Give It Away
Wendy Glass discovers Andrew Carnegie’s philosophy of life on a visit to a new museum in his name.
ANDREW CARNEGIE was born in Dunfermline in 1835, the oldest son of a poor handloom weaver. By the age of sixty-six, he was the world’s richest man – but when he died in 1919, the “Steel King of America” had given away almost every penny of his riches.
Acknowledged as the Father of Modern Philanthropy, funding public libraries was one of the many ways Andrew Carnegie used his money to help others – and the first Carnegie Library is in Dunfermline, the town where he discovered his love of learning.
“Although the young Andrew Carnegie and his brother Thomas lived in abject poverty, they received a good Scottish education,” Sharron Mccoll, resident Andrew Carnegie expert at Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries, explains. “In addition, their uncle had a tradesmen’s library, where, for a small fee, you could borrow a book, so Andrew was no stranger to reading.”
Life was hard for Dunfermline’s 19th-century handloom weavers, who faced harsh competition from the town’s new linen mills.
After years of struggling, in 1848, Andrew’s parents, Margaret and William Carnegie, borrowed £20 and set sail for America with their two sons.
“The Carnegies settled in Pittsburgh, where thirteen-thirteenyear-old Andrew found a job as a bobbin boy in a mill and gave up all hopes of continuing with his education,” Sharron says. “However, while working in the mill, Andrew met a man with his own library, Colonel Anderson, and the polite but determined bobbin boy asked if he could visit.”
Colonel Anderson agreed – and invited the other bobbin boys to come along, too.
“Every Saturday, Andrew and his colleagues would go to Colonel Anderson’s library and take a book out,” Sharron explains. “Many years later, Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Library was adorned by a statue of Colonel Anderson – Andrew was very grateful to his friend for helping him to continue reading and learning.”
After a year, Andrew became a telegram messenger and, after teaching himself Morse code, was promoted to telegram operator.
This brought Andrew into contact with a railwayman, Thomas Scott, which led to his first business venture – building sleeper carriages for the trains dashing across America.
Andrew needed money to bring his plans to fruition and asked his widowed mother if he could mortgage their small house.
The gamble paid off and Andrew’s investment was rewarded so handsomely, he was able to move his mother and brother to a luxurious town house in the heart of Pittsburgh.
From then on, everything Andrew Carnegie touched seemed to turn to gold – or at least steel!
“Andrew Carnegie was an incredibly astute businessman who had a knack of being in the right place at the right time,” Sharron says. “He bought his first iron works to satisfy America’s growing need for railroad tracks and then he moved into steel making, an innovative process at the time, just in time for the boom in constructing skyscrapers, which required high-quality steel.”
In 1887, Andrew’s brother Thomas and his mother died within a month of each other. He was distraught by both losses – but his mother’s death meant he was finally able to marry
Louise Whitfield, the thirty-year-old, highly attractive daughter of a New York merchant to whom he’d secretly been engaged for several years.
“Louise – you are the only one I have left,” Andrew wrote to his beloved. “I live for you and you alone.”
“Andrew and Louise married straight away,” Sharron explains. “From an early age, Andrew had firmly believed that ‘He who dies thus rich, dies thus disgraced’ and, on their wedding day, Louise agreed to support Andrew in his efforts to use his money to the benefit of mankind.”
By the end of the 19th century, the Carnegie Steel Company was the world’s largest steel producer – and Andrew Carnegie was a multi-millionaire. But his riches were about to soar as high as a New York skyscraper when JP Morgan asked to buy Carnegie Steel.
Andrew was sixty-six years old and retirement must have looked very tempting, especially with a $480 million pension fund!
“Andrew Carnegie sold his company – and then set about getting rid of every penny,” Sharron says, adding that he was determined to use his extraordinary wealth wisely.
With Louise’s help, Andrew established a programme of philanthropy which included building over 3,000 public libraries across the USA, UK and Ireland, investing millions in education and the arts and setting up a series of trust funds.
After Andrew died, Louise continued with his philanthropy, as did their only child, Margaret, while the trusts set up by Mr and Mrs Carnegie continue to finance education, arts and charities to this day.
“It’s thanks to a one million pound grant from the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust that a state-of-the-art, award-winning museum has just opened at Dunfermline’s Carnegie Library,” Sharron continues,
adding that significant funding came from Fife Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“I think Andrew would have been delighted to know that, having funded his first public library in Dunfermline one hundred and thirty-four years ago, one of his trusts has helped to build the wonderful museum the library is now attached to.
“Andrew Carnegie never forgot his humble roots and, thanks to the millions of dollars he handed out all over the world, he will always be remembered.”
For more information about Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries, visit www.onfife.com/dclg or call 01383 602365. n