Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller
Compiled by D. A. Sharpe
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller is the fourth grandnephew
of Johann Philip Rockefeller, the husband of Catherina Sharp. Philip and Catherina are my third
grand aunt and uncle. Catherina
is the granddaughter of Jacob A. Scherp, the German immigrant who come to
America in 1710 among a group of some 3,000 German Palatines. Nelson's highest office served was as
Vice President of the United States. The relationship
to me is that Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller is the 3rd cousin, five times
removed of Johann Philip Rockefeller, the husband of Catherina Sharp, my 3rd
great aunt.
About five weeks prior to Nelson's
birth, Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd,
Porky Pig and many other cartoon characters, was born on May 30, 1908. Nelson was born the year that Sir Rex
Harrison, the Academy Award-winning English stage and film actor, was born in
1908.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Blanc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Rex_Harrison
Nelson's political life began by
winning the governorship of the State of New York. Gov. Rockefeller resigned his
Governor's office in 1973 and established the Commission on Critical Choices
for Americans, a group devoted to the study of world problems. When President Richard M. Nixon
resigned the Presidency of the United States, then Vice President Gerald Ford
assumed that office. President
Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller to succeed him as Vice President, which was
confirmed by the United States Senate.
Nelson took office December 19, 1974.
Both Nelson and his brother,
Winthrop, were elected to the office of State Governor in New York and in
Arkansas. They are the only set
of brothers who ever served as governor of two different states at the same
time. At the 1968
Republican National Convention, Winthrop Rockefeller received backing from
members of the Arkansas delegation as a "favorite son" presidential
candidate. As his brother, Nelson, was then concluding a major
presidential bid, they became the first brothers ever to receive votes for
President at the same major-party convention.
Nelson's experiences included being
director, Office of Inter-American Affairs 1940-1944; Assistant Secretary of
State for Latin-American Affairs 1944-1945; returned to family philanthropic
activities and helped establish American International Association; member and
chairman of President's Advisory Committee on Government Organization
1953-1958; Under Secretary of the United States Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare 1953-1954; Special Assistant to the President for
Foreign Affairs 1954-1955; Governor of New York 1959-1973.
Nelson Rockefeller was an
unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1964,
1968, and 1972; nominated by
President Gerald R. Ford on August 20, 1974, under the provisions of the
twenty-fifth amendment to the Constitution, to be the forty-first Vice President
of the United States; confirmed by the Congress and took the oath of office on
December 19, 1974, and served until January 20, 1977, when the term ended;
returned to family philanthropic activities and worked extensively on his art
collection in New York, N.Y., where he died on January 26, 1979; was cremated;
his ashes were interred at the family estate, Pocantico
Hills, New York.
Source:http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000363
Gathered by
Dwight
Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
805 Derting
Road East
Aurora, TX
76078-3712