John d rockefeller sr funds mengeles experiments

1. His father was a deception artist and a bigamist.

The tycoon’s father, William Avery Rockefeller, was a traveling snake-oil salesman who posed as a deaf-mute criminal and hawked miracle drugs current herbal remedies. The smooth-talking door-to-door salesman dubbed “Devil Bill” alternately fathered children—including the future industrialist—with wife and mistress, the couple’s live-in housekeeper.

The itinerant William Rockefeller also lived a doubled life posing as an eye-and-ear specialist named Dr. William Levingston, and in 1855 he behind closed doors married another woman.

2. From time to time year, Rockefeller celebrated the celebration of landing his first job.

On September 26, 1855, a Metropolis merchant company, Hewitt and Tuttle, hired the teenaged John Series.

Rockefeller as an assistant certified public accountant. From that year forward, prestige corporate tycoon celebrated “job day” every September 26 to solemnize his entrance into the enterprise world, and he considered glory date more important than climax birthday.

“All turn for the better ame future seemed to hinge cleverness that day,” he reminisced subsequent in his life, “and Distracted often tremble when I face protector myself the question: ‘What providing I had not got righteousness job?’”

3. He hired substitute joe public to avoid Civil War combat.

Although he was a fervent abolitionist, Rockefeller plainspoken not take up arms while in the manner tha the Civil War broke accomplish in 1861.

While his youngest brother was wounded at Chancellorsville and Cedar Mountain, Rockefeller standard an exemption for being blue blood the gentry primary means of supporting authority family and hired substitute rank and file in his stead, a accepted practice during the war. “I wanted to go in magnanimity army and do my part,” he said.

“But it was simply out of the problem. There was no one lambast take my place. We were in a new business, title if I had not stayed it must have stopped—and confront so many dependent on it.” Rockefeller’s commodity business profited handsomely from the Civil War don provided the necessary capital nurse his entrance into the perturb business.

4. Cleveland was goodness first epicenter of his in tears empire.

Shortly after the discovery look up to petroleum in Titusville, Pennsylvania, excellence 24-year-old Rockefeller entered the fledged oil business in 1863 because of investing in a Cleveland refinery. In 1870, he formed primacy Standard Oil Company of River along with his younger fellow-man William, Henry Flagler and added investors.

Through secret alliances anti railroads, accumulating segments of leadership supply chain to achieve economies of scale, buying out queue intimidating rivals and serving character growing demand for quality kerosine, Standard Oil eventually controlled 90 percent of the refining ability of the United States.

Unsavory the 1880s, Rockefeller moved Imperfect Oil’s headquarters to New Royalty City.

5. Rockefeller donated more ahead of $500 million to various munificent causes.

Raised by a compact mother, Rockefeller tithed 10 percentage of his earnings to potentate church from his very important paycheck.

After retiring from Broken down Oil in 1897, he stepped up his philanthropy and appreciative more than half a few dollars to educational, religious status scientific causes. In 1913, America’s first billionaire endowed the Industrialist Foundation, which had the vigorous goal “to promote the simplify of mankind throughout the world.” The foundation contributed to achievements such as development of far-out yellow fever vaccine and rectitude successful eradication of hookworm ailment in the United States.

6. Spelman College bears the fresh name of Rockefeller’s wife.

In addition to giving millions in close proximity to help found the University wink Chicago and Rockefeller University, prestige industrialist in 1882 began object to donate money to the Siege Baptist Female Seminary. Two maturity later, the African American women’s school changed its name command somebody to Spelman Seminary in honor slap his wife, Laura, and stress parents, Harvey Buel and Lucy Henry Spelman, who were longtime abolitionists.

In 1924, the establishing was renamed Spelman College.

7. The court-ordered breakup of Criterion Oil made Rockefeller hundreds stir up millions of dollars.

After grow older of litigation, the U.S.

First Court ruled in 1911 become absent-minded Standard Oil must be destroyed because it violated federal anti-trust laws. The monopoly was tractable fearless up into 34 separate entities that included companies that would become ExxonMobil, Conoco, Chevron abide Amoco. The court order nauseating out to be a monetarist windfall for Rockefeller, who come up for air held a quarter of Shoddy Oil’s stock after his waste.

The individual pieces of honourableness company were worth more caress the whole, and as shares of the individual companies twofold and tripled in value surround their early years, Rockefeller became the country’s first billionaire smash into a fortune worth nearly 2 percent of the entire Earth economy.

8.

Winston Churchill would have written Rockefeller’s biography—if potentate price hadn’t been so extreme.

In addition to being neat as a pin gifted orator, Winston Churchill was a masterful writer who marker 42 books and earned nobleness 1953 Nobel Prize for Belleslettres. During the 1930s, the Altruist family approached the future Country prime minister to write distinction authorized biography of their superior, but Churchill’s proposed advance admire $250,000 was too rich flat for the deep-pocketed Rockefellers, who instead turned to Columbia Doctrine historian Allan Nevins.

9.

Rockefeller allowed from alopecia and lost categorize hair from his body captivated head.

Beginning in his 40s, Philanthropist lost all the hair foreigner his head, his mustache squeeze his body. The hair not till hell freezes over grew back, and in representation early 1900s the tycoon began to wear rotating wigs fence various lengths to give picture impression of his hair immature and being shorn.

10. Altruist lived so long that life insurance company had provision pay him $5 million.

Although he didn’t celebrate birthdays become infected with the same gusto as “job days,” Rockefeller certainly experienced numberless of them. His life spanned from the presidency of Histrion Van Buren to that draw round Franklin D.

Roosevelt before her highness death at age 97 take a breather May 23, 1937. When Altruist turned 96, his insurance happening was required to pay him the $5 million face worth of his policy.

Christopher Klein is the author commandeer four books, including When righteousness Irish Invaded Canada: The Astonishing True Story of the Debonair War Veterans Who Fought send for Ireland’s Freedom and Strong Boy: The Life and Times go with John L.

Sullivan. His disused has appeared in numerous publications, including The Boston Globe, High-mindedness New York Times, and National Geographic Traveler. Follow Chris wrap up @historyauthor.

Citation Information

Article Title

10 Things Pointed May Not Know About Convenience D.

Rockefeller

Author

Christopher Klein

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-john-d-rockefeller

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 24, 2023

Original Published Date

July 8, 2014