Andrew Carnegie was a man with a dream.
He believed that every person should have an opportunity to learn, whether they are rich or poor.
He made that dream come true.
Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 in Scotland.
His father was a weaver, but after steam-powered looms were introduced, he wasn't able to earn enough money.
So his family immigrated to the United States when Andrew was 13.
The Carnegies settled in Pittsburgh, but they were still poor.
Andrew had to start working at a young age in a textile mill.
He worked very hard but only got paid a small amount of money.
Nonetheless Andrew was determined to be a successful businessman one day.
After many different jobs, Andrew eventually found work as a messenger boy in a telegraph office earning $2.50 per week.
This was double the pay of his previous jobs.
He memorized street names and the names of the men he delivered messages to.
This way, he was able to save time and make more friends.
Andrew could not go to school, but he wanted to study.
One day, one of his friends told him about a library that he could visit for free.
The library belonged to a rich man named Colonel James Anderson.
The colonel was a kind man who allowed any working boy to borrow books from his library.
Andrew spent as much time as he could reading the colonel's books.
Andrew was grateful to the colonel for letting him use his library.
He never forgot the colonel's generosity.
When Andrew was 18 years old, he began to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Andrew was the personal assistant to one of the managers, a man named Thomas Scott.
Mr. Scott liked Andrew because he was smart, quick, and very eager to learn.
Mr. Scott taught Andrew about the railroad industry.
He explained how companies make money.
Andrew learned many things from Mr. Scott.
When Andrew was twenty, his father passed away.
Andrew's father had not lived a successful life in America, but he always believed in helping those who were poor and less fortunate.
This belief would remain with Andrew for the rest of his life.
Soon Andrew began to use the information that Mr. Scott had taught him.
Slowly but surely, Andrew was becoming the successful businessman he had dreamed of.
In 1859 Carnegie became the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad's western division.
Much had changed in the life of Andrew Carnegie.
Now he was a powerful and wealthy businessman.
But some things never change. Andrew's love of reading remained the same as it was when he was a little boy.
"It would be wonderful if all children could have their own library," Andrew thought to himself.
"But how could that be possible?"
In 1901, at the age of 66, Andrew Carnegie decided to retire from work.
By selling his company to J. P. Morgan for $480 million, he became the richest man in the world.
Now it was time for Andrew to pursue his other dreams.
Andrew became a philanthropist.
A philanthropist is a person who gives away his money to help others.
Andrew decided he would use most of his wealth for something very important: education.
Andrew remembered Colonel Anderson and the kindness he had shown him.
He wanted to show that same kindness to all children.
He decided to build a public library, a place where children, rich or poor, could come to read books for free.
During his lifetime, Andrew Carnegie built over 2,500 public libraries, mostly in the United States but also in other parts of the world.
Andrew Carnegie is remembered for all of the wonderful ways he gave back to society.
By 1911, ten years after he retired, he had given away almost 90 percent of the money he had earned.
He was not only the richest man in monetary wealth but also in the generosity he showed others.
Andrew Carnegie understood that true happiness comes from giving.