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Tuesday 30 December 2008

South Overgate Kinghorn Fife Scotland


An old view of South Overgate, Kinghorn, Fife, Scotland.

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Monday 29 December 2008

Auchterderran Parish Fife Scotland


Auchterderran Parish, Fife, Scotland. " Auchterderran parish is bounded by Ballingry, Beath, Abbotshall, Auchtertool, Dysart, Kinglassie and Kinross-shire. It is about five miles long by three miles wide. About three quarters of the land is under cultivation and everything connected with agriculture has made great progress during the last ten or twelve years. Coal and ironstone are extensively worked. At Lochgelly Station there are four furnaces for smelting the ore, although recently the industry has been dull. The principal village is Lochgelly, small portions of it also being in the parishes of Beath and Ballingry. There are also villages at Cardenden and Clunie. The parish church is in the hamlet of Auchterderran; there is a chapel of ease in Lochgelly where there are also a Free Church and a UP Church. In the same village are a number of Roman Catholics who meet fortnightly in Littlejohn’s Hall. A small number of Mormons also worship in the same place. " Edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife & Kinross published 1862.

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Sunday 28 December 2008

Aberdour Parish Fife Scotland


Aberdour Parish, Fife, Scotland. " Aberdour parish extends about three miles along the Firth of Forth and is about three miles from north to south. It is bounded by Dalgety, Dunfermline, Burntisland and Auchtertool. The island of Inchcolm belongs to this parish. There is a harbour which admits vessels of two hundred tons burden. Though not large, as many as twenty five vessels have been crowded into it at one time. The main export is coal. Imports are small, chiefly manure. Aberdour is not a parish where much business is carried on, though coarse cloth is manufactured to some extent; red sandstone, coal and lime are wrought extensively, and there is a sawmill. But it is as a bathing resort for summer visitors that Aberdour is best known. As it has daily communication by steam with Edinburgh, its shores are a favourite retreat to the inhabitants of the Scottish capital during the heats of summer. " Edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife and Kinross published 1862.

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Friday 26 December 2008

Abdie Parish Fife Scotland

Abdie Parish, Fife, Scotland. " Abdie parish, which is of considerable extent, but greatly intersected by other parishes, lies on the south bank of the river Tay, amongst those highlands to the westward, which have acquired the apellation of the Ochil hills. The surface is remarkably uneven, but the soil is in general fertile. It possesses three quarries of granite, of which considrable quantities are shipped for paving the streets of London. The parish is well watered with lochs, the chief of which is the lake of Lindores, about a mile in length, and of irregular breadth. This piece of water is well stored with fish, and being surrounded by some romantic scenery, is a beautiful object in the view of the country. " From Slater's Directory, published 1852.

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Thursday 25 December 2008

Abbotshall Parish Fife Scotland

Abbotshall Parish, Fife, Scotland. "Abbotshall parish lies on the Firth of Forth, bounded by Kirkcaldy, Kinghorn, Auchtertool, Auchterderran and Dysart. It is about four miles long by two and half miles broad. The great majority of the inhabitants live in Linktown, a burgh of regality under Colonel Ferguson of Raith. It is part of the parliamentary burgh of Kirkcaldy and forms a continuation of it. The small village of Chapel is also in the parish. The parish shares fully in the trade and manufactures of Kirkcaldy. In the Linktown, there is a gas work, a pottery, a brick and tile work, some hundred of hand looms, a sail canvas manufactory, a linen bleachfield, a dye works, spinning mills and a number of corn mills. In addition to the parish church, there are a UP Church and 2 Free Churches at Abbotshall and Invertiel." Edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife and Kinross published 1862.

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Tuesday 23 December 2008

Inverkeithing Parish Fife Scotland

Inverkeithing Parish, Fife, Scotland. "Inverkeithing parish is bounded by Dalgety and Dunfermline and sits on the shore of the Firth of Forth. The parish consists of two main parts: one extending north for four miles and one mile broad; and one stretching along the shore for nearly four miles. Various kinds of stone abound, including limestone which is extensively wrought. Besides the Royal Burgh of Inverkeithing, the only other village is Hillend. The Royal Burgh consists of one principal street with numerous lanes branching off it. A considerable number of the houses have an old antiquated appearance, others have been much improved and modernised in the past forty years. The parish church and a UP Church are both situated on the main street. The town contains a corn exchange, a music hall, a town house and jail. Industry includes a foundry, an iron shipbuilding establishment, fire brick and gas retort works, a distillery, a tan work, a rope and sail manufactory and a shipbuilding yard with a patent slip which affords great facilities for repairing vessels." Edited from Westwood's Directory for the counties of Fife & Kinross published 1862.

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Monday 22 December 2008

Kirkcaldy Parish Fife Scotland

Kirkcaldy Parish, Fife, Scotland. " Kirkcaldy is a royal burgh and a populous thriving seaport. From the narrow dimensions on which the town stands, the inhabitants have had to build their houses in a continuous line along the shore giving rise to the name “the lang toun of Kirkcaldy”. The number of vessels belonging to the port at present is 74 with an aggregate burthen of 9956 tons. The principal imports are flax and grain. Vessels from here have been employed in the Davis Strait whale fishery for many years, and 2 vessels are at present so engaged. The trade of Kirkcaldy is similar to that of Dundee, spinning flax and weaving coarse linen goods. There is also a large floorcloth manufactory, brewing, ironfounding, machine making, and a considerable corn and meal trade. As well as the parish church, there are a free church and chapels for united presbyterians, baptists and independents. " Edited from Slater's Directory published 1852.

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Monday 15 December 2008

Property For Sale Falkland Fife Scotland


Property For Sale Falkland, Fife, Scotland. Embo, West Port, Falkland, Fife, Scotland. Embo is a truly unique stone-built cottage dating, we understand, from around the late 18th century with slate roof and distinctive crowstepped gable. 'B' Listed and within Conservation Area. The accommodation has been well maintained, is immaculately presented and located within the renowned award-winning Conservation village of Falkland. The property offers a rare opportunity to the discerning buyer or those seeking a charming second home or holiday retreat. Hall, Lounge, Dining Room, Kitchen, Utility, 2 Double Bedrooms, Bathroom, Partial Double Glazing, Gas Central Heating from a Combi Boiler, Small Paved Garden to Rear. Contact Rollo Davidson McFarlane.

Friday 12 December 2008

Peter Pan Fife Scotland


Peter Pan Fife Scotland. Shine, Lochgelly Youth Theatre, present Peter Pan. Get flying to Lochgelly Centre to see this great rendition of a truly classic tale. There you'll meet Tinkerbell, children, Indians, pirates, The Lost Boys of Neverland and the swashbuckling and fearsome Captain Hook. With enchanting scenery, catchy songs and sparkling costumes the whole family will find something to smile about. There's no better way to usher in the festive season! Event Details. Lochgelly Centre, Bank Street, Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland. Date:20 Dec 2008. Time: 19:00, Duration: 2 hrs. Charge: £7/£5. Box Office: 01592 583303.

Friday 5 December 2008

Aberdour Gallery Fife Scotland


Aberdour Gallery, Fife, Scotland. Gallery 8 is both a working studio and an exhibition space. It was established by Lewis Banks in order to provide a more permanent venue in which he can both make and display his own work as well as that of other artists and makers. The atmosphere is informal and visitors are made welcome, browsing is encouraged and Lewis is happy to talk about his work and that of the other artists.

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Monday 1 December 2008

East End of Aberdour Fife Scotland


An old view of the East End of Aberdour, Fife, Scotland.

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Archbishop Sharp Murder Fife Scotland

The murder of Archbishop James Sharp near St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, on 3 May 1679 has often been represented as the triumph of Scotland's presbyterian order over an English king's imposition of bishops and prayer books on the Scots. It was, in fact, only one important incident in a long struggle. From the Reformation settlement of 1560 it took 130 years of wavering loyalties, doctrinal dispute and civil war before a presbyterian church was accepted as the established Church of Scotland in 1690.

In 1560 there had been no question of creating a church without a hierarchy, even if John Knox preferred to call bishops 'superintendents'. The question of who was to appoint the superintendents created a profound dispute between the kirk and the
Stewart monarchs who maintained their belief in the divine right of kings.

James Sharp, bom in 1613, studied at King's College, Aberdeen, and graduated with an MA in 1637. In that year Charles I, more stubborn over his divine right than his father James VI, imposed religious changes on Scotland including the use of the unpopular Book of Common Prayer. The Scots reacted by drawing up the National Covenant in February 1638. Signatories declared themselves against all the king's innovations, but loyal to His Majesty. To Charles and his supporters the two sentiments were incompatible. Civil war was inevitable. The word 'Covenanter' was coined. Copies of the Covenant were sent to the five Scottish universities for signature but, rather than sign, Sharp went to Oxford, returning in 1642 as regent of philosophy at St Leonard's College, St Andrews. In January 1648 he was appointed minister of Crail and from that time on he was rarely out of the ecclesiastical limelight. When Cromwell invaded Scotland in 1651 Sharp, as a member of the Scottish Estates, was arrested and then imprisoned in the Tower of London. Not long after he was appointed spokesman for conservative presbyterians anxious to talk with Cromwell. The mission was a failure. Cromwell despised all presbyterians, but expressed admiration for Sharp.

Later, General George Monck, planning the restoration of Charles II, chose Sharp to go abroad to discuss Scottish church affairs with the exiled king. During these meetings and later, Sharp appears to have convinced the king that the majority of Scots wanted an episcopacy, meanwhile assuring the presbyterians in Scotland that Charles would do all in his power to establish their form of religion throughout Britain according to the Covenant that he had been forced to sign in 1651.

Restored to the throne in 1660, Charles immediately appointed Sharp his chaplain in Scotland and then made him archbishop of St Andrews. Several other ministers agreed to be bishops, believing that Sharp planned to unite the presbyterian and episcopal wings of the church. Nothing was further from Sharp's mind. In 1664 his title was elevated to primate of Scotland and for the next 15 years he pursued with equal energy the establishment of the episcopal order and the savage persecution of Covenanters. Ministers and entire congregations with Covenanting leanings were banned from churches and mercilessly hunted, and executed out of hand, for attending the outdoor services called Conventicles.

Sharp's self-seeking and brutality, bad judgement and foolish decisions in time alienated even his old friends. He lived well. His marriage to the daughter of a Fife laird produced seven children. He prospered and was granted the barony of Scotscraig in Fife. On 3 May 1679 he was returning from Edinburgh to St Andrews with his daughter Isabella. On high Magus Muir, within sight of the city, Sharp's carriage was suddenly surrounded by a band of Covenanters led by John Balfour of Kinloch. The Archbishop was dragged from the carriage and stabbed to death in front of his daughter. Those murderers who were caught suffered executions of horrendous brutality. However, despite official reaction, few genuinely mourned the death of Sharp who had, in the name of serving his country, generously served himself.

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Sunday 30 November 2008

Wilkie Ancestry Fife Scotland

Sir David Wilkie, (1785-1841) The son of the minister of Cults, Fife, Scotland, he was educated locally and at the Trustees' Academy,Edinburgh, between 1799 and 1804. He moved to London in 1805 and although he worked as a portrait painter he began a series of other works, those for which he is best known, the intricately detailed depictions of social life in Scottish country villages such as The Village Politicians (1809) and The Penny Wedding (1818). In 1807 Wilkie met John Galt, whose writing was much influenced by Wilkie's fine delineation of Scottish character and landscape. One of the most popular painters of his day, Wilkie became the King's Limner in Scotland in 1823 and the King's Painter in Ordinary in England in 1830. He was knighted in 1836. His paintings of Scottish rural life and character and those touching on historical subjects place him in the same rank as Gait and Sir Walter Scott for recording the life of a bygone Scotland.

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Marjory Fleming Ancestry Fife Scotland


Marjory Fleming Ancestry, Fife, Scotland. In Abbotshall Kirkyard in Kirkcaldy stands a statue that was erected in 1930 to commemorate a little girl, Marjory Fleming, who died in 1811. Although Marjory lived for a mere 8 years and 11 months, her writings in prose and verse have, following the publication of some extracts by mid-19th-century essayists, endeared her to countless readers. The sculptor Pilkington Jackson depicted Pet Marjorie, as she was then erroneously termed, seated in a chair, with a quill pen in her right hand and a book in her lap. This book represents one of her journals, in which she wrote in an amusingly precocious way her thoughts and opinions on people and events and other topics that interested or affected her. Three short journals, which were probably written between March or April 1810 and April 1811, plus a few poems and letters, ensured her literary immortality. That she kept a journal at all was the result of her being sent away from her Kirkcaldy home in 1809 to stay with an aunt in Edinburgh. A possible reason for this separation was the arrival in that year of a younger sister. It may be that her poor mother, as Marjory revealingly refers to her, found her young Madgie to be too much of a handful. Certainly, Marjory was prone to tantrums, as when on her own admission she threw a book at her cousin Isa in a dreadful passion, or roared like a bull. "I confess that I have been more like a little young Devil when Isabella went to teach me religion and my multiplication and to be good and all my other lessons I stamped with my feet and threw my new hat which she made on the ground and was sulky and was dreadfully passionate." The Isabella, or Isa, referred to was an elder cousin, who had taken on the role of mentor and mother substitute for her cherished Miss Muff. As the following verse indicates, this devotion was reciprocated.

I love in Isas bed to lie
0 such a joy and luxury
The bottom of the bed I sleep
And with great care I myself keep
Oft I embrace her feet of lillys
But she has goton all the pillies (pillows)
Her neck I never can embrace
But I do hug her feet in place.

It was Isa indeed that encouraged Marjory to keep a journal in the first place, partly as an exercise to improve her writing and partly as a means of communicating with her parents. They in their turn were probably impressed by Isa's attention to religious instruction, which was reflected in Marjory's frequent religious and Biblical allusions and her self-admonitions on the need for repentance. Certainly her Victorian biographers admired this aspect of her writing, while censoring some of her more frank and exuberant expressions. To appreciate the charm and vivacity of Marjory's verse and prose, it is best to read her own delightfully inconsequential text, as transcribed vin Frank Sidgwick's The Complete Marjory Fleming (1934), regrettably out of print.

Contrary to Dr John Brown's famous essay on Pet Marjorie, there is no evidence that Sir Walter Scott ever met her. But Marjory was certainly acquainted with some of Scott's works. One of her last letters written after her return to Kirkcaldy in July 1811 referred to her favourite poem, hill valen (Scott's 'Helvellyn'). In her reply, Isa quoted from memory the entire poem, concluding with Marjory's favourite lines describing the sad death of 'the meek Mountain Lamb', Within a few weeks Marjory was seriously ill and, in consequence, unusually meek and patient. The last thing she wrote was a poem addressed to her beloved Isa. Four days later she was dead, probably as a result of meningitis following a serious bou of measles, which was then an all too often fatal illness.

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Saturday 29 November 2008

Whyte-Melville Ancestry Fife Scotland

George John Whyte-Melville, 1821 to 1878, was born on 19th January 1821 in the village of Strathkinness, Fife, Scotland. He was educated at Eton and in 1839 he received a commission in the 93rd Highlanders, transferring later to the Coldstream Guards. During the Crimean War he commanded a regiment of Turkish irregular cavalry and retired with the rank of major. Whyte-Melville devoted most of his life to the pursuits of a country gentleman and the best of his 28 novels deal with his first love, hunting; in all his work there is an emphasis on aristocratic manners and chivalry. The Queen's Maries (1862) is a serious attempt to deal, fictionally, with the story of mary, Queen of Scots, and her ladies-in-waiting. After the breakdown of his marriage in 1847 Whyte-Melville lived in Gloucestershire and he was killed in a hunting accident on 5th December 1878. His works include: Tilbury Nogo (1854); Kate Coventry (1856); The Arab's Ride to Cairo (1857); The Interpreter (1858); General Bounce (1860); Holmby House (1860); Good for Nothing (1861); Market Harborough (1861); The Queen's Maries (1862); The Gladiators (1863); The Brookes of Kridlemere (1864); Cerise (1866); The White Rose (1867); Bones and I (1868); Songs and Verses (1869) .Contraband (1871) Sarchedon (1871); Satanella (1872); The True Cross (1873); Uncle John (1873); Katerfelto (1875); Sister Louise (1876); Rosine (1877); Digby Grand (1878); Riding Recollections (1878); Roy's Wife (1878); Black but Comely (1879).

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Sunday 23 November 2008

Lyndsay Ancestry Fife Scotland

Sir David Lyndsay, l490-1555, Poet and dramatist. He was the eldest son of David Lyndsay of the Mount, an estate in the Howe of Fife near Cupar. His father also possessed land in East Lothian and it is uncertain whether Lyndsay was educated there at the Grammer School of Haddington or at Cupar. Little is known of his early life, he may have attended the University of St Andrews, but by 1511 he was at the court of James IV. On the birth of Prince James in 1512 Lyndsay was appointed a Gentleman-usher, and throughout the young prince's childhood he was in continuous personal attendance on him. Following the accession of James V as King of Scots in 1524, and the supremacy at court of the Douglases, Lyndsay was banished to his estate at Garmylton in East Lothian. At the beginning of James's personal rule in 1529 Lyndsay was restored to favour and knighted; it was probably at this time that he was created Lyon King of Arms and became an emissary for the young king in his relationships with France, Spain and England. When James married Mary of Guise-Lorraine in 1538 Lyndsay was involved with the marriage preparations, and it was for the royal court that his play Ane Pleasant Satyre Of The Thrie Estaitis was performed on Twelfth Night 1540 in Linlithgow. James's death in 1542 did not diminish Lyndsay's standing, and in 1548 he was employed on an embassy to the court of Denmark. The last reference to Lyndsay at Court is in January 1555, when he presided over a chapter of heralds in Edinburgh; in April of the same year his death was recorded in the Register of the Privy Seal. Lyndsay probably started writing during his first stay at court and during his exile in East Lothian. In his earliest work. The Dreme (1528), he introduces himself as James V's servant and the teller of stories (of which this is presented as one) to the young king. It is a dream allegory, concerned with Scotland and its proper governance. The poet falls asleep in a cave and in a dream Dame Remembrance leads him to hell and purgatory, and to a glimpse of heaven and the Garden of Eden, before showing him the ruin that Scotland has become despite its apparent prosperity. John the Common-Weill, who later appears in the Thrie Estaitis, is introduced and bewails the laziness, falsehood, pride and greed into which Scotland has fallen. The poem ends with an exhortation to the king to remember the importance of his high office, a recurring motif in Lyndsay's work. The Complaynt of the King (1529) deals with similar themes in a work that is also a petition to the king for patronage. Lyndsay's most adventurous long poem, The Testament and Complaynt of Our Soverane Lords Papyngo, was published in 1538 but had been completed as early as 1530. It is divided into five sections concluding with two stanzas, one addressed to the reader and the other to the book. The poet, having taught the king's 'papyngo', or parrot, to speak, sees it mortally wounded after falling from a tree, but instead of helping the bird, he hides behind a hawthorn tree. After calling for a priest, the papyngo bemoans her misfortune - 'who sitteth most hie, sal find the saite moist slide' — and in so doing reminds the king of his awesome responsibilities to his people. Three birds, the Pie (canon regular), the Raven (black monk) and the Kite (holy friar), arrive to administer the last rites, but they ignore the papyngo's wishes and on her death they tear up the body, the Kite making off with her heart. Another animal poem The Complaynt and Publict Confessioun of the Kingis Auld Hound callit Bagsche (1536) allows Bagsche to complain about his fall from grace and to offer a solemn warning about hubris to Bawtie his successor. The Historic of ane Nobilland Vailyeand Squyer, William Meldrum, umquhyle Laird of Cleische and Bynnis (1547) shows Lyndsay's skill as a polished raconteur in the tale of the amorous and valiant knight, Squire Meldrum. The poem falls into two parts: 'The Historic', in rhyming octosyllabic couplets, traces Meldrum's career as lover and soldier; and 'The Testament', in Chaucerian ballat royal describes Meldrum's funeral and pronounces his recorded wish that the procession should reflect his interests in love and war. These are Lyndsay's most important poems: the others, all worthy of note, are: Ane Answer quhilk Schir David Lyndesay maid to the Kingis Fly ting (1536), a ribald riposte to a poem by James that has not been preserved; The Deploratioun of the Deith of Queue Magdalene(1537), a lament on the death of James's first queen; The Justing betuix James Watsoun and Jhone Barbour Servitouris to King James the Fyft (1538), a mock-heroic account of a jousting match which formed part of the marriage festivities of James to Mary of Guise-Lorraine; Ane Supplication Directit to the Kingis Grace in Contemplatioun of Syde Taillis (1538), an amusing plea to the king to enforce the wearing by women of shorter gowns; Kitteis Confessioun (c1542), an attack on the clergy's abuse of the privacy of confession; The Tragedie of the Cardinal! (1547), in which the shade of Cardinal Beaton makes apology for earthly misdeeds; and Ane Dialog betuix Experience and ane Courteour (1553), Lyndsay's last and longest poem in seven books which is an amalgam of his philosophy and an apologia pro vita sua. The work on which Lyndsay's literary reputation rests is also the first great play in Scottish drama: Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis in Commendatioun of Vertew and Vituperatioun of Vyce. The play gathers together in a dramatic unity many of Lyndsay's main public concerns: the abuse of spiritual and temporal power, the role of the king as head of the body politic, greed and lechery within the Church, and the oppression of the Scottish people by the nobility and the burgesses. Rex Humanitas is beguiled by the Vices who also hold in thrall the three estates, the clergy, the nobility and the burgesses. It is left to John the Common-Weill, a powerful manifestation of the levelling power of democracy, to unmask their crimes and to reorder society. Lyndsay's use of allegorical figures and his mixture of comedy and moral seriousness makes the Thrie Estaitis not only a powerful piece of drama but also a telling satirical commentary on the vices of spiritual and secular society of Lyndsay's time.
A reformer by inclination but, as far as is known, a Catholic by persuasion, Lyndsay was an early supporter of John Knox. In his Historia George Buchanan praised Lyndsay for his integrity and truthfulness, traits also noted by the monarchs to whom he was ambassador; ,and his support of the commons was no empty gestur his work resounds to his distaste for the corruption of power and to his acknowledgement of the grievances suffered by the ordinary people. Works include; The Dreme of Sir David Lyndsay (1528); The Complaynt of the King (1529); Ane Answer quhilk Schir David Lyndesay maid to the Kingis Flyting (1536); The Complaynt and Publict Confessioun of the Kingis Auld Hound callit Bagsche (1536); The Deploratioun of the Deith of Quene Magdalene (1537); The Justing betuix James Watsoun and Jhone Barbour Servitouris to King James the Fyft (1538); Ane Supplicatioun Directit to the Kingis Grace in Contemplatioun of Syde Taillis (1538); The Testament and Complaynt of Our Soverane Lordis Papyngo (1538); Kitteis Confessioun (cl542); The Tragedie of the Late Cardinall (1547); The Historic of ane Nobill and Vailyeand Sauyer, Willam Meldrum, umquhyle Laird of Cleische and Bynnis (1547); Acta sui temporis (1548); Ane Dialog betuix Experience and ane Courteour (1553); Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis (1602).

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Saturday 22 November 2008

Lindsay Ancestry Fife Scotland

Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, l532-1580, Historian. He was born on the estate of Pitscottie in the Parish of Ceres near Cupar in Fife, Scotland. His Historic and Cronicles of Scotland, written in Scots, was a continuation of the Scotorum Historiae of Hector Boece, which had been translated into Scots by John Bellenden in 1536. The 18th book of Boece's work became Lindsay's first chapter and his history covers the period from 1436 to 1575. Although he has been found to have been inaccurate and credulous, his style is vivid and picturesque, especially in dealing with the events of his own lifetime. The account of the death of James V is especially arresting. The Historic was not published until 1728. His works included: The Historic and Cronicles of Scotland (1728) edition: A. J. G. Mackay, The Historic and Cronicles of Scotland, Written and Collected by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, 3 vols., Edinburgh and London, 1899-1911).

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Saturday 15 November 2008

Andrew Carnegie Dunfermline Fife Scotland

Andrew Carnegie, 1835-1919). Philanthropist. He was born on 25th November 1835 in
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the son of a poor linen weaver. In 1848, during the depression that hitthe linen trade, the Carnegie family emigrated to the United States where they lived in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. There young Carnegie took to the weaving trade but, despairing of advancing in life, he moved to Pittsburgh to work as a telegraph messenger boy. A free library scheme in the city allowed Carnegie the opportunity of study but it was a timely investment in a railway company that put him on the road to gaining an immense fortune. He quickly acquired interests in railways, locomotive construction and iron works, and by dint of making sound investments, and exploiting an ability to foresee technological innovations, he had by 1901 amassed a private fortune of £60 million. By that time Carnegie's interests were changing from the making of money to its equal distribution among his fellow men, and he published his ideals in his credo The Gospel of Wealth (1900). First and foremost funds were set aside for the establishment of libraries in the United States and Britain on condition that they would be maintained by the local
authority. Six separate funds were established in the United States for educational advancement and in Britain he founded the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, the Carnegie Hero Trust and the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. Carnegie received several public honours, including the Lord Rectorship of the Scottish universities; he bought the estate of Skibo in Sutherland as a summer retreat. His passionate concern for international peace resulted in the foundation of the Palace of Peace Carswell, in The Hague in 1903 but the outbreak of World War I dashed his ideals and put an end to his promotion of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany as 'a man of destiny'. Carnegie died on 11th August 1919 at Lennox, Massachusetts. Works include: An American Four Hand in Britain (1883); Round the World (1884); Triumphant Democracy (1886); The Gospel of Wealth (1900); The Empire of Business (1902); Life of James Watt (1905); Problems of Today (1908); J. van Dyke, ed., Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (1920).

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