Andrew Carnegie (11/25/1835 – 8/11/1919) left a path of philanthropy throughout the United States and his home country of Scotland. Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, a village NW of Edinburgh across the Firth of Forth, Carnegie emigrated to the U.S. with his poverty-stricken parents when he was 13. Working as a telegrapher, he saved money making investments in companies and selling bonds for European enterprises.
By the end of the 19th century, Carnegie was considered one of the richest Americans. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away 90% of his fortune that in today’s dollars would be about $79 billion. In 1889 he wrote an article entitled, “The Gospel of Wealth” that sparked a wave of philanthropy by the rich and wealthy. Most of his wealth came from the company that became U.S. Steel Corporation.
Through philanthropy, Carnegie built 1,689 local libraries in the U.S., 660 libraries in Britain and Ireland, 125 in Canada and others in Australia and New Zealand. His generosity built the famous Carnegie Hall in NYC, Carnegie Mellon University, The Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. Carnegie is buried, along with wife Louise, in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in North Tarrytown, NY.
Marian Anderson was one of the most talented and revered contralto singers of the 20th century. Born in Philadelphia, PA on February 12, 1897 and the eldest of three daughters, her talent became obvious at an early age. Her father gave her a piano at age eight but with no money for lessons, Marian taught herself how to play. Her father died when she was 12, forcing her mother to raise three daughters alone. Unable to afford formal voice training, church members of the Union Baptist Church raised $500 for a year’s study and practice with the well-known Giuseppe Boghetti.
By 1928, she performed at Carnegie hall and embarked on a European tour where she was acclaimed by audiences. In the 30’s she performed in Britain and throughout Scandinavia where she met and became friends with renowned composer Jean Sibelius in Helsinki.
President Roosevelt invited her to perform at The White House, the first Black person to receive this honor. In 1939, at the request of Eleanor Roosevelt she sang to a crowd of 75,000 on Easter morning at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In 1955, Ms. Anderson was the first Black person to perform with The Metropolitan Opera.
In 1961 she sang The National Anthem at the inauguration of President Kennedy; two years later he presented her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. During her life, Ms. Anderson won many prestigious awards and worked towards eradicating the racial divide; Ms. Anderson died at age 96; her remains are interred in Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, PA.
William Penn Adair “Will” Rogers was born to a locally prominent family in Oologah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory on November 4th, 1879. The village of Oologah exists a short drive NW of Claremore in Rogers County, Oklahoma the 46th state to join the union on November 16th, 1907. After high school graduation, he worked on the family’s “Dog Iron Ranch.” Itching for change, he sought work in the Argentine Pampas. Five months later and nearly broke; Will went to South Africa and worked on a ranch briefly then returned to Oklahoma. Having developed excellent riding and roping skills, he became a circus performer, trick riding and roping on tour and performing at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.
Will performed in vaudeville and 71 movies of which 50 were silent films and 21 were talkies. He traveled around the world three times and was a goodwill ambassador to every country he visited. He wrote a syndicated newspaper column that reached 40 million readers daily and gave speeches that made fun of government officials. One of his famous lines was, “I don’t make jokes, I just watch the government and report the facts.”
Killed in a plane crash in Alaska on August 15th, 1935, his body is entombed in Claremore, OK. A bust of Rogers is located in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol and 13 Oklahoma high schools feature his name as does the World Airport in Oklahoma City.
