John Davison Rockefeller, Jr.
A composition narrative by D. A. Sharpe
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. is the
third great grandnephew of Johann Philip Rockefeller and Catherina Sharp
Rockefeller, my third great grand uncle and aunt. John, Jr., was the only son of his
family. He did have three sisters
older than him
He was quite a significant
philanthropist, following in the path that his wealthy father had created. For example, he donated $8,500,000 to
buy land for the United Nations headquarters in New York City. In
addition, he built Rockefeller Center in New York City. He provided funds to
restore historic Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
Just two or three weeks after the
birth of John Davison Rockefeller, Jr., on Feb. 17, 1874, Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the
American industrialist who built International Business Machines, Inc. (I.B.M.),
was born. He died on June 19,
1956, just about a year before I went to work in November 1957 for the company
he founded. My work with that
firm was as a half-time student, 1957-1958, and as a full
time employee 1962-1969.
Source:http://www.answers.com/topic/thomas-j-watson
"He was a philanthropist and a
member of the prominent American Rockefeller family. In biographies, he is invariably
referred to as "Junior" to distinguish him from his more celebrated
father.
"He was the third child and
only son of John Davison Rockefeller, Sr., founder of Standard Oil, and one of
the wealthiest Americans who has ever lived.
He attended The Browning School in New York City and then Brown University. He briefly
joined his father's business. During the Great Depression
he funded the building of Rockefeller Center, and, as a result, became one of
the largest real estate holders in New York City.
"In 1921, he received about 10%
of the shares of the Equitable Trust Company from his father, making him the
bank's largest shareholder. Subsequently,
in 1930, the Equitable merged with the Chase National Bank, now JP Morgan
Chase, and it became at that time the largest bank in the world. Although his stockholding was reduced
to about 4% following this merger, he was still the largest shareholder in what
became known as the "Rockefeller bank." As late as the 1960's his family
still retained about 1% of the bank's shares, by which time his son David had
become the bank's president. By the
way, in 2017, that is the bank in which our seemingly modest checking account
is placed! ItŐs a privilege to be
associated with such grandeur!
"In a celebrated letter to
Nicholas Murray Butler in June 1932, subsequently printed on the front page of
The New York Times, Junior, a lifelong teetotaler, argued against the continuation
of the Eighteenth Amendment on the principal grounds of an increase in
disrespect for the law. This letter became considered by many the singular
event that pushed the nation to repeal Prohibition.
"However, he is most remembered
for his philanthropy, dramatically expanding the institutions founded by his
father, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller University and the
International Education Board. An
internationalist, he financially supported programs of the League of Nations and helped
fund the formation of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in 1921.
"He also funded the restoration
of Colonial Williamsburg and the College of William and Mary's Wren Building,
both in Virginia. Through his son, Nelson, he bought and then donated the land
in Manhattan upon which the United Nations headquarters was built.
"He was also instrumental in the
development of the research that led to Robert and Helen Lynd's famous
Middletown Studies work that was conducted in the city of Muncie, Indiana.
"He had a special interest in
conservation, and purchased and donated land for many American National Parks,
including Grand Teton (see Snake River Land Company), Acadia, Great Smoky
Mountains, Yosemite, and Shenandoah. Both
the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway that connects Yellowstone National
Park to Grant Teton National Park, and the Rockefeller Memorial in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, were named after him. He was also active in the movement to
save the redwood trees, making a significant contribution to Save-the-Redwoods
League in the 1920s to enable the purchase of what would become the Rockefeller
Forest in Humboldt Redwoods State Park."
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller,_Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a
Baptist Church member, and graduated from Brown University with an A.B. degree.
He was awarded the Public
Welfare Medal in 1943.
Offered by:
Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508
Biographical
Sketch Information