American history is replete with countless names that have altered the course of their times. Yet few surnames have managed, in two entirely distinct ways, to so profoundly shape the very face of the nation. Though unrelated, two Carnegies, Andrew Carnegie and Dale Carnegie, have etched their names into the very marrow of American culture.
One was the renowned “Steel King,” the other a master of human relations and the father of modern adult education. The former used steel and wealth to outline the contours of industrial civilization; the latter used language and an understanding of the human heart to rewrite the modern philosophy of living.
Andrew Carnegie: The rise of a steel empire
In 1835, Andrew Carnegie was born into a weaver’s family in Dunfermline, Scotland. His father, William Carnegie, was a handloom weaver who supported his entire family using a single wooden loom. However, as the Industrial Revolution’s tidal wave advanced and steam-powered looms rapidly replaced manual labor, William’s livelihood collapsed almost overnight.
In 1848, facing destitution, the Carnegie family immigrated to the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That year, Andrew Carnegie was just 13 years old. Upon his arrival in America, he took up his father’s old trade, entering a cotton mill to work as a bobbin boy for a weekly wage of a mere $1.20.
…
Read the full article on Nspirement
Comments