Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)

1. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) By: Brodie Woodson and Jacob Whiting-kooy

2. General Background • Born in 1835 Dunfermline, Scotland • Came to America in 1848 • Father died when he was 20 • Hard worker who was driven to succeed and provide for his family • Considered a pacesetter and stiff competitor in the Industrialization period of America

3. Wealth Growth • Started working odd jobs at a young age as a bobbin boy, a messenger boy and a telegraph operator. • Quickly he proved himself and at age 18 Thomas A. Scott, superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, made him his secretary earning $35 a month; enough to provide heftily for his family. • After the Civil War he returned to Pittsburgh and took succeeded Scott as supervisor of Pennsylvania’s western division. • He began investing in many companies like the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company, a successful petroleum company, and secretly in a number of local small iron mills and factories; most importantly the Keystone Bridge Company, which he owned one-fifth of. • In 1865 he became a self designated capitalist, traveling between America and Europe selling small U.S. railroad and public bridge company bonds. • He commissioned around $1 million from selling bonds and iron products. • In 1870 he recognized the future in steel replacing iron and jumped at the business opportunity.

4. Carnegie Company • In 1870 Carnegie built his first blast furnace to make pig iron and a second in 1872. • In 1873 he organized a Bessemer-steel rail company, in a limited partnership. • When depression started and continued until 1879, Carnegie persisted and ensured employment to his workers, using personal funds and help from a local bank. • In 1874 the first steel furnace at Braddock, Pa. began rolling rails. • In 1878 the company was capitalized at $1.25 million, 59% was Carnegie’s • From 1880 onward, Carnegie dominated the steel industry • In the 1880’s Carnegie made some of his most important purchases of majority stock in the H.C. Frick Company, which had large coal lands, over 1000 cooking ovens in Connellsville, Pa., and the Homestead mills outside of Pittsburgh • Carnegie and Frick became partners and in 1889 Carnegie made Frick the chairman of the Carnegie Company • In 1889 Carnegie also published an important article explaining how it was the rich men’s duty to get rid of their fortunes for the welfare of the community. • In 1901, the U.S. Steel Corporation bought out the Carnegie company for $500 million, $225 million of which was Carnegie’s.

5. Donations • After Carnegie sold out, he began cultivating his interest in books, music, fine arts, learning, and technical education. • He set up trust funds “for the improvement of man-kind”. • First he built 3000 “free public libraries”, scattered over the English speaking world. • In 1895, the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh was opened. • It housed an art gallery, a natural history museum with information from personally paid for archeological expeditions, and a music hall • He built a group of technical schools, which became the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now the basis of Carnegie Mellon University • The Carnegie Institution of Washington was built and set up encouraging pure research in the natural and physical sciences • He built the Carnegie Hall in New York City • The Foundation of the Advancement of Teaching was created to provide pensions for university professors • Endowment for International Peace was established seeking the abolition of war • In the end Carnegie’s donations totaled $350 million; $288 million to the U.S. and $62 million to the British empire

7. Cited Sources • "Andrew Carnegie."Encyclopedia of World Biography Vol. 3. 2nd ed. 1998.