Although John D. Rockefeller Sr. and Nelson Rockefeller are often at the center of the family legacy, it was John Davison Rockefeller Jr., who made the last name a synonym for philanthropy. Born January 29, 1874, in Cleveland, Ohio, “Junior“He was raised alongside three sisters: Alta, Bessie, and Edith. His father, John D. Rockefeller Sr., was the nation’s first billionaire, yet John Jr. did not take advantage of his wealth
Homeschooled up to the age of 10, John D. Rockefeller Jr. attended Brown University. After graduating in 1897, he worked for his father at Standard Oil headquarters in New York City. In the early 1900s, a series of scandals broke out at the company. Disenchanted, in 1910, John Jr. He decided to leave the business world to pursue his philanthropic interests.
It wasn’t long after I left the company until John D. Rockefeller Jr. you will find yourself embroiled in a controversy. More than 2,000 miles away, at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, a strike took place that had already lasted more than six months. An estimated 9,000 coal miners were demanding union recognition, improvements in hours, wages and housing. The strike, which had started in September 1913, turned violent shortly thereafter, prompting Colorado Governor Elias Ammons to lead the National Guard. The strike continued into the winter, and worsened when mining workers and their families were evicted from their company-owned houses, forced to live in tents in the harsh winter months. By the spring of 1914, the situation had worsened; relations had turned hostile between members of the Guard and the protesters, who refused to budge. A tragic breaking point came in April 1914, when private security contractors opened fire on the retail colony. More than 40 miners and their families were killed, including two women and 11 children, in what became known as the Ludlow massacre.
As a member of the company’s board of directors, John D. Rockefeller Jr. he was blamed for the violence at the Colorado Fuel and and Iron Company, and was called to testify in front of Congress. Public opinion turned against the Rockefellers thereafter, and various newspaper articles lashed out at the heir to the Rockefeller legacy.
Not being upset, Rockefeller Jr. He spent years mired in controversy, gradually restoring the family’s public image through his social work. Together with his father, he helped create a number of philanthropic institutions, including the Rockefeller Institute, the General Council on Education, and the Rockefeller Foundation. He was best known for creating Rockefeller Center in New York City, funding the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, and donating the land for the UN headquarters.
In the years after World War I, John D. Rockefeller Jr. advocated for better industrial working conditions. During World War II, he helped establish the United Service Organizations, and raised more than $ 300 million to help the men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces. He also donated large sums for various conservation projects, ranging from Alcadia National Park in Maine to Yosemite National Park in California.
In 1901, John D. Rockefeller Jr. he married Abby Aldrich, a college classmate and daughter of the prominent Rhode Island Senator Nelson W. Aldrich. John and Abby had six children together. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller died in 1948, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. he later married Martha Baird Allen, a concert pianist. The mogul died on May 11, 1960, in Tucson, Arizona.