Andrew Carnegie

When all is well with the public library, we tend not to think about it much. It's part of the civic infrastructure, there between the water department and the fire station. For those who grew up before on-demand cable and the World Wide Web, the place...

On Aug. 11, 1860, the nation's first successful silver mill began operation near Virginia City, Nev. In 1909 what is believed to be the first radio SOS sent by an American ship was transmitted from the liner Arapahoe after its engines were disabled off...

A recently hired plumber was sent into the bowels of the Orleans hotel and casino last year to unplug a sewer pipe in a large grease trap -- an assignment that would be his last. The hotel had no permit or training program to allow plumber Richard Luzier...

Julia Keller is the Tribune's cultural critic. She will speak at the Printers Row Book Fair on June 7-8 (printersrowbookfair.org). julia@juliakeller.net These were dark times. The United States was bogged down in a frustrating and controversial war, a...

Given the swanky townhouses, proximity to Museum Mile, proliferation of uniformed schoolgirls and lovingly manicured greenery, it's difficult to believe that Carnegie Hill, which occupies the northeast corner of the Upper East Side, wasn't always...

The Greek islands of Santorini, Anafi and Thirasia are the setting for the June 14-20 "In Search of the Real Greece" photo workshop directed by San Francisco photographers Glenn and Rose Steiner. Geared to a variety of abilities, from intermediate-to-...

It's Pittsburgh-Philadelphia tonight in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Exciting stuff. Intrastate rivals. Let's get ready to rumbllle, right? OK, it's nothing like that. It's the NHL, where they canceled an entire season and nobody noticed. There's some buzz,...

Every few decades, America's business leaders change their minds about what obligations corporations and the wealthy have to society. This happened 100 years ago, when ex-robber barons like Andrew Carnegie invented modern philanthropy to address social...

An opportunity to buy emerging-market stocks is likely to surface within a few weeks as nervous investors continue to flee from risky stocks, experts say. But analysts are warning investors not to be too eager to overindulge now. With emerging markets...

We've all heard it. Somebody says offhandedly: "He's really rich." It's all relative, but even without examining anyone's tax returns, Americans tend to keep an informal score of the local and the national well-to-do folks. Those at the top receive...

Craig Newmark, the man who founded Craigslist, daydreams about going "middle-aged crazy" someday. That's his way of saying he might trade his environmentally correct Toyota Prius for a flashy, expensive car. He might buy an apartment in the East...

The charitable foundation of Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates pledged $750 million Monday to vaccinate children throughout the developing world, one of the largest donations ever. The contribution to the international Vaccine Fund will help fight...