Carnegie Corporation of New York, foundation established (1911) to administer Andrew Carnegie's remaining personal fortune for philanthropic purposes. Initially endowed with $125 million, the foundation received another $10 million from the residual estate. By 1999 its assets exceeded $1.5 billion. Carnegie directed the foundation's activities until his death in 1919; in accordance with his early interests he gave grants to public libraries and church organs. Following his death the trustees followed a more general policy leading to “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” The foundation has financed many studies in its areas of main interest—U.S. education and underprivileged groups, such as the Myrdal Study on Race Relations in the United States. Andrew Carnegie also established the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1910), the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1905), and the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (1904).
See F. Keppel, The Foundation (1989); A. A. Van Slyck, Free to All (1996).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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