Discover the Steel Empire: Top 8 Fun and Surprising Facts About Andrew Carnegie

1. "Iron-y Man": Carnegie's Ruthless Side

If Andrew Carnegie were a modern-day Marvel villain, he'd be called the "Iron-y Man": Though widely admired for his philanthropic endeavors, Carnegie, known as "The Steel King," was notorious for his ruthless treatment of workers, suppressing unions and mercilessly cutting wages.
Source => pbs.org

2. Bookworm Gone Rogue: Carnegie's Beginnings

While some may think Andrew Carnegie was a bookworm gone rogue, bluffing into private libraries like a paper-sniffing ninja: The truth is that he simply spent several hours a week in a wealthy man's private library as a young lad and later vowed to provide the same access to literature for future generations.
Source => wesa.fm

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=> Fun Facts about Pittsburgh

3. Philanthropic Chef: Feeding Minds with Libraries

If books were a mouth-watering buffet, Andrew Carnegie was quite the philanthropic chef: he established over 2,500 public libraries across the globe, dishing out knowledge and education to millions, especially those with a voracious appetite for wisdom but lacking the dough to buy their fill.
Source => myhero.com

4. Paging Superman: Carnegie's Global Library Impact

Forget paging Superman: there's another hero in our libraries, and his name is Andrew Carnegie! The "Patron Saint of Libraries" wasn't just lending his steel-fortified support to bookworms in the United States, but he spread joy like the world's coolest bookmobile: Carnegie funded the construction of 2,509 libraries across the globe from 1883 to 1929, including in Europe, South Africa, Barbados, Australia, and New Zealand. By 1920, his generous donations accounted for nearly half of the public libraries in the US, leaving a legacy of accessible knowledge and education that continues to inspire even the most casual of page-flippers today.
Source => dp.la

5. Old-School Billionaire: Carnegie's Philanthropy

Once upon a time, in a world of less e-books and Wi-Fi passwords, an old-school billionaire decided to make the world a better place, one library at a time: Andrew Carnegie donated over $56 million to build 2,509 free public libraries across the English-speaking world, and during his lifetime, gave away over $350 million to philanthropic causes such as education and world peace, penning The Gospel of Wealth and establishing trusts like the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Source => library.columbia.edu

6. Library Shelfie: Carnegie's 2500 Masterpieces

Before unleashing a boundless tsunami of wisdom upon the masses, Andrew Carnegie took a *shelfie* with 2500 public libraries as his backdrop: Thanks to his generosity, over 2500 libraries were established, including one in his hometown of Dunfermline, Scotland, granting countless people access to knowledge and education they might have otherwise missed.
Source => capitalism.com

7. Mr. Monopoly of Knowledge: Carnegie's Library Empire

While Mr. Monopoly may have hotels on every property: Andrew Carnegie was the real-life kingpin who peppered lands with something even more valuable – knowledge! Seriously, Andrew Carnegie gave away a massive chunk of his wealth to fund the construction of over 2,500 public libraries across the United States and the United Kingdom, promoting education and enlightenment for all.
Source => manythings.org

8. From Iron to Peace: Carnegie's Peace Palace

Did you hear the one about the steel tycoon who traded iron for peace? He clearly had a "monopoly" on harmony: Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, which is not only an iconic landmark, but also actively promotes peace, international law, and cooperation through dialogues and the biennial Carnegie Wateler Peace Prize.
Source => vredespaleis.nl