Andrew Carnegie “Embodied the rags-to-riches American dream.” He was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland. His mother’s name was Margaret and Will was his father. They both worked hard to instill a good work ethic and a belief that wealth carries with it social responsibilities. Both of these morals became evident later on in Carnegie’s life in America. "Andrew Carnegie." Biography Resource Center. Gale, 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2010.
Carnegie moved from Scotland to current day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1848. Because of their low income Carnegie went to work as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill at age 13. In 1849, he became a telegraph messenger. Thomas Scott hired Carnegie as his personal telegrapher only three years later in 1852. Scott was also Carnegie’s friend and mentor in high finance. The year of 1855, brought a huge loss to the Carnegie family when Will died leaving Andrew Carnegie the sole financial provider for his mother and younger brother. At only 20 he had no opportunity for formal education, Carnegie learned double-entry book keeping at night school and he studied as much as he could at the free public library. He wisely invested in many stocks that quickly became fruitful. By 1863, Carnegie had earned enough money to declare himself rich. His stocks were making him more money than his job and he could be sitting at home on the couch and still be getting paid. 1864, brought a time of war and he was drafted into the union army, but he paid a replacement soldier $850 to serve for him. As shocking as that sounds to us now, it was a very common practice during the Civil War. While his soldier was fighting for him Carnegie was at home hard at work. He noticed there was a big push in the iron and steel industry and in 1872, he established his own steel company. His steel company shot off and soon served as the backbone of the nations growing railroad system which helped the American cities expand. "Andrew Carnegie." Biography Resource Center. Gale, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
At age 52, he finally decided to settle down and he married a woman named Louise Whitfeild. Ten years later the couple had their first child. Carnegie was blessed with a baby girl, who they named Margaret. In 1901, Carnegie sold his Franchise to J.P. Morgan for $400 million making him the richest man in the world. Think about it during that time a show only costed a nickel. What would you do with 8,000,000,000 nickels?
I don’t know how you would spend that money, but Andrew Carnegie donated it to philanthropic activities. He gave away over $350 million or 700,000,000 nickels in his lifetime. He built over 2,800 public libraries and he established the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. On top of all of this he wrote 8 books and 70 magazine articles during his retirement. Sadly, Andrew Carnegie died in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 11, 1919. Although, he is no longer here the influence he had on America is still evident all around us. Carnegie once said that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” Overall, I think Andrew Carnegie did a spectacular job of not dying disgraced."Andrew Carnegie." Biography Resource Center. Gale, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
Carnegie moved from Scotland to current day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1848. Because of their low income Carnegie went to work as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill at age 13. In 1849, he became a telegraph messenger. Thomas Scott hired Carnegie as his personal telegrapher only three years later in 1852. Scott was also Carnegie’s friend and mentor in high finance. The year of 1855, brought a huge loss to the Carnegie family when Will died leaving Andrew Carnegie the sole financial provider for his mother and younger brother. At only 20 he had no opportunity for formal education, Carnegie learned double-entry book keeping at night school and he studied as much as he could at the free public library. He wisely invested in many stocks that quickly became fruitful. By 1863, Carnegie had earned enough money to declare himself rich. His stocks were making him more money than his job and he could be sitting at home on the couch and still be getting paid. 1864, brought a time of war and he was drafted into the union army, but he paid a replacement soldier $850 to serve for him. As shocking as that sounds to us now, it was a very common practice during the Civil War. While his soldier was fighting for him Carnegie was at home hard at work. He noticed there was a big push in the iron and steel industry and in 1872, he established his own steel company. His steel company shot off and soon served as the backbone of the nations growing railroad system which helped the American cities expand. "Andrew Carnegie." Biography Resource Center. Gale, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
At age 52, he finally decided to settle down and he married a woman named Louise Whitfeild. Ten years later the couple had their first child. Carnegie was blessed with a baby girl, who they named Margaret. In 1901, Carnegie sold his Franchise to J.P. Morgan for $400 million making him the richest man in the world. Think about it during that time a show only costed a nickel. What would you do with 8,000,000,000 nickels?
I don’t know how you would spend that money, but Andrew Carnegie donated it to philanthropic activities. He gave away over $350 million or 700,000,000 nickels in his lifetime. He built over 2,800 public libraries and he established the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. On top of all of this he wrote 8 books and 70 magazine articles during his retirement. Sadly, Andrew Carnegie died in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 11, 1919. Although, he is no longer here the influence he had on America is still evident all around us. Carnegie once said that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” Overall, I think Andrew Carnegie did a spectacular job of not dying disgraced."Andrew Carnegie." Biography Resource Center. Gale, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.
