The Life of Andrew Carnegie

A slice of Scotland, a distinguished citizen of the United States, and a philanthropist devoted to the betterment of the world around him, Andrew Carnegie became known at the turn of the twentieth century and became a real life rags to riches story. Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835, Andrew Carnegie entered the world in poverty. The son of a hand weaver, Carnegie received his only formal grooming during the short conviction mingled with his birth and his move to the United States.When steam machinery for weaving came into use, Carnegies father interchange his looms and household goods, sailing to America with his wife and both sons. At this time, Andrew was twelve, and his brother, Thomas, was five. Arriving into reinvigorated York on August 14, 1848, aboard the Wiscasset from Glasgow, the Carnegies wasted infinitesimal time settling in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, where relatives already existed and were in that location to provi de help. Allegheny City provided Carnegies first ph 1 line, as a reel son in a cotton factory, working for $1. 20 a week.His father also worked there while his mother bound property at home, making a miniscule amount of money. Although the Carnegies lacked in money, they abounded in ideals and corresponding for their children. At age 15, Carnegie became a telegraph messenger boy in Pittsburgh. He learned to send and decipher telegraphic messages and became a telegraph operator at the age of 17. Carnegies next job was as a railroad clerk, working for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He worked his dash up the ladder, through with(predicate) his dedication and honest desire to succeed, to become train dispatcher and then division manager.At this time, young Carnegie, age 24, had already made whatsoever small investments that laid the foundations of his what would be tremendous fortune. iodin of these investments was the purchase of stock in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Comp any(prenomina l). In 1864, Carnegie entered the iron business, however did not begin to make steel until age later. In 1873, he built the Edgar Thomson works in Braddock, Pennsylvania, to make Bessemer steel. He established many other steel plants, and in 1892, he unified all of his interests into the Carnegie Steel Company.This act from Carnegie is fitting with one of his most famous quotations, Put all of your eggs in one basket, and then look at that basket. This firm became one of the greatest industrial enterprises in America. Carnegie later sold it to J. P. Morgans United States Steel Corporation in 1901 for $400 million, which would be a little over $4 billion today subsequently retiring, Carnegies fortune was estimated to be as oversize as fractional a billion dollars. From that time on, with the philosophy that the rich have a moral obligation to assign away their money, he devoted himself to philanthropy.Although ironic, this man of great fortune strongly believed in the merits of poverty for the development of part and work ethic, and determined that wealthy men should not leave their fortunes to their children, but should give it away, claiming The man who dies thus rich, dies disgraced. The picture of community service, Carnegie is quoted as saying, Pittsburgh entered the midpoint of my heart when I was a boy, and displacenot be torn out. I can never be one hairs breadth little loyal to her, or less anxious to help her in any way, than I have been since I could help anything.My treasure is still with you, and how vanquish to serve Pittsburgh is the question which occurs to me almost every day of my life. Colonel James Anderson, who Carnegie believes to be his childhood benefactor, established a public depository library in his hometown of Allegheny City. This library was the first opportunity for Carnegie to take advantage of free information, and he real a vast interest for knowledge, checking out at least one book a week, and developing himse lf as a young boy.With Colonel Andersons generous contribution to his society molding Carnegies childhood, and his beliefs on how large fortunes can be used for the betterment of society, it becomes obvious that Carnegie would focus in particular on promoting education, establishing 2,811 free libraries in all. Of these, 1,946 were located in the United States with at least one in every state except Rhode Island. Also, 660 were founded in Britain and Ireland, 156 in Canada, and a handful of libraries were also scattered in impertinently Zealand, the West Indies, and even Fiji.Caregies contributions gave existence to his dream of establishing chances of self-education in a time when public libraries were scarce. Not only did he give large amounts of money to libraries, but also to other philanthropic organizations, establishing some of his own. The Carnegie Corporation of New York was established for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. The $ one hundred t hirty-five million donated by Carnegie was used in grants to colleges, universities, and other educational institutions. property also went to organizations that conduct basic research and experimental programs dealing with education and public affairs. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was founded to promote international peacefulness and understanding, conducting programs of research, discussion, publication, and education in the international affairs and United States foreign policy. presently the program focuses on issues such as arms control, international law, and traffic between the United States and foreign countries.It publishes the quarterly journal, Foreign Policy, and has offices in New York City and Washington, D. C. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching promotes the dignity in the inform profession and the cause of higher education. Chartered by Carnegie in 1905 with $15 million, the foundation established the Teachers Insurance and A nnuity Association in 1918, and before long provides retirement pensions for teachers of colleges, technical schools, and universities in the United States and Canada. Their studies have had much work on American higher education. Also benefiting from Carnegies charity let in various Carnegie museums of history, science, and art, Carnegie Hall in New York, and other public spanking organizations.Before 1919, when Carnegie died, he had given away $350,695,653, and at his death, the last $30 million was likewise given away to foundations, charities, and pensioners. He left a mark on society not only through his wonderful monetary provisions, but also with his own literature. Carnegie loved to promote his ideas and opinions in print, and has written many works outlining these philosophies, including Triumphant Democracy (1886), The Gospel of wealthiness (1900), The Empire of Business (1902), Problems of Today (1908), and an Autobiography (1920) (Mitzen 182).Although Carnegie only stood somewhere between 52 and 56, he had to be a great, tough, disciplined giant of a man. His commitment to others is not only seen through his many munificent works, but in the way he lived, including his headstone in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery of North Tarrytown, New York, where the epitaph reads, here(predicate) lies a man who was able to surround himself with men far cleverer than himself.