Andrew Carnegie: Steel Magnate and Philanthropist

Dear students,

Yesterday we read the story of Andrew Carnegie. Here is some more information about him. I tried to put everything interesting I could find on the internet about this man.

I hope this information will help you learn more about the one of the richest people of the world of his time, a captain of steel industry and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. I hope you enjoy videos and old pictures.

After you finish reading this post, please, write a brief story about Andrew Carnegie and post it in your blogs. Those who don't have blogs can write their stories as comments after this post. Don't forget to write your name after the story.

Irena,

Here is a very short presentation about Carnegie. Please, watch it.

One of the captains of industry of 19th century America, Andrew Carnegie helped build the American steel industry, a process that turned a poor young man into one of the richest entrepreneurs of his age. Later in his life, Carnegie sold his steel business and systematically gave his collected fortune away to cultural, educational and scientific institutions for "the improvement of mankind."

(Carnegie's birthplace)

The Carnegie family shared the top floor of this cottage with another family.

Andrew Carnegie, the son of a hand-loom weaver, was born in Scotland, on 25th November, 1835. The family had a long radical tradition and his father, William Carnegie, was an active Chartist.

Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1850. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labor movement in the world.

The economic depression of 1848 convinced the Carnegie family to emigrate to the United States where they joined a Scottish colony at Allegheny near Pittsburgh. Andrew began work at 14 in a local cotton factory, but continued his education by attending night school.

Later Carnegie became a messenger boy in the local Pittsburgh Telegraph Office. His abilities were noticed by Thomas A. Scott, the superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He made Carnegie his secretary. During the Civil War Scott was appointed assistant secretary of war, and he went to Washington to work as his right-hand man. Carnegie's work included organizing the military telegraph system.

After the war Carnegie became a superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Carnegie invested in several promising ventures including the Wood Ruff Sleeping Car Company and several small iron mills and factories. The most important of these was Keystone Bridge, a company which he owned a one-fifth share.

 

Carnegie made regular visits to Britain, where he observed the rapid developments in the iron industry. Carnegie realized that steel would now replace iron for the manufacture of heavy goods.

In 1870 Carnegie erected his first blast furnace. Others followed and by 1874 he opened his steel furnace at Braddock. He took several partners, including Henry Flick.

Carnegie took a keen interest in social and political issues and wrote a series of books including Round the World (1881), An American Four-in-Hand in Britain (1883) and Triumphant Democracy (1886). He praised America's educational system.

(The king of industry and once the richest man in the world, Andrew Carnegie, visits Stoke Library in 1914.)

In June, 1889, the North American Review published a book by Carnegie on what he called the Gospel of Wealth. In the article Carnegie argued that it was the duty of rich men and women to use their wealth to benefit the welfare of the community. He wrote that a "man who dies rich dies disgraced".

In 1889 Carnegie decided to allow Henry Frick to become chairman of the Carnegie Company while he moved to New York to deal with the growing importance of research and development. Carnegie also spent six months of the year in Scotland with his family.

When Frick took control the firm consisted of various mills and furnaces in the Pittsburgh area, Frick was concerned that there was no centralized management structure and so in 1892 all productive units were integrated to form the Carnegie Steel Company. Valued at $25 million it was now the largest steel company in the world.

(Andrew Carnegie with members of a French delegation visiting the New York Chamber of Commerce including Baron deConstant, left of Carnegie)

The Carnegie Steel Company continued to expand and between 1889 and 1899 annual production of steel rose from 332,111 to 2,663,412 tons, and profits increased from $2 million to $40 million. There was growing conflict between Carnegie and Henry Flick during this period. This came to a head in 1899 and Carnegie bought out Frick for $15 million.

Carnegie set up a trust fund "for the improvement of mankind." This included the building of:

- 3,000 public libraries (380 in Britain)

- The Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh 

- The Carnegie Institute of Technology 

- The Carnegie Institution of Washington for research into the natural and  

  physical sciences. 

(Letter from Andrew Carnegie - April 26, 1898: 

Andrew Carnegie Provides Grant of $210,000 to Build Andrew Carnegie Free Library Carnegie, Pennsylvania)

 

Carnegie also established the Endowment for International Peace in an effort to prevent future wars. He spent the last two decades of his life giving away the great bulk of his fortune. Major philanthropic ventures included the following: 

- Carnegie Hall, a concert hall located in New York (1892) 

- Carnegie Institution (1902) for research into American colleges and  

  universities

- Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (1904)

- Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching (1905)

- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1910)

- Carnegie Corporation of New York (1911)

- Funding for the establishment of more than 2,800 libraries

- Major support for Tuskegee Institute 

(Kingston Library)

Carnegie also was one of the first to call for a "league of nations" and he built a "a palace of peace" that would later evolve into the World Court. His hopes for a civilized world of peace were destroyed, though, with the onset of World War I in 1914. His wife said that with these hostilities his "heart was broken."

  

(Andrew Carnegie and Louise Carnegie, his wife)

By the time Andrew Carnegie died in August, 1919, he had given away $350,000,000. A further $125 million was placed with the Carnegie Corporation to carry on his good works. 

This is the video about one of the libraries built by A. Carnegie. 

Please, watch it.

Here is a link to an interesting site.

  

THE ANDREW CARNEGIE BIRTHPLACE MUSEUM

Kingston Museum was one hundred years old in 2004, and it celebrated throughout the year with a host of special events, activities and exhibitions.  

The Museum, which adjoins Kingston Library, is a Grade II Listed Building.  The Library was opened in May 1903 and the Museum followed just over a year later on 31st October 1904.  Both buildings owe their existence to the generosity of Andrew Carnegie, Scottish American benefactor. The total cost of the library was £8,400 of which £2,000 was originally donated by Carnegie.  A few days after he had formally opened the library, Carnegie wrote to Kingston donating the balance of the cost enabling the Borough to construct the Museum.  The original letter survives in the Borough Archives.

(Kingston Library)

There is one more video about Carnegie's biography with some old pictures.

So, that is all about this interesting person.

"The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work.

The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, 

and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%." 

Infinitive

Recognize an infinitive when you see one.

To sneeze, to smash, to cry, to jump, to produce, to read, to eat, to arrive - all of these are infinitives. An infinitive will almost always begin with "to" followed by the simple form of the verb, like this:

to + verb = infinitive

to + play = to play => infinitive 

Important Note: Never add -s, -es, -ed, or -ing to the end. Infinitive never has any ending!

Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:

To sleep is the only thing Eli wants after his double shift waiting tables at the neighborhood café.

To sleep functions as a noun because it is the subject of the sentence. 


             No matter how fascinating the biology dissection is, 
             Emanuel turns his head and refuses to look.
  
To look functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb refuses. 


             Wherever Melissa goes, she always brings a book to read in 
             case conversation lags or she has a long wait.

To read functions as an adjective because it modifies book. 


             Richard braved the icy rain to throw the smelly squid eyeball 
             stew into the apartment dumpster.   

To throw functions as an adverb because it explains why Richard braved the inclement weather.

Some of the uses of infinitives:

Eat, read, write, go, get, speak, walk, smile, cry and laugh are verbs in the "base" forms.

When the preposition "to" is placed before such a verb, that verb is called  "infinitive".

To eat, to read, to write, to go, to get, to speak, to walk, to smile, to cry and to laugh are "infinitive" forms.

This type of the noun is called verbal-noun.

This verbal-noun is called "infinitive" which has the features of both a verb and a noun.

There is another type of verbal-noun. That type is called "gerund".



An "infinitive" can be used differently:


1. It can be used as the subject of the verb.

Examples:

To swim is good for health.

To eat too much makes one fat.

To go for walk early in the morning is advised by the doctors.

To read means to grow.



2.It can be used as the object of the verb.

Examples:

I forget to tell you an important matter.

All of you begin to work.

The doctor has come to check you up for blood-pressure.


3. The following verbs take only the infinitive as the object.

Afford, appear, arrange, care, chance, come, dare, decide, fail, determine, happen, hurry, manage, mean, offer, pretend, promise, prove, refuse, seem, trouble, undertake, wish etc…

Examples:

I can not afford to pay so much.

The man pretended to be innocent.

The thief managed to escape.

We have undertaken to do the job.

How dare you do it?

They refused to pay the bill.

She offered to go alone.

We are determined to complete the project.


4. The following verbs take only an infinitive as an object, but also are used in the ways as given below.

Ask, like, choose, want, intent, mean, hate, beg, love, expect, wish etc…

a. Subject + verb + infinitive

Examples:

My sister loves to sing.

I like to view few television shows.

They hate to borrow money form the bank.

Mr. Ramah expected us to help him when he was in London.

She chose to stay away from the program.

Our Professor asked us to come back after 6pm today.

b. Subject + verb + object + infinitive

Examples:

My sister likes my mother to sing.

They begged me to help him.

The committee chose me to sing in the function.

My father wished me to succeed in the competition.

5. The following verbs take only the verb + object + infinitive construction.

Allow, advice, cause, compel, encourage, force, instruct, invite, oblige, order, permit, persuade, press, request, teach, tell, tempt, warn etc…

Examples:

Do not allow him to interfere with his work.

The circumstances forced him to tell a lie.

I warned him not to take up that job.

They permitted me to take the exam without my hall-ticket.

My teacher taught us how to calculate the profit.

Our father forced us to continue our studies.

He was tempted to take sweets every day.

6. The infinitive without "to" is used after the verbs "make" and "let".

Examples:

Let him go.

Make them do the job very well.

7. The full infinitive is used with the "be" verb to indicate commands or agreements or plans.

Examples:

Everybody is to wear a full suit.

Nobody is to touch these things without permission.

They are to be married next week.

The committee is to meet next month to discuss this matter.

8. It is used in the following construction.

For + object + infinitive

Examples:

It is not for me to advice you.

Is the road safe enough for the driver to take the bus on it?

9. It is used in the place of clauses.

Examples:

Tell him what to do?

She does not know who to approach?

Can you tell me how to stop the bleeding?

So in these ways the infinitives can be used as nouns in the sentences.

Note 1

The word "to" is frequently used with an infinitive. But "to" is not the essential part or sign of an infinitive verb.

After few verbs (let, need, make, see, bid, hear, dare), we use the infinitive without "to".

Examples:

• You need not come to the function.

• The Doctor can make him walk in a month of time.

• How dare you open the door!

• I did not see him do that.

• They will not let you go out.

• She bade me go.

• I have not heard a bird sing.

Note 2

The word "to" need not be added after "had better", "had rather", "would rather", "sooner than" and "rather than".

Examples:

• You had better leave now.

• I had rather walk than take rest.

• They would rather leave the show than see the dull-movie.

• They will come late rather than stay at home.



Here are some exercises for you to do:

Exercise 1

Something for fun...

Dear students,

I'm a little busy today. You know we have a few new students whom I have to test as soon as possible. It means today you have to study using a computer. 

Of course, you remember that I've given you a lot of handouts with written assignments, so you can do some of them - practice your pronunciation and listening, or work on grammar exercises. 

Those who are very fast and have finished latest assignments can do this one. This is just for fun and, of course, for learning more English.

Irena

You are going to hear a couple of songs by Etta James. Here is lyrics of her songs, and you can print them out for yourselves. You can watch the videos, learn the pronunciation and memorize the words of her songs, but first, I would like tell you a little about this singer.

She is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues (R&B), rock and roll and jazz singer. She was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s and had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer. She was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938 in Los Angeles. Later she changed her name to Etta James. 

She started singing as a little girl. At age 5 she sang at at the St. Paul Baptist Church and on the radio. Her family moved to San Francisco in 1950, and Etta soon teamed up with two other girls to form a singing group. When the girls were 14 years old, band leader Johnny Otis had them audition. They sang "Work With Me, Annie". James named her vocal group "The Peaches". 

Their song "The Wallflower" was a #1 hit on the R&B charts of 1955.

She had her first major solo hit, "All I Could Do Was Cry". The song quickly went up the R&B Chart as #2 in 1960.

Here are the words of this song. If you love singing, you can sing with her.

 

Artist : Etta James
Song : At Last
Written: Billy Davis, Berry Gordy and Gwen Gordy

I heard church bells ring
I heard a choir singing
I saw my love walk down the aisle
on her finger he placed a ring

Ohhhh oh

I saw them holding hands
She was standing there with my man
I heard them promise
Til death do us part
Each word
Was a pain
In my heart

All I could do was cry
All I could do was cry
I was losing the man that I love
and all I could do was cry

And now the wedding is over
Rice, rice has been thrown over their heads
For them life has just begun
but mine is ending

Etta James had once been considered one of the most overlooked Blues and R&B musicians in American music history. It wasn't until the early 1990s when James began receiving major industry awards from the Grammy and the Blues Foundation that she began to receive wide recognition. 

James has influenced a wide variety of American musicians including Janis Joplin, Diana Ross, Shemekia Copeland, Alex Mills, Rod Stewart, Christina Aguilera and even Hayley Williams of Paramore as well as British artists The Rolling Stones and Adele.

James married Artis Mills. She has two sons, Donto and Sametto James, and several grandchildren.

Artist : Etta James
Song : At Last
Album : Her Best
Written: Mack Gordon and Harry Warren


At Last

At last
My love has come along,
My lonely days are over,
And life is like a song

Oh, yeah, yeah...
At last

The skies above are blue,
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you.

I found a dream, that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own.
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known.

Oh, yeah, yeah...
You smiled, you smiled

Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
for you are mine....

At Last

Unfortunately, James had problems during the early '70s due to her heroin addiction. She was continuously in and out of rehabilitation centers, including the Tarzana Rehabilitation Center, in Los Angeles, California. Her husband Artis Mills, whom she married in 1969, took the fall when they were both arrested for heroin possession and served a 10 year prison sentence. He was released from prison in 1982 and the couple is still married today. James was also arrested around the same time for her drug addiction, accused of passing bad checks, forgery and drug possession of heroin. In 1974, James was sentenced to drug treatment instead of serving time in prison. James was in the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital for 17 months, at age 35, and went through much struggle in the beginning of treatment. James later stated in her autobiography that the time she spent in the hospital changed her life.

 

On April 7, 2009, Etta James appeared on Dancing with the Stars as a guest performer, singing her classic hit from 1961 "At Last" at age 71. In Memphis, Tennessee on May 7, 2009, the Blues Foundation awarded Etta James the 2009 Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year - making Etta a nine–time winner of this prestigious award. 

Etta James died Jan. 20 at age 73 after battling leukemia. She is a legend of American music.

Present Tense of verb "to be" - am, are, is

This post is for Low Level students.

Grammar: am, are, is

We are going to learn (or review) positive, negative forms of verb "to be" and their contractions (short forms).

Full Positive Forms of the verb "to be" I am a student. He is a teacher. She is a journalist. It is a book. We are mechanics. You are pilots. They are policemen.   Contracted Positive Forms of the verb "to be" I'm a singer. You're a receptionist. He's a pilot. She's a journalist. It's my book. We’re Musicians. You're a shop assistant. They're taxi drivers.

 

Full Negative Forms of the verb "to be"

I	am not	a singer.
He	is not	a receptionist.
She	is not	a nurse.
It	is not	my book.
We	are not	not musicians.
You	are not	a shop assistant.
They	are not	taxi drivers.

Contracted negative forms (1) of the verb "to be"

I'm	not	a singer.
He's	not	a receptionist.
She's	not	a nurse.
It's	not	my book.
We're	not	musicians.
You're	not	a shop assistant.
They're	not	taxi drivers.

 

Contracted negative forms (2) of the verb "to be"

I'm not		a singer.
He	isn't	a receptionist.
She	isn't	a nurse.
It	isn't	my book.
We	aren't	musicians.
You	aren't	a shop assistant.
They	aren't	taxi drivers.

Questions

---

Am I right? Is he here? Is she a nurse? Is it second-hand? Are we wrong? Are you Alan Parker? Are they American?

Short answers with verb "to be"

BE VERB  &  SUBJEC

Sample Questions	Short Answer (Affirmative)	Short Answer (Negative)
Am I early?	Yes, you are.	No, you aren't.
Are you busy now?	Yes, I am.	No, I'm not.
Are you both surprised?	Yes, we are.	No, we aren't.
Are they hungry?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren't.
Is he late again?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn't.
Is she a good student?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn't.
Is it ready?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn't.

BE V

Here are some links for practicing verb "to be". Please do the exercises.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

Exercise 7

Exercise 8

Enjoy!

I hope you learned this grammar 
and had fun!

Now you have to remember all the forms 
of verb "to be"!