Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)

Andrew Carnegie was born November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. In 1848, his family moved to Allegheny City, Pennsylvania to live with relatives in a small Scottish community. Andrew began working at a bobbin factory but by 1850 had managed to secure a job as a messenger for the telegraph company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From here he would launch a career that made him a man of legendary wealth. During the American Civil War, Carnegie was employed in the railroad industry. Immediately following the war, he traveled to Great Britain to study the railroads there. Upon his return, Carnegie combined his knowledge of the British railroad system with the American steel industry to create a modern industrial empire, catapulting the United States into world leadership in steel production. In doing so, he became one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Carnegie's wealth and power in these industries continued to grow until the turn of the twentieth century, when he underwent a colossal shift from industry magnate to benevolent benefactor. At the age of 65 around 1900, Carnegie turned his attentions to more philanthropic pursuits, ceasing to amass wealth and power while dispensing his fortunes in gifts to worthy causes. Nowhere was his generosity more pronounced than in his dedication to education. As a young immigrant child Carnegie had found books to be indispensable, and he now wished to provide future generations with the same opportunities. Millions of dollars in grants were given to establish libraries that were accessible to everyone. By his death on August 11, 1919, he had given away much of his fortune; he believed in sharing his wealth so as to help others.

Carnegie had a profound effect on the development of Dickinson College in the first half of the twentieth century. He was a personal friend of Moncure Daniel Conway, a graduate of 1849 who convinced Carnegie to donate funds to Dickinson for various purposes. The first donation came in the form of a hall for the Dickinson Preparatory School. Carnegie donated the full amount of $63,480 for the construction of the building and although the College had planned to place his name on the structure, Carnegie convinced the institution to name it instead Conway Hall for his friend. The original amount requested of Carnegie had been $50,000 in order to reconstruct Denny Hall which had burnt down in 1904. However, the College converted the funds for use on Conway to complete both projects. Writing a check for the balance, Carnegie paid for the Conway Hall Project, stating that he never allowed his name to be associated with any building unless he had paid for it in full.

After Carnegie's death in 1919, his foundations continued to support and aid the College in many ventures. During the 1930s, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was vital in funding standardized testing and other data to help further the growth of the institution. The College Library also flourished under Carnegie's benevolence; a grant from 1931 until 1936 added nearly 10,000 more volumes to the library bringing it to 63,300 books by 1938 and enabled the increase of the library's budget, in the depths of the Depression years, from $6,050 to $15,027.

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Dickinson College Archives
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