Louise Whitfield Carnegie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Louise Whitfield Carnegie (March 7, 1857 - June 24, 1946) was the wife of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Daughter of New York City merchant John D. Whitfield, Louise was born in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. She married Carnegie in a private ceremony at her family's New York City home on April 22, 1887. She was 30; Carnegie was 51. As wedding gifts from her husband, Louise received an approximate annual income of $20,000, and a home (formerly owned by Collis Potter Huntington) at 5 West 51st Street.

Louise gave birth to the couple's only child Margaret in 1897.

After Carnegie's death Louise continued making charitable contributions to organizations including American Red Cross, the Y.W.C.A., the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, numerous World War II relief funds, and $100,000 to the Union Theological Seminary. She spent her summers at Skibo Castle.

In 1934 she was honored with the Gold Medal of the Pennsylvania Society.

She died at the age of 89 and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

[edit] References

• Krass, Peter. Carnegie. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
• Nasaw, David. Andrew Carnegie. New York: Penguin Press, 2006.
• "Mr. Carnegie's Wedding" The New York Times, April 23, 1887.
• "Mrs. Carnegie Dies; Steel Man's Widow", The New York Times, June 25, 1946.
• "Rites in Home for Mrs. Carnegie", The New York Times, June 28, 1946.

[edit] Further reading

• Hendrick, Burton Jesse, and Daniel Henderson. Louise Whitfield Carnegie; The Life of Mrs. Andrew Carnegie. New York: Hastings House, 1950.