John Davison Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller, best know as the creator of the Standard Oil Trust, was born on July 8, 1839, on a farm in Tioga County, New York. His family remained in New York until 1853 when they moved to Strongsville, just outside Cleveland, Ohio. While in Ohio, Rockefeller rented a boarding room and attended Central High School in Cleveland. He quickly rose to the top of his class and in 1855; he began attending Folsom Mercantile College to study business.
Folsom Mercantile College served as no challenge to Rockefeller. He completed his six month course of study in three months and left the school to accept a job as an accountant with Hewitt & Tuttle, a small firm of merchants. He moved up in the company quickly and received regular raises. He stayed with Hewitt & Tuttle until 1859 when he left to start his own business.
Rockefeller managed to save $1,000 dollars of his salary and with $ 1,000 borrowed from his father, he and Maurice B. Clark, started their own commission business. The same year that saw the beginning of their partnership also saw the first oil well in Pennsylvania. Rockefeller and Clark soon expanded their business and started their own refinery, Andrews, Clark & Co.
Andrews, Clark & Co. soon disbanded, selling the company to Rockefeller for $ 72,500. Andrews stayed with Rockefeller and the new company of Rockefeller and Andrews began. The company rapidly grew due to the rise in demand of kerosene and the boom of the oil industry.
Rockefeller and Andrews continued to expand and in 1872, they added new partners to the firm. Rockefeller’s brother William, Henry M. Flagler, S.V. Harkness and a few others formed Standard Oil with a $1million in working capital. The new trust the men had created owned almost all of the refineries in Pennsylvania by 1882. Standard Oil increased its capital to $70 million, with 42 owners in the trust.
The trust grew so rapidly that it drew attention from legislators in Ohio. Ohio soon dissolved the trust, forcing Standard Oil of Ohio to become Standard Oil of New Jersey. New Jersey continued to have lax laws concerning formation of businesses and it allowed Standard Oil to regroup and stay remain the entity. By moving to New Jersey, Standard Oil controlled ¾ of the petroleum business in the U.S. In addition to his stake in the petroleum industry, Rockefeller owned iron mines, timberland and investments in many other companies.
New Jersey extended the life of the Standard Oil Trust, but national anti-trust laws soon took affect and in 1911, the Supreme Court disbanded Standard Oil Trust into 38 different firms. At the height of its success, Standard Oil controlled 64 % of the oil market. Rockefeller retained his shares in each separated firm, but left the business world to explore philanthropy.
Rockefeller’s philanthropic ideas grew out of his religious beliefs and his family values. In 1890 he gave seed money to the American Baptist Education Society to help fund the University of Chicago. Rockefeller donated $600,000 of the $1 million endowment fund. He continued giving to the University of Chicago, and by 1910, he had donated $10 million.
Rockefeller continued his philanthropic work and helped establish a system of corporate philanthropy, which involved trustees and advisors who continually look for and study good causes to support financially. He also established the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research, later know as Rockefeller University. In 1913, he established the Rockefeller Foundation to “promote the well being of mankind throughout the world.”
Rockefeller died May 23, 1937 at his home in Ormond Beach. He was buried in Cleveland near his wife, Laura. He left his fortune to his children with instructions to continue his philanthropic work. Rockefeller is one of the most important American industrialists. Standard Oil is dissolved, but can still be seen all over America in the form of Exxon, Mobil, Amoco, and Chevron.