David Cannadine, a renowned British historian and author, came to speak on Wednesday, November 8, about his recently published book, Mellon: An American Life. The biography is the first to detail in full the life of Andrew Mellon, a major figure in the history of Pittsburgh and notably one of the names behind Carnegie Mellon. Cannadine held a book signing reception at the University Center followed by a summary lecture on the life of the little-known figure and also the book.

Cannadine was assigned the task of writing Mellon: An American Life by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, but he was given full access to any and all research he wanted, and was allowed to form his own opinions of the man.

"I would not have done it any other way," said Cannadine.

As Cannadine conveyed the life of Andrew Mellon, his status as an expert historian and author was clear. Despite having researched Mellon for twelve years, Cannadine was careful to express only the key points and intriguing anecdotes about his life.

"It's hard to make an even-handed verdict about such a complicated man," Cannadine said of Mellon's complex life. In the biography, these complexities are explored.

Cannadine addressed Mellon's life in four major fields: the businessman, the political figure, the art collector, and the philanthropist.

Andrew Mellon was born in 1855 as the sixth child to Thomas and Sarah Jane Negley Mellon; his father was a successful self-made businessman who had immigrated to Pittsburgh from Ireland. Through the bank that his father created, Mellon was able to invest in and lend to many major companies of his era in the coal, oil, and aluminum industries. These investments made him an extremely wealthy man, although much of his wealth was hidden in a diverse collection of company shares.

He was a dedicated businessman and believed that politics was a natural extension of business. As a Republican of the early 1900s, Mellon supported free trade and strongly opposed organized labor. He was the nation's Secretary of the Treasury under Harding until he was impeached as a result of the economic downturn tied to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Mellon became a collector of paintings in 1900 as a way to decorate his various places of residence during his short-lived marriage. Later, he started to buy more and more classical and rare art. Most notably, he purchased 21 pieces, including three by Renaissance artist Raphael Santi, from the Hermitage Museum in perhaps one of the greatest art sales out of Russia ever.

Toward the end of his life, Mellon chose to leave a lasting impact on America by creating the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., out of his personal collection. Cannadine describes this choice as Mellon's "business model applied to culture." In 1936, Mellon received permission from President Roosevelt to build the Gallery. A year later, it was completed. Andrew Mellon died soon after in 1937.

After the lecture, Cannadine held a short question and answer session. He addressed questions about both Mellon's life and the writing process behind the book. He talked about some amusing details and stories of Mellon's life, such as the way Mellon tried to buy out all of the press in Pittsburgh to prevent the papers from reporting on his divorce. Cannadine also commented on the actual writing of the book, saying "the hardest chapters to write were the early ones," for the reason that Mellon and his father led a secluded and secretive life outside of business.

Mellon: An American Life is published by Knopf and is available at bookstores for $35 retail. For more information, visit the publisher's website. 

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