The steel tycoon who grew up in a one-room weaver's cottage: Andrew Carnegie

The steel tycoon who grew up in a one-room weaver's cottage: Andrew Carnegie

This American industrialist, the founder of Carnegie Steel – a company that produced more steel than all of Great Britain at one point – was born to a poor handloom weaver in Scotland. He grew up in poverty, living in a one-room house, often sleeping to "forget the misery of hunger". To fight starvation, his family migrated to the US.  His first job was at age 13 as a bobbin boy, changing spools of thread in a cotton mill 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a Pittsburgh cotton factory. In his spare time, he would read works of Robert Burns and historical Scottish heroes like Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, and Rob Roy. His next job was as a telegraph messenger boy. A true entrepreneur, he was a hard worker, and soon was promoted as an operator. Colonel James Anderson, who opened his personal library of 400 volumes to working boys each Saturday night, gave a good boost to Carnegie's education and passion for reading. He did a series of railroad jobs. There, he learnt about the industry and business in general. It was during this stint that he began making investments in steel and oil companies that earned him huge returns. By 1889, Carnegie Steel Corporation was the largest of its kind in the world. He went on to become  the richest man in the world.

Known as one of "builders" of America who helped shape the nation, in 1901, he sold Carnegie Steel to JP Morgan for $480 million and became a philanthropist. He donated millions to the New York Public Library, established the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, which is now known as Carnegie-Mellon University, created the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and formed the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Remember, the journey began in a one-room weaver's cottage in Dunfermline. 

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