Nelson Rockefeller:
A Vice Presidential Unit

Nelson Rockefeller, in addition to many other lifetime accomplishments, served as the 41st Vice President of the United States from December 19, 1974 to January 20, 1977. He was born on July 8, 1908 in Bar Harbor, Maine and after graduating from Dartmouth College, began to live a very influential life. Being a member of the Rockefeller family, which owned and founded one of the most successful American oil companies, led to opportunities as President and chairman of Rockefeller Center, Inc and high ranking positions in other family-related businesses. Nelson had great interest in Latin America, it was this interest that led to his first major break into government. President Roosevelt appointed him Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs and later Assistant Secretary of State and as the years went on, he earned many other positions dealing with foreign affairs. In 1956, Rockefeller started to focus on New York politics and by 1958, he was elected governor. He would go on to be reelected four times and during his 16 years as governor, made a great deal of progress in education, environmental issues, housing, public transportation, arts and civil rights. After Nixon’s resignation, Ford chose Rockefellar to be his Vice President because of his merits and experience. As Vice President, Rockefeller wanted to continue his influential role, hoping to improve domestic policy, but was ultimately stopped by both external and internal opposition. He was not Ford’s running mate in the following election and with unsuccessful attempts to win the Republican presidential nomination, Rockefeller retired from politics.

Political Party: Republican
President: Gerald Ford
Name of his Parents: John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Spouse(s): Mary Todhunter Clark, Margaretta Filter Murphy
Yearly Salary as Vice President: $62,500
State of Birth: Maine

Trivia Questions:

1) Which foreign language was Nelson Rockefeller fluent in?
Spanish

2) How many terms were he elected to be Governor of New York?
Four

Of Note:

- In addition to politics, Rockefeller was also a very successful business man and philanthropist.
- His stance as a more liberal Republican led to the coining of the term “Rockefeller Republicans”





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