Nelson Rockefeller

Nelson Rockefeller
Name	Nelson Rockefeller
Caption	Rockefeller in 1975
Order	41st
Office	Vice President of the United States
President	Gerald Ford
Term start	December 19, 1974
Term end	January 20, 1977
Predecessor	Gerald Ford
Successor	Walter Mondale
Order2	49th
Office2	Governor of New York
Lieutenant2	Malcolm Wilson
Term start2	January 1, 1959
Term end2	December 18, 1973
Predecessor2	W. Averell Harriman
Successor2	Malcolm Wilson
Office3	United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (Acting)
President3	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Term start3	June 1, 1958
Term end3	July 21, 1958
Predecessor3	Marion B. Folsom
Successor3	Arthur S. Flemming
Office4	United States Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
President4	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Term start4	April 11, 1953
Term end4	December 22, 1954
Predecessor4	Position established
Successor4	Herold C. Hunt
Office5	Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs
President5	Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman
Term start5	December 20, 1944
Term end5	August 17, 1945
Predecessor5	Edward R. Stettinius Jr.
Successor5	Sprulle Braden
Birth date	8 July 1908
Birth place	Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.
Death date	26 January 1979
Death place	New York City, U.S.
Party	Republican
Children	7, including Rodman Rockefeller
Education	Dartmouth College (BA)

Nelson Rockefeller was an American politician, businessman, and philanthropist who served as the 41st Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford from 1974 to 1977. A prominent member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 49th Governor of New York for four terms from 1959 to 1973. He was a grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, and his career was defined by a blend of significant public service, expansive business interests, and a leading role in the Rockefeller family's philanthropic endeavors.

Early life and education

He was born on July 8, 1908, in Bar Harbor, Maine, the third of six children of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and John D. Rockefeller Jr. He attended the Lincoln School in New York City before enrolling at Dartmouth College, where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1930. During his time at Dartmouth College, he became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and developed a keen interest in modern art. His upbringing within the influential Rockefeller family immersed him in both immense wealth and a strong tradition of public service and philanthropy from an early age.

Business career

Following his graduation, he began his career managing various family enterprises, including Rockefeller Center in New York City. He held significant positions at Creole Petroleum, the Venezuelan subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey, which deepened his interest in Latin America. He later served as president and chairman of the Rockefeller Center Corporation and was instrumental in its development and management. His business acumen was also applied to the family's vast investment office, which managed holdings in real estate, banking, and international ventures, solidifying his role as a major figure in American capitalism.

Political career

His political career began in the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, where he served as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs and later as Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs. Under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he served as Under Secretary and briefly as Acting Secretary of the newly created United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Elected Governor of New York in 1958, he served four terms, overseeing massive construction projects like the State University of New York system and the Empire State Plaza in Albany. A leader of the liberal, internationalist wing of the Republican Party, he sought the 1960, 1964, and 1968 presidential nominations but was unsuccessful each time.

Vice presidency

Following the resignation of President Richard Nixon and the succession of Gerald Ford in 1974, he was nominated and confirmed under the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution as the 41st Vice President of the United States. His confirmation hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration were lengthy and contentious, focusing on his vast wealth and past political donations. As vice president, he chaired the President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States and headed a domestic policy task force, but his influence was often limited by a strained relationship with the more conservative White House Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld. He was dropped from the ticket for the 1976 election in favor of Kansas Senator Bob Dole.

Philanthropy and art collection

He was a major philanthropist and a passionate collector of modern art. He served as a trustee and president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, a museum co-founded by his mother, and donated numerous works to its collection. His philanthropic efforts extended through the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Rockefeller Family Fund, supporting causes in education, the arts, and economic development. He also founded the Museum of Primitive Art in 1954, whose collection later became a cornerstone of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.

Personal life and death

He was married twice: first to Mary Todhunter Clark in 1930, with whom he had five children, including Rodman Rockefeller; they divorced in 1962. The following year, he married Margaretta Fitler Murphy, known as "Happy," with whom he had two sons. His personal life occasionally drew public scrutiny, including his divorce and remarriage. On January 26, 1979, he died of a heart attack at his office at Rockefeller Center in New York City. His death was reported to have occurred in the presence of a young aide, sparking brief tabloid speculation. He is interred in the Rockefeller family cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Category: Tarrytown, Cemetery.

Category:Category:Vice, New York