Second, Carnegie, an immigrant, felt America’s newcomers needed to acquire cultural knowledge of the country, which a library would help make possible.Ĭarnegie indicated it was the first reason that mattered most to him. First, he believed that in America, anyone with access to books and the desire to learn could educate him- or herself and be successful, as he had been. It is said that Carnegie had two main reasons for supporting libraries. Carnegie spent over $55 million of his wealth on libraries alone, and he is often referred to as the “Patron Saint of Libraries.” Of these libraries, 1,679 were built in the United States. One of the most tangible examples of Andrew Carnegie’s philanthropy was the founding of 2,509 libraries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was subsequently involved in steel production, and built the Carnegie Steel Corporation into the largest steel manufacturing company in the world. railroad.īy age 30, Carnegie had amassed business interests in iron works, steamers on the Great Lakes, railroads, and oil wells. He ultimately bought the company that introduced the first successful sleeping car on a U.S. Carnegie secured a bank loan to accept Woodruff’s proposal - a decision he would not regret. Theodore Woodruff approached him with the idea of sleeping cars on railways, offering him a share in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company. While associated with the railroad, Carnegie developed a wide variety of other business interests. By mortgaging their house, Margaret Carnegie obtained $500 to buy the shares, and soon the first stream of dividends began rolling in. Scott, superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and Andrew Carnegie’s boss, initiated the future millionaire’s first investment when he alerted Carnegie to the impending sale of ten shares in the Adams Express Company.

Andrew carnegie by david nasaw