In 1904, 180 Americans were trapped by fire in a Pennsylvania coal mine. Two heroes went in to save them, but the rescuers and all but one of the miners perished. Still, that act of heroism touched one of the richest Americans, a man whose steel mills were fired by coal. Andrew Carnegie donated more than $100 million, in today’s money, to recognize heroes in the U.S. and Canada. As we first reported in 2021 — a good deal has changed in 118 years; thousands have been awarded the Carnegie Hero Medal and advances in neuroscience are revealing why some of us may be heroic. We’ll get to the science, but first, meet some of the Carnegie Heroes, including Terryann Thomas.
Terryann Thomas: I remember thinking just almost instantly, “I am not gonna let somebody die.”
Terryann Thomas was a civilian overseeing confiscated property at the headquarters of the Topeka Police Department. In 2015, an agitated man came into the basement property room to demand his bicycle. Thomas turned to find it.
Terryann Thomas: As soon as I turned around and started to walk off, I heard a scream.