Andrew Carnegie Biography - Business Magnate and Philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie is one of the most well known names in American history. Reading an Andrew Carnegie biography is inspirational because he started with nothing and went on to become one of the richest men in the history of the United States, ranking right up there with Vanderbilt and Rockefeller.
Carnegie is considered one of America's builders, as he owned one of the largest steel mills in the world, and was a key player in the Gilded Age of the United States. He was a successful businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Andrew Carnegie Biography - Early Life
The Andrew Carnegie biography is a true rags-to-riches story. He was born on November 25, 1935 in Scotland to a father who was a handloom weaver. His family instilled a love of reading and learning at an early age, and Carnegie grew up loving books. By the time he entered his teens, hard times had fallen upon Scotland and the Carnegie family. Andrew Carnegie's father borrowed money to take his family to America in search of a better life and brighter future.
When Carnegie came to American at the age of 13, he took a job working in a cotton factory in Pittsburg. He worked 12 hours every day, six days a week and earned $1.20 per week. When he was fifteen years old, Carnegie got a job with a telegraph company as a messenger boy. The job paid $2.50 per week and came with many benefits that helped Carnegie improve his life. As a telegraph messenger, he met many important businessmen. He made it a point to remember names and faces. He excelled at his work and was promoted to telegraph operator within a year. During this time, a library opened nearby and Carnegie became a frequent patron.
Through reading many books and working hard, Carnegie became a self-made man in many ways, and opportunities began to open up for him.
Andrew Carnegie Biography - Railroad Career
When he was 18 years old, Andrew Carnegie took a job as a telegraph operator at the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and his pay advanced to $4.00 per week. Because railroads were big business at that time, and Carnegie was a personal assistant and telegrapher for one of the top executives in the largest railroad company in America, he learned a great deal about industry and business.
 
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If you click on the image to the left it will open a new
tab/window on Amazon.com, where users have given this book
4.5 stars out of 5. The book can also be bought as an ebook in the flexible Amazon Kindle format (which works on PC, Mac, Android smartphone & tablet, iPad and iPhone) - to check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon.com, please click this link: Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie  |
When reading an Andrew Carnegie biography, it is interesting to note that he often seemed to be in the right place at the right time because of his good judgment and work ethic.
Andrew Carnegie worked diligently and soaked up as much knowledge as he could and within three years he was promoted to a superintendent's position in the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In 1861, the Civil War was underway, and Andrew Carnegie was appointed Superintendent of Military Railways and was also placed in charge of the Union Government's telegraph operations. He played an important role in the Civil War keeping communications, troops, and munitions flowing.
Andrew Carnegie Biography - The Steel Business
During the years Carnegie worked for the railroad company, he learned about investing and had good results from his oil investments. He also invested heavily in railroad related industries such as iron, bridges, and rails. His profits from these investments gave him the capital he needed to invest in companies and grow his wealth.
Eventually, he left the railroad and tried his hand at other types of businesses, including ironworks and the steel industry. Within ten years, Carnegie was working in the steel industry full time and he owned his own business called the Carnegie Steel Company. This company was behind Carnegie's great accumulation of wealth. He devised a new method for making steel that caused the steel his company devised to be cheaper and more in demand.
He also owned related businesses that supported his steel company such as raw material suppliers, railroads, and ships, so Carnegie profited all around.
By the year 1889, Andrew Carnegie's steel company was the largest in the world.
Andrew Carnegie Biography - The Philanthropist
One of the most astonishing things to learn from an Andrew Carnegie's biography, is how he shared his money with charities and trusts. When Andrew Carnegie neared retirement years, he sold his steel company and devoted his life to philanthropy. He approached his charitable work with the same earnest zeal as he did his career.
Carnegie gave away millions of dollars in his lifetime, much of it was done in an effort to support learning, education, and love of reading. He gave money to establish what is now Carnegie Mellon University and University of Birmingham. He established educational trusts in Scotland and the UK that were to provide grants to universities and students. He built Carnegie Hall and because he loved music, he founded an organization that built over 7000 organs for churches.
Andrew Carnegie touched many lives in several countries throughout the world because of the schools, charities, and organizations he founded. Perhaps his most widely recognized is his Carnegie Library project.
Andrew Carnegie Biography - Carnegie Libraries
An Andrew Carnegie biography would not be complete without mention of his libraries. Andrew Carnegie helped establish over 3000 libraries in various countries of the world including the United States, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Caribbean, and Serbia. The first library was opened in Carnegie's hometown of Dunfermline, Scotland. Because Carnegie had a lifelong love of reading, and because he benefited from having free access to a library when he was a teen, he realized how important a library is to a community and to individuals wishing to expand knowledge.
Carnegie libraries where created in a specific architectural style that included steps leading to the doorway and a lamppost outside. These were to symbolize illumination and the path to knowledge. Many Carnegie libraries are still operational today in their original buildings.
Andrew Carnegie Books - The Writer
Andrew Carnegie loved to write. He corresponded with notable writers of the period. Carnegie had many articles published in important magazines of the day, such as "Nineteenth Century" and "North American Review." He also published a few books.
 
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"An American Four-in-Hand in Britain" is a book Carnegie wrote that told
of his experiences touring the UK. If you click on the image to the left it will open a new tab/window on Amazon.com, where users have given this book 4.5 stars out of 5. The book can also be bought as an ebook in the flexible Amazon Kindle format (which works on PC, Mac, Android smartphone & tablet, iPad and iPhone) - to check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon.com, please click this link: An American Four-In-Hand in Britain 
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"Round the World" was an account of the
experiences Carnegie and his brother had as they traveled around the world. If you click on the image to the left it will open a new tab/window on Amazon.com, where users have given this book 5 stars out of 5. The book can also be bought as an ebook in the flexible Amazon Kindle format (which works on PC, Mac, Android smartphone & tablet, iPad and iPhone) - to check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon.com, please click this link: Round the World 
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"Triumphant
Democracy" was a controversial book written in 1886 that compared the government
of the United States against the government of the United Kingdom and weighed in
favor of the US. It caused a stir in the UK where Carnegie had several holdings and had made many sizeable charitable donations. If you click on the image to the left it will open a new tab/window on Amazon.com. |
Carnegie also wrote "The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie" in which he told his life story that took him from humble beginnings to being one of the richest men in the world. His autobiography wasn't published until after his death.
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If you click on the image to the left it will open a new
tab/window on Amazon.com, where users have given this book
4.5 stars out of 5. The book can also be bought as an ebook in the flexible Amazon Kindle format (which works on PC, Mac, Android smartphone & tablet, iPad and iPhone) - to check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon.com, please click this link: Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie |
 
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In 1889, Andrew Carnegie published "The Gospel of Wealth" which may be his most well known work. This essay was released in the US and the UK. In it, Carnegie explained the importance of philanthropy. If you click on the image to the left it will open a new tab/window on Amazon.com, where users have given this book 3.5 stars out of 5. The book can also be bought as an ebook together with the autobiography in the flexible Amazon Kindle format (which works on PC, Mac, Android smartphone & tablet, iPad and iPhone) - to check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon.com, please click this link: The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth  |
He warned against the dangers of individuals and companies amassing great wealth if they are not mentally or emotionally equipped to use it properly. Carnegie felt it is a duty of the wealthy to engage in philanthropic activities in order to spread wealth around to those who need it. He further discussed how individuals tend to squander inheritances and how giving handouts doesn't benefit those in need.
Instead he saw the need for a new era of charity in which the charitable gifts where used in a way that would help people become self reliant and successful themselves.
In 1908, Carnegie commissioned a journalist named Napoleon Hill to interview hundreds of successful achievers and find common patterns in their behavior. The work was eventually published after his death in the books "The Law of Success" and "Think and Grow Rich."
 
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"The Law of Success" If you click on the image to the left it will open a new tab/window on Amazon.com, where users have given this book 4.5 stars out of 5. The book can also be bought as an ebook in the flexible Amazon Kindle format (which works on PC, Mac, Android smartphone & tablet, iPad and iPhone) - to check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon.com, please click this link: The Law of Success: The Master Wealth-Builder's Complete and Original Lesson Plan forAchieving YourDreams 
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"Think and Grow Rich" by Hill, which was based upon Carnegie's
success formula, went on to become a classic, and one of the most popular
self-help books of all time. If you click on the image to the left it will open a new tab/window on Amazon.com, where users have given this book 4.5 stars out of 5. The book can also be bought as an ebook in the flexible Amazon Kindle format (which works on PC, Mac, Android smartphone & tablet, iPad and iPhone) - to check out the Kindle ebook on Amazon.com, please click this link: Think and Grow Rich  |
Andrew Carnegie Biography - His Death
Andrew Carnegie died of bronchial pneumonia on August 11, 1919. He was 83 years old.
In his lifetime, he gave away around $350,000,000, which is the equivalent of about $4.8 billion when adjusted to 2010 dollars.
Upon his death, the remainder of his estate was distributed among charities. Carnegie is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in North Tarrytown, New York. Andrew Carnegie's biography is a true rags-to-riches story during the Gilded Age of America.
What made him unique among men was his selflessness. He didn't amass great wealth for himself or to leave to his heirs. He felt it was his duty to share his good fortune with others, and in doing so, he left a lasting legacy in countries all over the world.
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