Historical Society To Host Program About Andrew Carnegie

They were called robber barons, those men of the 19th and early 20th Century American industry, men of greed unfettered by conscience. Yet the charitable legacies they left are immense.

Newtown Historical Society will examine this paradox in the form of a reenactment of the life of Andrew Carnegie on Monday, May 11, at 7:30 pm, in the community room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street (Route 25).

The presentation, entitled “Great Scot! It’s Andrew Carnegie,” will be performed by Richard Clark.

Carnegie was a self-made man, rising from a 13-year-old immigrant whose family had to borrow the money for the voyage, to an industrial giant who years later sold his company, Carnegie Steel, an integrated company controlling the resources and processes of steel making from beginning to end, to JP Morgan for more than $225 million.

Richard Clark is a professional actor, and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, The Actor’s Connection, and the Actor’s Loft in New York. He developed his Keeping History Alive series of performances to bring such figures as Carnegie, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, John Barrymore, and William Shakespeare back to life, basing his interpretation on biographies, letters and writings of the figures. He has previously appeared for the historical society in the person of Clarence Darrow. 

Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

For more information call 426-5937.