That best portion of a man’s life,
his little, nameless, unremembered acts
of kindness and love.
– William Wordsworth

When steel magnate Andrew Carnegie sold his company to banker J. P. Morgan, that transaction created the first billion-dollar corporation. With his wealth, Carnegie sponsored free, public libraries. Over 2,500 were built during his lifetime. He funded the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.  In 1889, he wrote The Gospel of Wealth,  stating fortunes should be considered a public trust that should benefit others.

Carnegie’s 5’3” body housed giant ideas. He believed heroic acts must be recognized. His Deed of Trust said, “A medal shall be given to the hero, or widow, or next of kin, which shall recite the heroic deed it commemorates, that descendants may know and be proud of their descent. The medal shall be given for the heroic act, even if the doer be uninjured, and also a sum of money.” In 1930, three earned Carnegie Medal by risking electrocution.

On July 12, in Williamsburg, Kentucky, 22-year-old Harry M. Snyder tried to save an electrician who’d picked up a broken wire. In a heavy rain, Snyder grabbed the man’s protective glove. Both men fell and lay unconscious as 2,300-volts flashed. When the current was shut off, Snyder suffered severe burns but recovered. The electrician, could not be revived.  Read more.

One month later, in Painesville, Ohio, Sheldon Joseph Harris tried to knock a fellow electrician free from a steel crossarm charged with 2,300 volts. Both fell ten feet, with 20-year-old Harris landing on a charged wire. Neither survived. Read more.

On December 4, 1930, in Emory Georgia, Arthur W. McKinney climbed to the top of a transformer, leapt to a beam and tugged an unconscious co-worker’s leg. Fred Maxwell hadn’t realized the wires and switches on the steel structure were live, carrying 19,000 volts. Both lived.  Read more.

NOTE:  Because the human body conducts electricity, a person in contact with electrical current should never be touched with bare hands. Read more.

‘Hero’ comes from ancient words meaning demi [half, unfinished, almost]-god and to watch over, to protect.

Imagine a world where everyone goes to bed a hero.

Nominate a Hero.

Succeed and Soar!

A Kindness Curriculum