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Birth
Andrew Carnegie's legacyAndrew Carnegie is Born in Dunfermline Scotland in a weaver's cottage with only one room. Carnegie was name after his grandfather. Carnegie's uncle introduced him to the writings of Robert Burns, Roberth the Bruce, William Wallace, and Rob Roy. With the country falling into starvation, William Carnegie, Andrew's Dad, moved the family to America to pursue a better life. -
emigration
Andrew Carnegie and his family move from Scotland to Allegheny, Pennsylvania to pursue a better life. Carnegie's first job was as a bobbin boy. A bobbin boy was someone who changed spools of thread in a cotton mill. Carnegie would do this 12 hours a day, six days a week in a pittsburge cotton factory. -
Ohio Telegraph Company
Andrew Carnegie is hired as a telegraph messenger in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph Company -
Pennsylvania Railroad company
Thomas A. Scott employs Carnegie as a telegraph operator for the Pennyslvania Railroda company. This opened many opportunites for Carnegie in the business world. Thomas A. Scott would act as his mentor in management and cost control skills during this period -
Keystone Bridge Company
Carnegie founds Keystone Bridge Company. The Keystone Bridge Company goes on to help build the Eads Bridge which still stands today. -
Construction on Eads Bridge Begins
Construction on the Eads bridge begins. Eads bridge is named after its designer and builder James B. Eads who worked closely with Carnegie to build the first bridge that relied on massive amounts of steel for its construction. -
Elephant walks across Eads Bridge
James B. Eads sends a "test" elephant across the eads bridge to prove it is safe -
Eads bridge is completed
Construction on the Eads bridge is completed and it is still in use today. -
Carnegie Libraries
Carnegie becomes interested in philanthropy and the betterment of the poor. In 1883 he opened his first of many public Caregie Libraries in Dunfermline, Scotland. Many more Carnegie libraries would be built throughout the U.S. as well as universities and institutions in the years to come. -
Gospel of Wealth
Andrew Carnegie writes an article titled the Gospel of Wealth. The article describes the role of philathropy by the self-made rich. Carnegie says that the best way to close the gap between the rich and the poor is for the wealthy to adminsiter their surplus riches carefully throughout society. Carnegie believed in increasing opportunities for the poor to better themselves. -
Carnegie Steel Company
Utilizing the bessemer process to make steel the big industry it is today, Carnegie opens the Carnegie Steel Company. Using vertical integration, Carnegie made his Steel Company very large and controlled a very big part of the steel industry. -
JP Morgan buys Carnegie Steel
With Carnegie looking to retire at 66 years of age, JP Morgan buys out Carnegie Steel for $480 million. This was the largest personal commercial transaction at the time and equal to 13.6 billion in todays money. Carnegie Steel was turned into the U.S. Steel Coporation and Carnegie became the richest man in the world
