Nelson Rockefeller | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1975 | |
| 41st Vice President of the United States | |
| In office December 19, 1974 – January 20, 1977 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Gerald Ford |
| Succeeded by | Walter Mondale |
| 49th Governor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1959 – December 18, 1973 | |
| Lieutenant | Malcolm Wilson |
| Preceded by | W. Averell Harriman |
| Succeeded by | Malcolm Wilson |
| 1st Under Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare | |
| In office June 11, 1953 – December 22, 1954 | |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Herold Christian Hunt |
| 1st Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs | |
| In office December 20, 1944 – August 17, 1945 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Spruille Braden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller July 8, 1908 Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1979 (aged 70) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Rockefeller Family Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 7, including Rodman, Steven, Michael, and Mark |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Rockefeller family |
| Education | Dartmouth College (AB) |
| Signature |  |
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky,[1] was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He had previously served as the 49th governor of New York from 1959 to 1973, the longest-serving governor of the state since the end of the Revolutionary War. Rockefeller was a member of the Republican Party and the wealthy Rockefeller family.
Rockefeller served as assistant secretary of State for American Republic Affairs for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (1944–1945), as well as Undersecretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) under Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1954. A son of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, as well as a grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller, he was a noted art collector and served as an administrator of the Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Rockefeller was often considered to be liberal, progressive,[2] or moderate. In an agreement that was termed the Treaty of Fifth Avenue, he persuaded Richard Nixon to alter the Republican Party platform just before the 1960 Republican National Convention. In his time, liberals in the Republican Party were called "Rockefeller Republicans". As governor of New York from 1959 to 1973, Rockefeller's achievements included the expansion of the State University of New York (SUNY), efforts to protect the environment, the construction of the Empire State Plaza in Albany, increased facilities and personnel for medical care, and the creation of the New York State Council on the Arts.
After unsuccessfully seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 1960, 1964, and 1968, Rockefeller was appointed vice president of the United States under President Gerald Ford, who was appointed Vice President by President Nixon after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, and who ascended to the presidency following Nixon's resignation in August 1974. Rockefeller was the second vice president appointed to the position under the 25th Amendment, following Ford himself. Rockefeller did not seek a full term on the 1976 Republican ticket with Ford. He retired from politics in 1977 and died two years later.
As a businessman, Rockefeller was president and later chair of Rockefeller Center, Inc., and he formed the International Basic Economy Corporation in 1947. Rockefeller assembled a significant art collection and promoted public access to the arts. He served as trustee, treasurer, and president of the Museum of Modern Art and founded the Museum of Primitive Art in 1954. In the area of philanthropy, he founded the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 1940 with his four brothers and established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development in 1946. As of 2024, Rockefeller is the most recent Vice President who did not previously serve in the United States Congress.
- ^ "Biography: Nelson A. Rockefeller | American Experience". PBS.
- ^ Kabaservice, Geoffrey (2012). Rule and Ruin. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780199912902.
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller remains the best-known progressive Republican of recent times.