Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. The collection consists mainly of letters from Carnegie relating to his philanthropic endeavors, including his gift of five million dollars to fund the branch library system of the New York Public Library.
Biographical/historical: Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, he emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1848. He began his careerd as a telegrapher, and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges and oil derricks. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901, creating the U.S. Steel Corporation. Carnegie devoted the remainder of his life to philanthropy, with special emphasis on local libraries, including the New York Public Library branch libraries. Institutions funded by Carnegie's endowments include Carnegie Hall, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, Carnegie Hero Fund, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Content: The collection consists mainly of letters from Carnegie relating to his philanthropic endeavors, including his gift of five million dollars to fund the branch library system of the New York Public Library. Recipients include John Shaw Billings, John D. Crimmins, and William Allen Butler. Letters to Carnegie relate to the management of funds for libraries in Brooklyn and Queens.
