John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Standard Oil Company and became one of the leading benefactors of his age. Raised in New York and Ohio, he began work at sixteen as an assistant bookkeeper in Cleveland, and, as a devout Baptist, he gave a portion of his earnings to his church from his very first wages. His turning point came in 1863, when he invested in an oil refinery in Cleveland; in 1870 he founded Standard Oil, which through efficient organization came to dominate the American oil-refining industry. In later life he turned his attention to giving, helping to found the University of Chicago, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, now Rockefeller University, and the Rockefeller Foundation, and supporting campaigns against hookworm and other diseases. His approach to systematic, scientific philanthropy influenced charitable giving for generations.
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Titans of the Gilded Age
In nineteenth-century America, these men built the railroads, steel, oil and banking that powered a growing nation. Cornelius Vanderbilt assembled a great steamship and railroad network and endowed Vanderbilt University. Andrew Carnegie led the steel industry and sold his company in 1901 to J.P. Morgan, who formed U.S. Steel. John D. Rockefeller built Standard Oil. Carnegie and Rockefeller later gave away much of their fortunes, funding libraries, universities and medical research.
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