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Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 15, 1835. He was the first son of William Carnegie, a linen weaver and local leader of the Chartists (who sought to improve the conditions of working-class life in Great Britain), and of Margaret Carnegie, daughter of Thomas Morrison, a shoemaker and political and social reformer. William Carnegie's handloom business dwindled in the wake of industrialization, and in 1848 the family emigrated to the United States, settling in Allegheny, …

…world. His most significant contribution, both in terms of money and in terms of enduring influence, was the establishment of several endowed trusts or institutions bearing his name. Andrew Carnegie died in 1919, leaving his wife, Louise Whitfield Carnegie, and their daughter, Margaret Carnegie Miller. All told, he had given away about $350 million during his lifetime, but the legacy of his generosity continues to unfold in the work of the trusts and institutions that he endowed.