Rockefeller, John D. (1839–1937), oil‐industry leader and philanthropist, dominated the U.S.
petroleum industry, developed management techniques that revolutionized American
business, and—perhaps his greatest legacy—contributed more than $550 million to philanthropic institutions.Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York, the son of William Avery Rockefeller, a commodities dealer, and his wife Eliza (Davison) Rockefeller. In 1853 the family moved to a farm near Cleveland, Ohio. Combining his mother's pious humility and his father's brash ambition, Rockefeller early sought “something big.” Becoming a partner in a produce business in 1859, Rockefeller began his business career in Cleveland as a bookkeeper. Viewing a contract as a covenant and trust as the basis of all business relationships, he won the respect of Cleveland's business community for his piety, seriousness, and perseverance. Coming of age at the dawn of the petroleum boom, Rockefeller, in partnership with his brother William, Henry M. Flagler, and others, opened an oil refinery in 1863; by 1865, it was Cleveland's largest. The Standard Oil Company of Ohio, incorporated by Rockefeller and his partners in 1867, soon dominated the industry and commanded markets worldwide. His innovative vertical integration, from oil wells and pipelines to retail‐distribution outlets, secured his company a competitive edge in a cut‐throat business. His ruthless horizontal integration, involving merging with or eliminating competitors, won for Standard Oil a near monopoly.
The Standard Oil trust, created in 1881 to run the far‐flung Rockefeller empire, transformed the corporate world. It also became the target of
antitrust legislation and of exposés by journalistic
muckrakers, including Henry Demarest Lloyd's
Wealth against Commonwealth (1894) and Ida Tarbell's devastating
History of the Standard Oil Company (1904). The Ohio Supreme Court outlawed the Standard Oil trust in 1892. Its successor, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, a holding company, was dissolved by the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1911 in a landmark antitrust case.
Despite a fortune of more than $900 million, Rockefeller lived simply, riding the elevated train to work in
New York City, dining at home, attending the Baptist Church regularly, belonging to no clubs, and pursuing his avocation as a landscape gardener at estates in Ohio and New York.
In later years Rockefeller devoted himself to philanthropy. Among his more notable benefactions were the YMCA; the Anti‐Saloon League; the Baptist Church; the University of Chicago (1892); the
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1901); the General Education Board (1902), which made grants to educational institutions; the Rockefeller Foundation (1913); and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Foundation (1918). In 1955, the
New York Times estimated the total of Rockefeller family gifts at more than $2.5 billion.
Rockefeller married Laura Celestia Spelman in 1864. She provided wise counsel, and shared with him a warm and affectionate relationship. Their four children included John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874–1960), who was active in managing the family's financial affairs and philanthropic interests, and who, in turn, fathered several children who became prominent in finance and politics, including New York governor Nelson A. Rockefeller (1908–1979) and the banker and philanthropist Laurence Rockefeller (1910–2004).
See also
Capitalism;
Gilded Age;
Industrialization;
Philanthropy and Philanthropic Foundations;
Temperance and Prohibition;
YMCA and YWCA.
Bibliography
Allan Nevins , Study in Power: John D. Rockefeller, Industrialist and Philanthropist, 2 vols., 1953.
Ron Chernow , Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., 1998.
Joe Torre
