ANDREW CARNEGIE
Library philanthropist. The libraries came after Homestead.
§ I — Bureau Summary
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) emigrated from Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1848 and built Carnegie Steel into the largest steel producer in the world before selling to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million — the largest personal financial transaction in history at the time, forming the nucleus of U.S. Steel.
Carnegie's industrial methodology depended on suppression of organized labor, most visibly during the Homestead Strike of 1892. While Carnegie was in Scotland, his lieutenant Henry Clay Frick locked out workers at the Homestead Steel Works, hired three hundred Pinkerton agents, and engaged in a twelve-hour gun battle on the Monongahela River that left ten dead. The state militia subsequently restored production with non-union labor.
The latter half of his life was devoted to the philanthropy described in his 1889 essay "The Gospel of Wealth," including the construction of approximately 2,500 public libraries worldwide. The libraries are noted; the workers are also noted.
§ II — Documented Achievements
- Achievement 1●1892
Homestead Strike
Through Henry Clay Frick, broke the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers via Pinkerton agents and Pennsylvania state militia; ten killed in the resulting battle.
- Achievement 2●1901
Sale of Carnegie Steel to U.S. Steel
Sold his steel holdings to a Morgan-led syndicate for $480 million, forming the world's first billion-dollar corporation.
- Achievement 3●1889
Authorship of "The Gospel of Wealth"
Published the foundational essay of American mega-philanthropy, arguing that the rich are obligated to redistribute their fortunes during their lifetimes.
§ III — Citations
- [1]Andrew Carnegie·Encyclopædia Britannica
- [2]The Homestead Strike·HISTORY
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