Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie is the author and narrator of How to Win Friends and Influence People. He developed the book from a series of lectures he gave every year from 1912 to 1936 and the…
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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865, known especially for his leadership during the American Civil War. Carnegie is deeply interested in Lincoln, considering him one of…
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Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Carnegie uses Roosevelt in several case studies: first, he points out that Teddy Roosevelt knew all the White House servants…
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Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He’s perhaps best known for leading the United States during World War I and for his input in founding the…
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Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab was an American steel magnate and one of the first people to earn a salary of a million dollars. Carnegie uses Schwab in several case studies, noting how Schwab never criticized his employees’…
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Get the entire How to Win Friends and Influence People LitChart as a printable PDF.
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States, serving from 1909 to 1913. He succeeded Teddy Roosevelt, who criticized Taft for his conservatism. When Taft held to his beliefs, Teddy Roosevelt…
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John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was an American business magnate and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. Carnegie discusses how Rockefeller Jr. appreciated the idea that the best way to win people…
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B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner was a famous psychologist whose work became popular in the 1930s. Carnegie cites Skinner’s studies several times, which illustrate that animals rewarded for good behavior will learn more effectively than animals punished…
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Minor Characters
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish American steel magnate (he is unrelated to author Dale Carnegie). Dale Carnegie uses Andrew in several case studies, showing how the magnate understood that the best way to influence people is to talk in terms of what they want.
