Carnegie, Andrew

Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) was a leading industrialist, investor, and philanthropist who shaped the railroad, bridge building, and iron and steel industries in the United States. Carnegie moved with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1848, where he lived the quintessential rags-to-riches story, starting at the age of 13 with a factory job. By his retirement in 1901, he was known popularly as the richest man in the world.

Figure 1 Andrew Carnegie (Bearded Figure, Center) at the 1911 Founders Day Celebration at Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh

Source: Photograph Courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University archives.

[Page 383]Carnegie’s aggressive business strategies and benevolent acts were well-known. He is considered one of the industrialist robber barons—19th-century U.S. capitalists who attained great wealth using ruthless business methods. He was a contemporary ...