , Carnegie was in charge of the Union army's railroads and telegraph lines.
• He once said that "You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself."
• It is estimated that, accounting for inflation, Carnegie was the second richest person in the history of the world. The richest was John D. Rockefeller.
• He felt so strongly about giving his money away that he wrote in his book The Gospel of Wealth that "The man who dies thus rich, dies disgraced."
• He once offered to give the Philippines $20 million in order for the country to buy its independence.
• He donated funds to help Booker T. Washington run the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
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