Many years ago when I was doing my under-graduate work in college, I read Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living“. It was a good book with advice that I found reasonable and practical. In a conversation with a friend, I mentioned what I was reading. He laughed and said that it was ironic because Dale Carnegie leaped to his death from the window of a high-rise building six months after writing this book. I believed him because he stated it as a matter of fact.
There was no Internet, at least in my hometown, in India at that time. I would have had to verify such a fact by finding a biography or encyclopedia in the library - since it was no big deal, I didn’t do so. Furthermore, for several years, whenever mention of Dale Carnegie would come up, I would think, “Aha! The hypocrite who committed suicide because he couldn’t stop worrying.” The funny thing was that in later years, a Google search was just seconds away and I would still place my faith in my friend’s words. Until just a few days ago…
In my last post, I wrote about reading the Personal MBA books. Accordingly, I went to the library (Leach Library in Londonderry, NH) and found there was a new audio book for “How to Win Friends and Influence People“. I like audio books since they are convenient to get through during my daily commute. As part of the whole chain of events, I finally Googled “Dale Carnegie” and got to the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Carnegie. Here’s the excerpt:
“He died of Hodgkin’s disease on November 1, 1955”
I did more searches on Google and, yes, he did die at the age of 67 in 1955. The “How to Stop Worrying…” book was published in 1948. I have not found any mention of suicide or euthanasia regarding his death.
So what does this mean? I wonder how many other ideas, concepts and “facts” we all walk around with believing that they are absolute truth without doing any cross-verification. The problem is that after years of listening to people, reading various sources, and other means of acquiring information, it is natural to forget where any piece of information was acquired from. And even if it was acquired from a respectable source like a news site, when does someone look at the name of the actual person who wrote the information and further verify it? How many times do we read Letters to the Editor where a mistake is pointed out?
New discoveries and inventions in every field of human endeavor are also changing what previously was accepted as fact. I was very surprised when I read that the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2005 was awarded for the discovery that gastritis and peptic ulcer disease was caused by a bacterium. For all my life, it was thought that stress was the cause of ulcers. Hence, the term “don’t burn a hole in your stomach“.
Moral of the story: Question beliefs. Cross-verify facts. Show me the corroboration.
Very interesting – hadn’t heard the Carnegie suicide rumor, but it does make you question how much of what you hear is factually correct. Thanks for the interesting post!
Glad you liked the PMBA, by the way!
Josh Kaufman
Krishna, That story about Dale Carnegie committing suicide is an old cannard, and we’ve got no idea how it started. The information you eventually found is correct: he died of natural causes. While I never knew him personally, everyone that I have met that knew him tell me that he was the personification of what he taught. Peter Handal, Chairman, Dale Carnegie
Krishna
What you say is extremely interesting!
What actually proves it to be so?
What is the process of fixing belief?
Is skepticism healthy?
When I searched the net for how Dale Carnegie died … I found thes e two notes A & B …
A. Carnegie’s first job was selling correspondence learning courses to farmers. Then he worked as a salesman for Armour & Company, the largest slaughterhouse and meatpacking company in Chicago. Carnegie was selling their meats, soap, lard, and other byproducts. Armour & Company was notorious for low compensation and also for banning unionization. Carnegie was the most successful salesman in the state of Omaha, and made his sales territory the national leader of the company. He lost all his savings in the stock market crash of 1929.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0138646/bio
B. Just short of graduating, he decided to quit and start a career as a salesman in the Midwest. Despite his knack for expressing himself, his heart was never in sales, and he was less than successful. http://www.bookrags.com/Dale_Carnegie
Was he a successful salesman in his early career? Question remains!
Similarly with his suicide. There seems to be something about it which makes people skeptical …
Would return to this again if you really wish …
Me Paparazzi
@me paparazzi
Yes, it is difficult to know what to believe. The problem is that it is very difficult to be skeptical about everything. Sometimes, the fact may be buried in a larger article and we go with the flow.
Thanks for your comments. Do you have a blog/website I can visit?
Thanks dude…I also searched in google after hearing this rumour…
you just saved me 200 bucks
…i had brought his book but have abandoned it midway when my father told me that he killed himself 
…now i feel like going back and reading it
Wow ,I am so glad to learn that, I had read how to win friends and Influence ppl , long back and was impressed by his works, bought few more books authored by him, but in the midway , one of my friend told me that he comitted sucide and I left the book, never thought of googling the reason. Now I will be back to the books with full enthusiasm
Hieeee guys dis is gurinder from vancouver canada… its regarding dale carnegie’s death.
Though it has been stated that Dale Carnegie died of uremia, it is widely rumored that he died at age 66 by committing suicide. The rumor began because another author, Irving Tressler,wrote “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” as an unauthorized parody
of the classic Dale Carnegie book. Mr. Tressler later committed suicide and was confused with Dale Carnegie himself. The official biography from Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. states that he died of Hodgkin’s disease on November 1, 1955. He died at Forest Hills, New York, and was buried in the Belton, Cass County, Missouri cemetery.
Guyz… right information only comes from right source. Get the right information.
Gurinder Litt
(littgurinder@gmail.com)
I’ve heard this rumour about suicide and that’s why i’m here : why should we believe Wiki is right ?still i agree that we should have some info about contrary if we want to argue
good luck
andrej.jodko@gmail.com
You are right. We cannot believe that the Wiki is also necessarily correct. Nevertheless, it does seem to be a better source than hearsay.
I dont belive he commited suicide but even if he did his books are worth reading and his advice worth taking.
I would ask a simple question, Is is worthwhile to know about the person in detail before reading a book. If the book’s ideas are good, follow it Otherwise not. The main thing matter is your own belief not the other’s.
Hemant Gupta
@anonymous
Generally speaking, I would agree with you that you can ignore the author while reading a book. However, if the author’s actions fundamentally contradict the book, then you have to wonder where the ideas are coming from. True ideas come from experience or research, not from a vacuum. If the ideas are just meant to sell books, the writing may sound good, but the ideas are hollow.
I think you are misquoting wiki on this matter. Wiki says 'The official biography from Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. states that he died of Hodgkin's disease on November 1, 1955.[9] It has long been rumoured that Dale Carnegie committed suicide."
So Wiki has put both the things together, without stressing one over other. The official biography is by Dale Carnegie's own company, so the credibilty of thst can be questionable. The other is a rumour. So no one knows the fact……….
Anil, this is interesting. When I read the Wikipedia article, that text was not there. The article now goes on to say, “Many attribute this rumor to the suicide of Irving Tressler, author of, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People”, an unauthorized parody of Dale Carnegie’s classic book.”
As you say, no one knows the fact. Of course, my original point was exactly that – we have to understand the sources of information better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01bALyYZFcs&feature=related
It is interesting to note in the above video that Sri Sri is also seems to be believing this rumor
Thanks for all views and facts, guys, even i heard this rumour, but i never bothered to check, Since his books have really changed my life. Anyway i got away with this rumour as well, today. Thanks for all, sens_k@yahoo.com
hey thanx 4 the info…….even my frnd told me ’bout the suicide while i was readin the buk……. so i was verifying….. glad i verified immediatly….. bcos it is reallly ironic that he himself committed suicide aft writin all that stuff…thanx!-mansi vaidya
Whether he committed suicide or not is not important. One fact about him seems to be agreeable by all. He divorced his first wife. If a man like him who proposed so much about winning and retaining friends and whatever, how can one even divorce such a close relationship. its a very big thing to ‘divorce’ oneself from a relationship. God only know what was going on inside this man…
That’s interesting, Koushik. I didn’t know about that. It is strange – divorces were not so common then, either.
Including persons like Swami Sukhabodhananda, they don’t bother to check the truth, and they are propagating wrong information to their participants in their discourses and in thier life programs about the great person like Dale Carnegie.
Thanking you friend for coming this far reading this thread.
I[Harish] started reading Dale Carnegie books and have applied the philosophy in my life. Principles were working fine. Unless a person has followed these principles in his own life, it can’t work so wonderfully. My heart tells, Dale Carnegie had a natural death and more over fully followed his principles unto his last breath.
It is a sorry fact that some people get a kind of pleasure by spreading rumors.
Friend, in all such cases ask the answers from your heart. It only knows the truth.
I recently became a Dale Carnegie Instructor. Obviously it would be nice to believe he didn’t commit suicide. If he did it is truely sad. On the flip side, his training and literature have truely changed many people’s lives accross the world, including mine. His ideas and fundamental principles were way before his time. I may be speaking from a biased perspective, yet anything that can withstand Two Wold Wars, The Great Depression and a few recessions and still be considered one of the best business training sessions in the world…no matter how much technology there is, humans will always be humans….
People like sri sri and sukhabodananda are people who do great research, they can never spread rumors.Dale Carnegie’s books were the top selling books only next to the bible. If the fact that he committed suicide is revealed to public, the whole legacy he left is going to crash down in no time, so it was officially hidden. sorry if i m offensive, but the truth cannot be altered.
Vignesh, don’t you think that you are taking Sukhabodhananda too much on faith? He is a human being and can make mistakes too.
And secondly, who is “officially” hiding the truth about Dale Carnegie? America is a free society. And any reporter is free to tell the truth.
well, it would be wrong if u say i got too much faith on sukhabodhananda. because i heard it from swami paramahamsa nithyananda too that carnige died by suicide. So it counts to confirming from three high profile spiritual leaders.
It will be easy for u to understand why he really committed suicide IF YOU CAN LOOK BEYOND dale carnige’s principles about attitude and self help.
That will give u the perspective for why the books “how to stop worrying and start living” or “how to win friends and influence people” really blunders a person in the long run.
i have read the latter. he tells, “THINK of something to appreciate the person u want to impress” kind of techniques. I personally feel this is a totally wrong approach.To start with, you can read “7 habits of highly effective people” to understand y this doesn’t work.. or u can read any book by enlightened ones like dalai lama
About america, there is a lot known and unknown. They r good at secrecy and the reporters good at forming strange theories as well.
so it would be fair enough to believe the people who have contacts with the insiders (the spiritual leaders have friends everywhere) rather than going to NASA’s head and asking whether Armstrong landed on the moon or not, cos he is going to reply the obvious
Vignesh, what is more believable? That Dale Carnegie died a natural death, or that he committed suicide and that newspapers everywhere suppressed this news? Newspapers are in the profit making business. Why should they stop publishing some news that would sell them more newspapers? What is more believable: The Swamis hearing this rumor and using it in their speeches, or some “insider” providing information to the Swamis that they did not reveal to newspapers? As for the moon landing, if America faked it, why wouldn’t the Soviet Union (America’s biggest enemy at that time) expose the fraud? They had spies everywhere – they could have easily done that.
If you don’t like Dale Carnegie’s ideas, that is perfectly okay – you can disagree with that. We don’t have to invent stories to criticize him. In fact, even if he committed suicide, it doesn’t mean anything. If his ideas are good, follow them. If not, ignore them. Dale Carnegie never asked people to like him personally.
Now, I like the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, but it is about productivity, not that much about personal relationships. I don’t know how much you read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, but basically Carnegie asks the reader to be sincere, not to fake it. There is a story where Carnegie says that people who ask, “What is in it for you?” miss the point because it is not about selfishness. Probably you should read the book again.
I wish you displayed the same skepticism about the Swamis as you seem to display about mainstream stories. In my view, there is more reason to suspect some of these Swamis are fake than there is reason to believe that the moon landings were fake.
A MAN PERSUADED AGAINST HIS WILL IS OF THE SAME OPINION STILL.
I heard about the suicide in the early 90′s. His books really helped me get over some hard times. When I heard of the suicide, I thought “no matter how wise a guy, he is human after all”
Today, finally got around to googling the issue. I must say I am as much in the dark as I was before and I leave with my orginal thought – he was human after all.
I too have been influenced by Dale Carnegie’s books.
A person known to me, and knowing about my interest, informed in me about his apparent suicide in such a manner that it implied that all his works were automatically invalidated.
Discounting it due to the source, it was none the less at the back of my mind; and today I recalled this, and searched the net for confirmation.
I believe that Dale was inspired while writing his books and some of it comes through when you read it.
Thanks for your info!
I heard about the suicide from a respected author who draws from Prophetic sources to substauate his theories of self development. He states that he followed the instructions and read the ‘How to win…” at least once a month and began to apply its principles when dealing with others and wintnessed amazing results. but he states that ” I contemplated and realised that the author’s only goal was to attain worldy happiness, later when i discovered that Carnegie committed suicide, I knew for ceartian that his book, despite its merits, had not benefitted him.” and only God know’s best…
You talking about enjoy your life, it’s a great book so is Carnegie’s book, but he took examples of people and the other author took deen this makes the difference.
Krishna, I can relate to your post very well as I had the same experience more than a decade ago when computers were a luxury in India and not accessible. I lost interest in his book (that I had thus far liked) when a friend mentioned about his ‘suicide’. Like you, I didnt question her as she’s an avid reader herself.
Today, for some reason this cropped up in my mind and instantly, I found myself going on google, the one-stop shop for info in the 21st century, with ‘Dale Carnegie biography’. I was surprised to see that all results (at least on page 1) mention demise due to Hodgkins disease. The first thing that struck me was that my memory is may be playing tricks on me and my friend might have mentioned this about another author. Just one more time, I was compelled to repeat the search with ‘Dale Carnegie death’ and ‘suicide’ and found that this was indeed the man with the controversy in death.
All these varied results dont come labeled as rumours, speculations, educated guesses or facts; its for us to figure out and the more we explore, the more we learn. Oh the joy of learning!
Thanks for your post.
Hi Krishna, I agree with you. I read about this rumour in one of the books, it was hard to believe. So I started to search for the facts.
Whats more important is what Carnegie books had to offer. His well proven techniques helped thousands of people and still proving the same. Try any of the solutions and you will see the results.
Even though a rumour that he commited suicide does’nt prove his work false or his techniques immaterial. It doesnt make the success of the followers null.
Imm.. one more swami “Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev” also refers as “People like Dale Carnegie and others, they broke down, became neurotic, because you are trying to deceive the realiyt” … in his “From creation to creator” book.
Dear Krishna,
In India some swamiji’s are using this rumour as a part of their discourse. Ten years back when internet and google was not available everywhere, we from Chennai contacted World Book people to find out the truth about Dale Carnigie’s death. They did a research and told us he died out of hodgglom’s disease.
Idont understand why these swamiji’s add this rumour in their worksho?
Regrds
Well Guys. Instead of wasting time in discussing such issues, please come down to the earth. Note the following points:
1. Writing a good book is a different thing and living a good life is different thing. If a person is a good writer, it does not mean he can not commit suicide. After all, he was a human being.
2. There is no correlation with his books and the way he died. Whatever way he died, one must accept the fact that his books are excellent and everyone should ideally read them. Remember, a leading heart specialist, Dr. Chhotubhai Naik, who saved many people from dying of heart deseases, himself died of heart attack. Does it mean one should never go to a heart specialist because he may probably have a heart desease.
3. It is good that many swamijis mention that Dale Carnegie died by committing the suicide. It means that do not judge a person by what he says or what he writes. A person must be judged by how he adheres to those principles. And these rules apply first to those swamijis.
Usually, the authors are not the targets of rumours. The statistics show that most frequent targets of rumours are either politicians or spiritual leaders. So, it is unlikely that Dale Carnegie’s suicide is a rumour. Besides, it seems very logical to accept the theory that he committed suicide because of his frequent failures in life. There is no denying that he was divorced twice. Both of his marriages had failed misearably. Even the information on Wikipedia (Krishna has mentioned the link above) clearly states about his divorces. Isn’t it an ironical fact that a person supposed to be expert in human relations could not develop a good rapport with any of his wives.
It is easier to preach than to practice the principles. And the best way to preach the principles of human relations is by putting them in practice rather than by speech or by writings. LORD RAM was such a personality. That is why, I always prefer to read books like Ramayan than reading the books of authors such as Dale Carnegie. The stories in Ramayan may be ancient, but not the principles. You learn the great principles of human relations that are not only practical but the timeless and proven.
As far as I know, Dale Carnegie ever wanted to commit suicide when there is an economic crisis in America. But then he realized and canceled intentions. Finally, some time after the incident, he even set up a personality training institutions which are still popular today.
Don’t you think it is rather odd that people who spread this rumor were usually people who are of a different race, religion, or affiliation. Obviously these people have an axe to grind or have an ulterior motive. It is easy to take potshots at rivals and competitors especially those who are dead. Sneaky! We want to believe what we want to believe.
Segue artigo encontrado na internet que diz de onde surgiu o boato do suicidio que não procede.
Aqui traduzido por Cristoffer Medeiros:
Dale Carnegie morreu em 1955 com 67 anos de idade da doença de Hodgkin’s (uma forma de câncer que se origina nos gânglios do sistema linfático). Entretanto a sua fama não morreu com ele, o seu livro, “Como Fazer Amigos e Influenciar Pessoas” é, ainda hoje, um dos livros mais lidos em todo o mundo. A doença de Carnegie afetou suas habilidades de memória que foi extrema ironia para um homem que treinava e ensinava pessoas a expandirem suas capacidades intelectuais. Em 1941, Irving Tressler escreveu uma paródia do livro Como Fazer Amigos, intitulada: Como Perder Amigos e Aborrecer Pessoas. Veja o titulo original em inglês http://www.librarything.com/work/603630 Para aproveitar o sucesso do livro de Dale Carnegie, ele plagiou a capa do livro, colocando sua foto (igual a capa do Como Fazer Amigos) e no cantinho da capa ainda escreveu – “Um milhão de copias a vender”. Esta pessoa Irving Tressler suicidou-se em 1944, aos 35 anos, e, por causa da similaridade de títulos, na época muitas pessoas o associaram a Dale carnegie. Mesmo ele tendo morrido 11 anos antes de Dale Carnegie, a notícia que correu seria de que o autor de Como Fazer Amigos (Dale) tinha se suicidado, quando na verdade foi o autor de Como Perder Amigos e Aborrecer as pessoas. Achei que era meu dever informar a todos os amigos. Cristoffer.
[Translation - inserted by admin]
yes,this rumor abt dale carnegies death being a suicide is very common.once my frnd told me that the book ‘how to win frnds………’which i read,its author himself commited suicide bcoz he did not have any frnds or relatives.
Hey, now wait a minute!
Krishna says “Question beliefs. Cross-verify facts.”
So, think again! Would Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. not like to hide the fact, if Dale Carnegie had really committed suicide. Or else how could they keep selling his books?
I am not saying Dale committed suicide for sure. But I am not denying it completely either. It is possible that he might have. Only time can reveal the truth.
This world is not so simple. There are not many honest people out there. Watch out!
True, but it is rather unlikely that the suicide of such a famous person could be easily suppressed in the news in a free society such as America.
oh; wait a minute dale carnegie died of disease he cannot commit suicide because he was a man of highly intelligent thought.and i like his book how to win friends and influence people. he died like any famous legend.
Dear Krishna,
I am also very big fan of Dale Carnegie. Once I read in a magazine that Mr.LK Advani became a Good Public speaker after he read the book How to Win Friend and Influence People. I am from a small village from Andhra Pradesh. Once, I was travelling in a train and found a fellow who is suffering from acidity. I found that his worry of acidity is more than his real acidity pain. So, I suggested him to read the book Stop worrying and Start Living. Then he told me that Dale Carnegie underwent suicide. Then really I got shock. I could not suggest this book to so many people with confidence, however, I used to suggest the same to some people. At the back of my brain I used to feel, as I must know the fact. Today, fortunately while searching on net I found the fact thru this web site. Infinite Thanks and Best Regards. GM Rao