The boy done good
A new book looks at the life and legacy of the Scottish American industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie’s rise from humble beginnings in a weaver’s cottage in Scotland, to become a serial entrepreneur in America and the world’s richest man, is a compelling story. He was the archetypal Scots-American. He became intensely loyal to his adopted home City of Pittsburgh. However, he loved his native country, especially its ancient capital and his birthplace, Dunfermline; its historic characters, notably Wallace and Robert the Bruce; and, not least, its bard, Rabbie Burns.
How Carnegie’s eclectic interests led him to the world of steel and the Bessemer Process, his skill at vertically integrating his various companies, and his destiny as a great philanthropist, are all explained and illustrated in new book Carnegie Heritage, co-authored by Henry Steuart Fothringham, OBE, and Dr Charles Kinder Bradbury.
The pair have previously written books on the Stewarts, the Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh, and the assayer, Alex Stewart. When their quest for a new project began in 2019, in Dunfermline, Fife, Andrew Carnegie’s name was in the news, it being the centenary of his birth in Dunfermline.
Andrew Carnegie’s story, his ancestry and legacies, appeared to t well into the format of the Heritage Series and access to the local Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum facilitated research. Henry’s interest was piqued by his distant relationship with the Carnegies.
In 1848, aged 12, Andrew Carnegie emigrated from Dunfermline to the United States, along with his parents.
It was in the US that Carnegie built up his hugely successful steel empire, famously being named ‘the richest man in the world’, but he didn’t forget his hometown, laying the rst stone for his rst public library in Dunfermline in 1881.
Andrew Carnegie sold his industrial empire to John Pierpont Morgan in 1901, receiving bonds in the US Steel Corporation. The bond interest generated enabled Carnegie to give full rein to his philanthropic initiatives.
However, over the succeeding years it became clear that ‘Andra’ could not continue to give away his fortune faster than it was growing. This prompted the creation of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, still active today, to disburse his wealth to many foundations and trusts in America, Scotland and elsewhere. In modern times, the corporation created the renowned Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
In today’s world of information technology, it is easy to overlook the wonderful legacy left by Andrew Carnegie, who wrote: “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to bene t its people”. His love affair with books blossomed in Dunfermline, Scotland, and in Pittsburgh, America. During his lifetime, Carnegie helped to establish more than 2,500 libraries throughout the world. On the lintel above the entrance of almost every such building which he endowed is the motto ‘Let there be Light’.
In the realm of education, Carnegie poured money into universities, buildings and academic pensions. His support of the Universities of Scotland is particularly significant.
His contribution to many branches of science, including medicine, astronomy and genetics, was achieved in great part by the founding of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, now known as the Carnegie Institution for Science. His foresight in allowing his trustees in this and other foundations to support projects of ever-changing nature is quite remarkable.
The first Department of the Institution was that of Plant Biology and, in 1903, the Desert Laboratory was established in Tucson, Arizona. Shortly after the death of their benefactor, research scientists dedicated the locally-known cactus, saguaro, to “Andrew Carnegie, distinguished philanthropist and patron of science”, naming it Carnegiea Gigantea.
One of the most interesting scientific projects championed by Andrew was in the field of Terrestrial Magnetism. In 1909, the yacht Carnegie was launched. This vessel, devoid of all traces of magnetic materials, enabled the identification of errors in the maritime charts of the day, notably those of the British Admiralty, thus making navigation safer. The great philanthropist was proud to claim to reporters: “The Carnegie is going over all the seas year after year putting the world right”. The global magnetic study was almost complete in 1929, when the yacht was unfortunately completely destroyed by an explosion and fire when travelling in Western Samoa.
Carnegie abhorred war and, during the last decades of his life, aimed his efforts on an international scale towards defusing tensions among nations. Among his outstanding legacies are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Palace of Peace in The Hague in the Netherlands.
His pacifist beliefs also led him to celebrate heroism in civilian life rather than in war. He did so by setting up Carnegie Hero Funds in the USA, the UK and in Europe.
These funds continue to honour those who have saved lives, often at the cost of their own, and to support victims of disaster and their families.