USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Contents. Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist. Carnegie worked in a Pittsburgh cotton factory as a boy before rising to the position of division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859.

Detailed explanation-2: -He later successfully built the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad to haul Mesabi iron ore from the Great Lakes to his Pittsburgh steel mills, and the Keystone Bridge Company built the line’s massive 3, 400 foot long bridge over the Allegheny River near Oakmont.

Detailed explanation-3: -A generous philanthropist, he slashed the wages of the workers who made him rich. One of the captains of industry of 19th century America, Andrew Carnegie helped build the formidable American steel industry, a process that turned a poor young man into the richest man in the world.

Detailed explanation-4: -In addition to funding libraries, he paid for thousands of church organs in the United States and around the world. Carnegie’s wealth helped to establish numerous colleges, schools, nonprofit organizations and associations in his adopted country and many others.

Detailed explanation-5: -He and the Carnegie Corporation subsequently spent over $56 million to build 2, 509 libraries throughout the English-speaking world. Carnegie set about disposing of his fortune through innumerable personal gifts and through the establishment of various trusts.