John D. Rockefeller Jr.
American financier and philanthropist
1874 CE to 1960 CE
John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) is an American financier and philanthropist who is a prominent member of the Rockefeller family.
He was the only son among the five children of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers
In biographies, he is commonly referred to as "Junior" to distinguish him from his father, "Senior".
His sons include Nelson Rockefeller, the 41st Vice President of the United States; Winthrop Rockefeller, the 37th Governor of Arkansas; and banker David Rockefeller.
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As John D. Rockefeller's wealth has grown, so has his giving, primarily to educational and public health causes, but also for basic science and the arts.
He has been advised primarily by Frederick Taylor Gates since 1892, and, after 1897, also by his son.
Rockefeller believes in the Efficiency Movement, arguing that: "To help an inefficient, ill-located, unnecessary school is a waste ... it is highly probable that enough money has been squandered on unwise educational projects to have built up a national system of higher education adequate to our needs, if the money had been properly directed to that end." (Rockefeller, John D. (1984) [1909]. Random Reminiscences of Men and Events. p. 69. New York: Sleepy Hollow Press and Rockefeller Archive Center.)
Rockefeller and his advisers invented the conditional grant, which required the recipient to "root the institution in the affections of as many people as possible who, as contributors, become personally concerned, and thereafter may be counted on to give to the institution their watchful interest and cooperation". (Rockefeller 1984, p. 183.)
Today's Rockefeller University is founded in June 1901 as The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research—often called simply The Rockefeller Institute—in New York City by John D. Rockefeller, who had founded the University of Chicago in 1889, upon advice by his adviser Frederick T. Gates and action taken in March 1901 by his son, John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Greatly elevating the prestige of American science and medicine, it is America's first biomedical institute, like France's Pasteur Institute (1888) and Germany's Robert Koch Institute (1891).