Andrew Carnegie Memorial Bust, inside the Edinburgh Central Library

7-9 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EG

Andrew Carnegie was a Scots-born American industrialist who earned a fortune as a steel magnate, then gave much of it away in acts of beneficence. He hailed from Dunfermline, though his mother and both of his maternal grandparents were Edinburgh folk. In 1887, he was made an honorary burgess of the city of Edinburgh, and in 1935 (the centenary of his birth) the same award was bestowed upon his American wife, Louise. This gave the Carnegies the unique distinction of being the only commoner couple to receive this honour.  

One of Andrew Carnegie’s favourite projects was the building of libraries – over 3,000 of them! – including this one, which was opened in 1890, thanks in large measure to his donation of £50,000. On St Andrew’s Day in the following year, the unveiling of a fine bust of the benefactor took place here, having been commissioned by Edinburgh Corporation from a local sculptor, Charles McBride. At the unveiling ceremony, the Lord Provost is said to have expressed that the people of Edinburgh wished to show their gratitude for Carnegie’s beneficence, and shared something to the effect of “they trusted that many generations would view this bust, and would be reminded by it of the kindness of the donor to the capital of his native country, and of the gratitude of its citizens.”