Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie was a prominent lecturer, writer, and educator known for his influential role in personal development and public speaking. He established a global network of educational programs aimed at empowering individuals to reach their full potential. Carnegie began his career by teaching public speaking classes at the YMCA in New York City after graduating from Warrensburg State Teachers College in Missouri. In 1912, he launched the Dale Carnegie Courses, and by 1915, he coauthored a book on public speaking. Carnegie changed the spelling of his last name to avoid confusion with the famous industrialist Andrew Carnegie. His most notable work, "How to Win Friends and Influence People," has sold over fifty million copies across thirty-eight languages, solidifying his legacy in the self-help genre. After retiring in 1951, Carnegie's organization continued to expand globally, employing thousands of instructors by the early twenty-first century. His contributions have made him a significant figure in the evolution of motivational speaking and self-improvement literature.
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Subject Terms
Dale Carnegie
- Born: November 24, 1888
- Birthplace: Maryville, Missouri
- Died: November 1, 1955
- Place of death: Foreset Hills, New York
Identification American motivational speaker, author, and educator
The 1950’s saw rapid domestic and worldwide expansion of Dale Carnegie’s motivational courses and educational facilities, setting the stage for his wide popularity in subsequent decades. Carnegie is especially well known for his self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Dale Carnegie was a sought-after lecturer, writer, and teacher who founded a worldwide network of educational facilities designed to motivate people to be the best they could be. As a motivational speaker, he spread his message via personal counseling, small classes, radio programs, newspaper columns, and books.
After receiving his education at Warrensburg State Teachers College in Missouri, Carnegie moved to New York City, where he taught public-speaking classes to adults at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). In 1912, he started his Dale Carnegie Courses. In 1915, he coauthored a book on public speaking. Because his last name was similar to that of Andrew Carnegie, a famous industrialist of the time, Dale Carnagey found that people were confusing his name with that of the industrialist. Rather than trying to correct the world, Carnagey changed the spelling of his surname to Carnegie.
Carnegie retired from the organization that he had founded in 1951, and his wife, Dorothy, became company president. Several of his earlier books were edited and republished during the 1950’s. In 1954, the company incorporated under the name Dale Carnegie & Associates, and worldwide expansion of his empire began. By the late 1950’s, Dale Carnegie & Associates held courses in places such as Central America and the British Isles.
Impact
Dale Carnegie’s influence grew tremendously during the 1950’s, making him an important precursor to later decades’ motivational speakers and the self-help industry. More than fifty million copies of Carnegie’s books are in print in thirty-eight languages, and by the early twenty-first century, his organization employed approximately 2,700 motivational instructors.
Bibliography
Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1936. This is Carnegie’s best-known book, covering both public speaking and human relations. It was reissued beginning in 1952.
Kemp, Giles, and Edward Claflin. Dale Carnegie: The Man Who Influenced Millions. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989. A biography of Carnegie.