Remembering Nelson A. Rockefeller '30, born July 8, 1908

The Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College was founded in 1983 to commemorate the contributions of Nelson A. Rockefeller '30 to the life of the nation.  Rockefeller himself was born 107 years ago today on July 8th, 1908 in Bar Harbor, Maine, the grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John Davison Rockefeller Sr.   Rockefeller's primary and secondary schooling came at the Lincoln School, a private New York City institution.  Rockefeller then came to Dartmouth for higher education, graduating cum laude with an A.B. in Economics.  Rockefeller was a member of senior society Casque and Gauntlet at Dartmouth, as well as Psi Upsilon fraternity. 

Photo by New Republic

Upon graduation, Rockefeller engaged in several family business ventures including Chase National Bank and Creole Petroleum.  Creole Petroleum was the Venezuelan subsidiary of Standard Oil, inspiring a strong interest in Latin America and eventually giving rise to his position as Coordinator of Inter American Affairs (CIAA) for the US government in 1940. 

While Rockefeller's position as CIAA was his introduction to a lengthy career in pubic service, he is most well known for his tenures as governor of New York from 1959-1973 and for his vice presidency under Gerald Ford from 1974-1977. 

Rockefeller died from a heart attack at the age of 70 on January 26, 1979.  But, today, we celebrate his life and the work he did for our country and our College.