Burn a dollar bill in mourning, because Aug. 11, 1919, marks the passing of Andrew Carnegie, the man alternately known as the king of steel, architect of the second Industrial Revolution, friend of capitalism, and scourge of workers.
Carnegie's life story is a classic bit of American mythology. Born in Scotland, he immigrated to America at age 13 and started his career as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory. Thanks to a ferocious competitive streak, and a bit of luck -- one of his farms was perched atop an oilfield -- Carnegie soon left the factory floor for the boardroom.
An early proponent of consolidation and vertical integration, Carnegie racked up his fortune -- and effectively monopolized the steel industry -- by controlling everything from raw materials to the means of production.
Though he was raking in millions of dollars, Carnegie eventually heeded the urge to return to Scotland, where he embarked upon a plan to die penniless. Before contracting a fatal bout of bronchial pneumonia, Carnegie had successfully burned through a good bit of his riches, some of which he used to finance various schools and institutes.
Source: History.com
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