Rockefeller, John Davison

John Davison Rockefeller (1839–1937), an American industrialist and philanthropist widely recognized as the founder of the modern oil and gas industry. In 1870, he co-founded the Standard Oil Company of Ohio that would grow to dominate the oil industry and become one of the largest and most powerful multinational corporations. By 1879, Standard Oil handled about 90 percent of refining in the United States, with almost 70 percent of the products exported overseas. The Standard Oil monopoly was dissolved by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1911. Rockefeller was also a prominent player in the affairs of railroads and banks, being second only to J. P. Morgan in the finance sector. From the mid 1890s until his death, Rockefeller conducted only philanthropic activities. He underwrote the inception of the University of Chicago, the Rockefeller Institute for medical research (now Rockefeller University), the General Education Board (1903, later the Rockefeller Foundation), and the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission, largely responsible for eradicating the hookworm in the South by 1927.

Further Reading

• Chernow, Ron, 1998. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Random House, New York. ISBN: 0679438084