Profile of the Day: Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie

Today we remember Scottish American industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, who died on August 11, 1919 at the age of 83 in Lenox, Massachusetts. He founded the Keystone Bridge Company in 1865 which was an important bridge building company, but he made his fortune in the steel industry. In 1892 he started the Carnegie Steel Company, it was the largest manufacturer of pig iron, steel rails, and coke (a type of fuel derived from coal) in the world. Carnegie sold the Carnegie Steel Company in 1901 to the United States Steel Corporation and retired from business.

Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland to William Carnegie and Margaret Morrison. The Carnegie’s decided to move to Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1848 for the hope of a better life since they were struggling to make ends meet in Scotland. Carnegie married at the age of 51 years old to Louise Whitfield. They only had one child, Margaret, named after Carnegie’s mother.

During the last years of his life he gave away a large portion of his fortune to charities, foundations, and universities. He helped fund about 3,000 public libraries located in the United States as well as in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and others. He gave back to his country of birth, donating a large sum to his birthplace Dunfermline and established a Trust for the Universities of Scotland.

Carnegie founded Carnegie Institution now known as Carnegie Mellon University, he established a large pension for his former employees, he built Carnegie Hall in New York City, he was a large benefactor of the Tuskegee Institute, he founded the Carnegie Hero Fund for the recognition of deed of heroism and more.

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Image: Library of Congress