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Carnegie is born in Dunfermline, Scotland
This is a video describing the life of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, whose life became a rags to riches story, was a Scottish-American industrialist who led the expansion of the steel industry in the late 19th century. He was also a philanthropist who gave away almost 90 percent of his fortune to charities and foundations by the time of his death. -
Moved to the United States
In 1848 William Carnegie (father of Andrew Carnegie) decided to move to Allegheny, Pennsylvania with his family in prospect of a better life. Andrew got his first job at the age of 13 as a bobbin boy in a Pittsburgh cotton factory. -
Carnegie gets a new job
In 1850, Carnegie became a telegraph messenger boy in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph Company. This new job helped him develop economically and intellectually.His capacity, his willingness for hard work, his perseverance, and his alertness soon brought forth opportunities. -
Beginning of Carnegie's success
Starting in 1853, Thomas A. Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company employed Carnegie as a secretary/telegraph operator. At age 18 he rapidly advanced and became the superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division. Scott helped him make his first investments. -
Carnegie during the Civil War
In spring 1861, Carnegie was appointed by Scott, who was now Assistant Secretary of War in charge of military transportation, as Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the East. -
Carnegie forms the Keystone Bridge Company
In 1864, Carnegie invested $40,000 in Story Farm on Oil Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania from which he profited a lot.After the war, Carnegie left the railroads to devote all his energies to the ironworks trade. Carnegie worked to develop several iron works, eventually forming The Keystone Bridge Works and the Union Ironworks, in Pittsburgh. He remained closely connected to Thomas A. Scott and J. Edgar Thomson, management of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. -
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Carnegie's Steel Empire
One of Carnegie's two great innovations was the cheap and efficient mass production of steel by adopting and adapting the Bessemer process for steel making. This process was rapidly adapted for railway lines, bridges and buildings. His second innovation was vertical integration in which the supply chain of a company is owned by the company. -
Carnegie married Louise Whitfield
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Johnstown Flood
These are survivor stories of the FloodCarnegie's partner Frick had formed the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club above Johnstown, for business tycoons. The South Fork Dam, used as a reservoir for a canal basin in Johnstown, frequently sprang leaks and was patched, mostly with mud and straw. A reduction in height and heavy spring rains caused the dam to break on May 31 causing the Johnstown Flood. The members of the South Fork Club gathered to form the Pittsburgh Relief Commit to help flood victims and fend of all lawsuits. -
Launching of Carnegie Steel Company
By 1889, Carnegie's empire grew to include the J. Edgar Thomson Steel Works, , Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Works, the Lucy Furnaces, the Union Iron Mills, the Union Mill , the Keystone Bridge Works, the Hartman Steel Works, the Frick Coke Company, and the Scotia ore mines. Carnegie combined his assets and those of his associates in 1892 with the launching of the Carnegie Steel Company. -
Homestead Strike
A Newspaper Article form July 6th 1892 on the Homestead StrikeAfter union workers protested wage cuts, Carnegie Steel general manager Henry Frick locked the workers out of the plant. Carnegie was on vacation during the strike, but put his support in Frick, who called in 300 Pinkerton armed guards to protect the plant. A bloody battle broke out between the striking workers and the Pinkertons, causing 10 deaths. The state militia then was brought in to take control and union leaders were arrested. This event permanently damaged Carnegie's reputation. -
Carnegie retires and the US Steel Corporation is formed
John Pierpont Morgan was a banker who envisioned an integrated steel industry that would cut costs, lower prices to consumers, produce in greater quantities and raise wages to workers. To achieve this he needed to buy out Carnegie and several other major producers and integrate them into one company, thereby eliminating duplication and waste. Morgan bought Carnegie's steel interprises for $480 million (in 2014, $13.6 billion) and Carnegie's share of that was $480 million (in 2014, $13.6 billion) -
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Carnegie as a Philanthropist
Carnegie spent his last years as a philanthropist.He had written about his views on social subjects and the responsibilities of great wealth in Triumphant Democracy (1886) and Gospel of Wealth (1889). He established many public libararies in english speaking countries and gave $2 million each to start the Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT) at Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Institution at Washington, D.C. -
Andrew Carnegie dies
Carnegie died on August 11, 1919, in Lenox, Massachusetts, of bronchial pneumonia. He had already given away $350,695,653 of his wealth. After his death, his last $30,000,000 was given to foundations, charities, and to pensioners. He was buried at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in North Tarrytown, New York.
