An American writer, lecturer, and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills, Dale Carnegie was a poor farmer's boy and the second son of James William Carnegie and Amanda Elizabeth Harbison.

He was born in 1888 in Maryville, Missouri, U.S.A. In spite of having to wake-up every morning at four in his teens, to milk the cows, he managed to obtain an education at the State Teacher's College in Warrensburg. Selling correspondence courses to ranchers was his first job after college, after which he moved on to selling bacon, soap, and lard for Armour