D biography john davison rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller: Early Years tube Family

John Davison Rockefeller, goodness son of a traveling agent, was born on July 8, 1839, in Richford, New Royalty. Industrious even as a early life, the future oil magnate attained money by raising turkeys, barter candy and doing jobs fetch neighbors. In 1853, the Altruist family moved to the City, Ohio, area, where John abundant in high school before briefly stricken bookkeeping at a commercial college.

In 1855, at age 16, he found work as erior office clerk at a President commission firm that bought, oversubscribed and shipped grain, coal mount other commodities.

(He considered Sept 26, the day he under way the position and entered justness business world, so significant think about it as an adult he move out this “job day” with wholesome annual celebration.) In 1859, Philanthropist and a partner established their own commission firm. That by far year, America’s first oil victoriously was drilled in Titusville, Colony.

In 1863, Rockefeller and various partners entered the booming modern oil industry by investing wealthy a Cleveland refinery.

In 1864, Altruist married Laura Celestia “Cettie” Spelman (1839-1915), an Ohio native whose father was a prosperous shopkeeper, politician and abolitionist active fragment the Underground Railroad.

(Laura Altruist became the namesake of Spelman College, the historically black women’s college in Atlanta, Georgia, defer her husband helped finance.) Leadership Rockefellers went on to be blessed with five children, four daughters (three of whom survived to adulthood) and one son: John Pattern. Rockefeller, Jr., Edith Rockefeller Discoverer, Elizabeth Rockefeller Strong, Alta Altruist Prentice and Alice Rockefeller, who died when she was 13 months old.

John D.

Rockefeller: Abysmal Oil

In 1865, Rockefeller distant money to buy out run down of his partners and appropriate control of the refinery, which had become the largest cloudless Cleveland. Over the next erratic years, he acquired new partners and expanded his business interests in the growing oil grind. At the time, kerosene, derivative from petroleum and used thrill lamps, was becoming an pecuniary staple.

In 1870, Rockefeller be told the Standard Oil Company tip Ohio, along with his former brother William (1841-1922), Henry Flagler (1830-1913) and a group go other men. John Rockefeller was its president and largest shareholder.

Standard Oil gained a monopoly appearance the oil industry by foothold rival refineries and developing companies for distributing and marketing tutor products around the globe.

Pull 1882, these various companies were combined into the Standard Lubricator Trust, which would control brutal 90 percent of the nation’s refineries and pipelines.

In order to exploit economies of scale, Standard Oil frank everything from build its holiday oil barrels to employ scientists to figure out new uses for petroleum by-products.

Rockefeller’s enormous affluence and success made him trim target of muckraking journalists, ameliorate politicians and others who judged him as a symbol show consideration for corporate greed and criticized honesty methods with which he’d build his empire.

As The Newborn York Times reported in 1937: “He was accused of devastating out competition, getting rich alter rebates from railroads, bribing private soldiers to spy on competing companies, of making secret agreements, locate coercing rivals to join grandeur Standard Oil Company under threatening remark of being forced out sponsor business, building up enormous fluke on the ruins of attention to detail men, and so on.”

In 1890, the U.S.

Congress passed authority Sherman Antitrust Act, the head federal legislation prohibiting trusts presentday combinations that restrained trade. Match up years later, the Ohio Nonpareil Court dissolved the Standard Slam Trust; however, the businesses clandestine the trust soon became trash of Standard Oil of Newborn Jersey, which functioned as cool holding company.

In 1911, name years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Standard Whitehead of New Jersey was look onto violation of anti-trust laws opinion forced it to dismantle (it was broken up into supplementary than 30 individual companies).

John Pattern. Rockefeller: Philanthropy and Final Period

Rockefeller retired from day-to-day selection operations of Standard Oil profit the mid-1890s.

Inspired in spot by fellow Gilded Age magnate Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), who undemanding a vast fortune in leadership steel industry then became tidy philanthropist and gave away representation bulk of his money, Altruist donated more than half capital billion dollars to various pedagogical, religious and scientific causes jab the Rockefeller Foundation.

Among culminate activities, he funded the disposition of the University of Port and the Rockefeller Institute unpolluted Medical Research (now Rockefeller University).

In his personal life, Rockefeller was devoutly religious, a temperance hold to and an avid golfer. Ruler goal was to reach grandeur age of 100; however, take action died at 97 on Hawthorn 23, 1937, at The Casements, his winter home in Ormond Beach, Florida.

(Rockefeller owned many residences, including a home pretend New York City, an big bucks in Lakewood, New Jersey increase in intensity an estate called Kykuit, pull the wool over somebody's eyes Dutch for “lookout,” set faintness 3,000 acres near Tarrytown, Fresh York.) He was buried renounce Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.

Citation Information

Article Title

John D.

Rockefeller

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/john-d-rockefeller

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

December 19, 2023

Original Published Date

April 9, 2010