Basic Biographical Information

John Davidson Rockefeller, Jr. (JDR Jr.), was a well-respected businessman and philanthropist during one of civil society’s most formative periods in American history. The only son of John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company, JDR Jr. was born in Cleveland, Ohio on January 29, 1874. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was educated in his home until the age of 10 and adhered to the Rockefeller family’s strict values of discipline and duty. Junior received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University in 1897 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He married Abby Greene Aldrich on October 9, 1901. The couple had six children: one daughter, Abby, and five sons, John D. III, Nelson, Laurance, Winthrop, and David.

Rockefeller worked alongside his father at Standard Oil until 1910 when he resigned to focus on philanthropic interests. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller died in 1948, and in 1951 JDR Jr. married the widow of a close friend from Brown University, Martha Baird Allen. He died in Tucson, Arizona in 1960. It is estimated that John D. Rockefeller, Jr. contributed $537 million to charitable endeavors during his lifetime.

Major Contributions

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his family left a lasting philanthropic legacy in two important ways. First, the Rockefellers’ wealth significantly impacted a variety of service areas. The first two Rockefeller generations alone gave an estimated $1 billion in charitable contributions between 1860 and 1960. JDR Jr.’s sons established a foundation in 1940 to which Junior gave nearly $58 million during his lifetime. Upon his death, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. bequeathed half of his estate to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

In addition to JDR Jr.’s monetary impact, his philanthropic values shaped modern civil society. Rockefeller is credited with quipping, “Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege,” and he believed that his immense wealth should be used for public good. Rockefeller participated heavily with all projects in which he invested. In December 1946, JDR Jr. gave an $8.5 million gift for the purchase of land for the United Nations in New York. Junior gave nearly $56 million for use in the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, evidence of his passion for preserving historical records for modern appreciation. JDR Jr. gave generously to arts and education organizations, and collaborated with his father in 1901 to create the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University), one of the nation’s first medical research facilities. A year later, in 1927, Rockefeller established the General Board of Education, an organization dedicated to improving the education system in the southern states. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. expressed particular interest in conservation efforts and donated thousands of acres to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and Acadia National Park in Maine.

Cross-References

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Rockefeller Foundation

Rockefeller, John D., Sr.

United Nations