The Lauder & Carnegie Legacy

Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919, born in Dunfermline) was a businessman, a major philanthropist, and the founder of the Carnegie Steel Company which later became U.S. Steel. He is known for having, later in his life, given away most of his riches to fund the establishment of many libraries, schools, colleges and universities in Scotland, America and worldwide for "the improvement of mankind." Carnegie College is a direct result of this generosity. On 17 May 1848, Andrew Carnegie and his family left the parish of Dunfermline for America. With the influence of his uncle George Lauder as his catalyst, Carnegie was ready to embark upon a journey of far reaching experience and consequence. It was his uncle’s influence that kindled the spark of his educational desire and in Lauder, Andrew Carnegie found the teacher best qualified to satisfy his profound curiosity. Carnegie spent much of his youth between his own home and his uncle’s shop in Dunfermline’s High Street. At the back of the shop the origins of Carnegie College first began. A frayed copy of Robert Burns and a few other books sat in an old desk and with this uncle Lauder would teach Carnegie and his own son, George, the poems and songs of the bard; rewarding them with a penny when they were able to repeat the verses without a beak. "Shortly after this I began to learn what poverty meant…. It was burnt into my heart that my father had to beg for work; it was then that I resolved to cure that when I got to be a man." wrote Carnegie. From the time he entered the shop, Carnegie had developed a thirst for education, knowledge and understanding, which never ceased. He read constantly, remembered what he read and was not at all hesitant in expressing opinions. Carnegie at 33 had an annual income of 50 thousand dollars. Even at this stage of his life he was still holding dear the advice given from his uncle to continue learning all through life.   By the late 19th Century Carnegie’s profits were 3 million dollars per year, 4 million in 1884 and continued to rise year after year. By 1899 Carnegie’s steel empire produced more steel than the whole of the entire steel industry of the United Kingdom. "Education gives a man, who really absorbs it, higher tastes and aims than just the acquisition of wealth, and a world to enjoy, into which the mere millionaire cannot enter." Andrew Carnegie and the Carnegie Trust have benefited the town of Dunfermline greatly. The first of many Carnegie Libraries was built here in 1881. Carnegie Hall and Pittencrieff Park were also gifted to the town. Throughout his life, Andrew Carnegie acknowledged the importance of education and the development of skills in the community and in recognition of this he provided the funding for the original college.  The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, in Moodie Street, Dunfermline tells the entire 'rags to riches' story of Andrew Carnegie, the weaver's son who made a huge fortune from the American steel industry and then gave that fortune away for the benefit of mankind.