The Life and Times of Andrew Carnegie

The Life and Times of Andrew Carnegie

 We have all heard of Andrew Carnegie but what do we really know about the man? Historian Barbara Graham enlightened Prestwick Rotarians with a well-researched talk on his rise from humble beginnings in Dunfermline in 1835, to great wealth followed by philanthropic funding, including over 2,800 libraries, 7,000 church organs, and a Peace Palace built in 1903. 

 In 1847 the family left Dunfermline for America, driven out by poverty and famine. He started work as a mill bobbin boy but learned book keeping, and became a full-time telegraph operator. with shrewd investments in the civil war boom industries of railways, iron, steel and bridge-building

.Andrew Carnegie made a fortune and gave away a fortune. He never lost his affection for Scotland and bought Skibo Castle in Dornoch in 1897. He was a man of contradictions from a charterist peace-loving background, yet making great wealth from The American civil war. Rotarian Lindsay Smith gave a hearty vote of thanks for a most-interesting talk.

Barbara Graham is pictured with Rotarian Adnan Soojeri.