Andrew Carnegie
Born on November 25, 1835
in Dunfermline, Scotland,
Andrew Carnegie is the
embodiment of the American
Dream. The son of poor
Scottish immigrants,
Andrew Carnegie literally
went from "rags to riches"
as he propelled his way
forward with hard work and
determination from a
simple bobbin boy to
“Steel King” and “Richest
Man in America.”
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Background:
Andrew Carnegie was the
eldest son of William
Carnegie, a linen maker,
and of Margaret Morrison
Carnegie.
When steam-powered looms
came to Dunfermline in 1847, hundreds of hand loom weavers,
including William Carnegie, became expendable. Andrew's
mother, Margaret Morrison Carnegie, went to work to support
the family, opening a small grocery shop and mending shoes.
Fearing for the survival of their family, the Carnegies
soon decided to leave Scotland, borrowing 20 pounds for
passage to America. Upon arriving in 1848, the Carnegie
family joined two of Margaret's sisters in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
Life in America:
It was in Pittsburgh, at the age of 13, that Andrew
Carnegie began his career as bobbin boy in a cotton factory
for $1.20 per week. A voracious reader, he took advantage
of the generosity of Col. James Anderson who opened his
library to local working boys. Books provided most of his
education as he worked his way through a series of jobs
from messenger boy in the city's telegraph office to
superintendent of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania
Railroad.
Andrew Carnegie, Steel King of America:
Andrew Carnegie ultimately made his fortune in steel,
turning the industrial world on its ear in the process. He
introduced the Bessemer steel making process to America
and, in 1875, opened his largest steel plant, the Edgar
Thompson Works, in Braddock, Pennsylvania. In 1899,
Carnegie joined several of his business interests by
forming the Carnegie Steel Company, which immediately
became a leader in the steel industry.
He expanded his business by buying out his competitors when
steel prices were low. Carnegie never held a monopoly on
steel production in the United States. However, by 1901
Carnegie's mills were producing more steel than all of
Great Britain's steel mills combined. He used a method
called vertical integration—owning the businesses involved
in each step of a manufacturing process. To lower his
production costs, Carnegie bought the iron ore mines, the
coal fields, and the railroads needed to supply and support
his steel mills.
Issues with Labor:
His conflicts with labor are best remembered in the 1892
showdown between Carnegie Steel and the unions at
Homestead, Pennsylvania, a workers' town where the steel
unions reigned supreme. Carnegie, on vacation in Scotland,
had left his partner, Henry Clay Frick, to settle the
dispute, wiring him that he approved "anything you do." But
later Carnegie held Frick solely responsible for the
violence at the mill that left seven workers and three
Pinkerton guards dead.
Andrew Carnegie, Philanthropist:
The empire he forged in the steel furnaces of Pittsburgh
sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $400 million and Andrew
Carnegie retired from business life as the richest man in
the world. The man of steel, however, had a heart of gold.
By the time of his death in 1919, Andrew Carnegie had given
away over $350 million to provide more than 2,500 free
public libraries throughout the world.
Well remembered for his philanthropy and generous heart,
Andrew Carnegie also gave money for museums and concert
halls (including Carnegie Hall in New York City), and
founded the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh
(now Carnegie Mellon University)