128 Facts About Nelson Rockefeller

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was an American politician from the state of New York.

Sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, Rockefeller served under President Gerald Ford from 1974 to 1977 as the 41st vice president of the United States.

Nelson Rockefeller was the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 1973.

Nelson Rockefeller was a member of the Republican Party and of the wealthy Nelson Rockefeller family.

Nelson Rockefeller served as assistant secretary of State for American Republic Affairs for Presidents Franklin D Roosevelt and Harry S Truman, and as Undersecretary of Health, Education and Welfare under Dwight D Eisenhower from 1953 to 1954.

Nelson Rockefeller was first elected governor of New York in 1958, and was re-elected in 1962,1966, and 1970.

Nelson Rockefeller was often considered to be liberal, progressive, or moderate.

Nelson Rockefeller was the second vice president appointed to the position under the 25th Amendment, following Ford himself.

Nelson Rockefeller did not seek a full term in the 1976 election with Ford, who named Kansas Senator Bob Dole as his running mate instead of Nelson Rockefeller that year.

Nelson Rockefeller retired from politics in 1977 and died two years later.

Nelson Rockefeller assembled a significant art collection and promoted public access to the arts.

Nelson Rockefeller served as trustee, treasurer, and president of the Museum of Modern Art and founded the Museum of Primitive Art in 1954.

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was born on July 8,1908, in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Nelson Rockefeller's mother, Abby, was a daughter of Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and Abigail P Greene.

Nelson Rockefeller grew up in his family's homes in New York City, a country home in Pocantico Hills, New York, and a summer home in Seal Harbor, Maine.

Nelson Rockefeller received his elementary, middle, and high school education at the Lincoln School in Manhattan, an experimental school administered by Teachers College of Columbia University and funded by the Rockefeller family.

Nelson Rockefeller was known to disappear on the way to school and was once found exploring the city's sewer system.

Biographer Joseph E Persico wrote that as a child, Rockefeller "demonstrated a discipline that throughout life would serve him in lieu of brilliance".

Nelson Rockefeller served as a member of the Westchester County Board of Health from 1933 to 1953.

Nelson Rockefeller was charged with overseeing a program of US cooperation with the nations of Latin America to help raise the standard of living, to achieve better relations among the nations of the western hemisphere, and to counter rising Nazi influence in the region.

Nelson Rockefeller facilitated this form of cultural diplomacy by collaborating with the director of Latin American Relations at the CBS radio network Edmund A Chester.

Nelson Rockefeller required changes in the movie Down Argentine Way because it was considered offensive to Argentines.

Nelson Rockefeller signed the Act on behalf of the United States.

Nelson Rockefeller was a member of the US delegation at the United Nations Conference on International Organization at San Francisco in 1945; this gathering marked the UN's founding.

Nelson Rockefeller, who believed that inclusion was essential, especially to US policy in Latin America, successfully urged the need for regional pacts within the framework of the UN.

Nelson Rockefeller was instrumental in persuading the UN to establish its headquarters in New York City.

President Truman fired Nelson Rockefeller, reversed his policies, and shut down the OCIAA.

Reich says that in official Washington, Nelson Rockefeller had become "a discredited figure, a pariah".

Nelson Rockefeller formed the International Basic Economy Corporation in 1947 to jointly continue the work he had begun as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs.

Nelson Rockefeller maintained a home at Monte Sacro, the farm in Venezuela.

Nelson Rockefeller recommended thirteen reorganization plans, all of which were implemented.

Nelson Rockefeller's recommendations led to the creation of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Nelson Rockefeller was appointed Under-Secretary of this new department in 1953.

Nelson Rockefeller was active in HEW's legislative program and implemented measures that added ten million people under the Social Security program.

In 1954, Nelson Rockefeller was appointed special assistant to the president for foreign affairs, sometimes referred to as special assistant to the president for psychological warfare.

Nelson Rockefeller was tasked with providing the president with advice and assistance in developing programs by which the various departments of the government could counter Soviet foreign policy challenges.

Nelson Rockefeller broadly interpreted his directive and became an advocate for foreign economic aid as indispensable to national security.

In June 1955, Nelson Rockefeller convened a week-long meeting of experts from various disciplines to assess the United States position in the psychological aspects of the Cold War and develop proposals that could give the United States the initiative at the upcoming Summit Conference in Geneva.

In March 1955, Nelson Rockefeller proposed the creation of the Planning Coordination Group, a small high-level group that would plan and develop national security operations, both overt and covert.

In September 1955, Nelson Rockefeller recommended the abolishment of the PCG, and in December of the same year he resigned as special assistant to the president.

In 1956, Nelson Rockefeller created the Special Studies Project, a major seven-panel planning group directed by Henry Kissinger and funded by the Nelson Rockefeller Brothers Fund, of which he was then president.

From this period Nelson Rockefeller employed Kissinger as a personally funded part-time consultant, principally on foreign policy issues, until the appointment to his staff became full-time in late 1968.

In 1969, when Kissinger entered Richard Nixon's administration, Nelson Rockefeller paid him $50,000 as a severance payment.

Nelson Rockefeller resigned from the federal government in 1956 to focus on New York State and on national politics.

Nelson Rockefeller was re-elected in the three subsequent elections in 1962,1966, and 1970, increasing the state's role in education, environmental protection, transportation, housing, welfare, medical aid, civil rights, and the arts.

Nelson Rockefeller resigned three years into his fourth term and began to work at the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans.

Nelson Rockefeller supported reform of New York's abortion laws beginning around 1968.

Nelson Rockefeller created the first State Council on the Arts in the country, which became a model for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Nelson Rockefeller oversaw the construction of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Spa State Park.

Nelson Rockefeller supported the bill, enacted in June 1966, which acquired Olana, home of Hudson River School artist Frederic Edwin Church, as a state historic site.

Nelson Rockefeller engaged in massive building projects that left a profound mark on the state of New York.

Nelson Rockefeller achieved virtual total prohibition of discrimination in housing and places of public accommodation.

Nelson Rockefeller outlawed "block-busting" as a means of artificially depressing housing values and banned discrimination in the sale of all forms of insurance.

In 1973, Rockefeller worked with former Delaware Governor Russell W Peterson to establish the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans.

Nelson Rockefeller resigned as New York's governor in December 1973 in order to devote himself full-time to the commission's work as its chairman.

Nelson Rockefeller continued in that position after being sworn in as vice president, serving until February 28,1975.

Consistent with his personal interest in design and planning, Nelson Rockefeller began expansion of the New York State Parks system and improvement of park facilities.

Nelson Rockefeller persuaded voters to approve three major bond acts to raise more than $300 million for acquisition of park and forest preserve land, and he built or started 55 new state parks.

In September 1968, Nelson Rockefeller appointed the Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks.

Nelson Rockefeller launched the Pure Waters Program, the first state bond issue to end water pollution; created the Department of Environmental Conservation; banned DDT and other pesticides; and established the Office of Parks and Recreation.

In 1963, Nelson Rockefeller signed legislation abandoning that and establishing a two-stage trial for murder cases with punishment determined in the second stage.

Nelson Rockefeller was a supporter of capital punishment and oversaw 14 executions by electrocution as governor.

Nelson Rockefeller was a supporter of the "law and order" platform.

Nelson Rockefeller then turned to a program of compulsory treatment, rehabilitation, and aftercare for three years.

Nelson Rockefeller was frustrated by his belief that the federal government was not doing anything significant to address the problem.

Nelson Rockefeller was the driving force in turning the State University of New York into the largest system of public higher education in the United States.

Nelson Rockefeller championed the acquisition of the private University of Buffalo into the SUNY system, making the State University of New York at Buffalo, now the largest public university in New York.

Nelson Rockefeller is criticized in some quarters for having contributed to the "Too big to fail" phenomenon in American finance in general.

Nelson Rockefeller worked with the legislature and unions to create generous pension programs for many public workers, such as teachers, professors, firefighters, police officers, and prison guards.

Nelson Rockefeller proposed the first statewide minimum wage law in the country; it was increased five times during his administration.

The Nelson Rockefeller report called for some aid to continue but the report recommended creating more effective aid programs.

In 1967 Nelson Rockefeller won approval of the largest state bond issue at the time for the coordinated development of mass transportation, highways, and airports.

Nelson Rockefeller initiated the creation or expansion of over 22,000 miles of highway, including the Long Island Expressway, the Southern Tier Expressway, the Adirondack Northway, and Interstate 81, which vastly improved road transportation in the state of New York.

Nelson Rockefeller reformed the governance of New York City's transportation system, creating the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1965.

In taking over control of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, Nelson Rockefeller shifted power away from Robert Moses, and in doing so became the first politician to win such a battle with the master builder Moses in decades.

In one controversial move, Nelson Rockefeller abandoned one of Moses's most desired projects, a Long Island Sound bridge from Rye, New York, to Oyster Bay, New York, in 1973 due to environmental opposition.

Nelson Rockefeller described universal healthcare as the wave of the future and as a human right.

On primary election day, Nelson Rockefeller narrowly lost the California primary and dropped out of the race.

Nelson Rockefeller was booed and heckled for sixteen minutes while he stood firmly at the podium insisting on his right to speak.

Nelson Rockefeller was reluctant to support Goldwater in the general election.

Nelson Rockefeller again sought the presidential nomination in the 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries.

Nelson Rockefeller's opponents were Nixon and Governor Ronald Reagan of California.

Shortly before the Republican convention, Nelson Rockefeller finally let it be known that he was available to be the nominee, and he sought to round up uncommitted delegates and woo reluctant Nixon delegates to his banner, armed with public opinion polls that showed him doing better among voters than either Nixon or Reagan against Democrat Hubert Humphrey.

Humphrey revealed in 1976 that he tried to convince Nelson Rockefeller to be his running mate in the Democratic Party ticket in 1968 but the latter refused to switch parties.

In considering potential nominees, Nelson Rockefeller was one of three primary candidates.

Nelson Rockefeller accepted the President's request to serve as vice president.

Nelson Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, suffering embarrassment when it was revealed he made massive gifts to senior aides, such as Henry Kissinger, and used his personal fortune to finance a scurrilous biography of political opponent Arthur Goldberg.

Nelson Rockefeller had taken debatable deductions on his federal income taxes, and ultimately agreed to pay nearly one million dollars to settle the issue but no illegalities were uncovered, and he was confirmed.

Many conservative groups campaigned against Nelson Rockefeller's nomination, including the National Right to Life Committee, the American Conservative Union, and others.

Nelson Rockefeller often seemed concerned that Ford gave him little or no power, and few tasks while he was vice president.

When Nelson Rockefeller had one of his former aides, James Cannon, appointed executive director of the Domestic Council, Rumsfeld cut its budget.

Nelson Rockefeller was excluded from the decision-making process on many important issues.

Nelson Rockefeller already had a well-secured Washington residence and never lived in the home as a principal residence.

Nelson Rockefeller was slow to make use of Air Force Two, the official vice-presidential aircraft.

In explaining his decision, Nelson Rockefeller said that he "didn't come down [to Washington] to get caught up in party squabbles which only make it more difficult for the President in a very difficult time".

Ford later said not choosing Nelson Rockefeller was one of his biggest mistakes, and "one of the few cowardly things I did in my life".

Nelson Rockefeller campaigned actively for the Republican ticket in the 1976 United States presidential election, which was won by Jimmy Carter.

In what would become an iconic photo of the 1976 campaign, Nelson Rockefeller appeared to be responding to hecklers at a rally in Binghamton, New York, with a raised middle finger.

When Nelson Rockefeller's camp saw that the obscene gesture story was popular to many Republicans, they stopped denying that that had been his intent.

Nelson Rockefeller's programs did not consistently follow either liberal or conservative ideology.

Nelson Rockefeller was opposed by conservatives in the Republican Party, such as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, because of his liberal political views.

Nelson Rockefeller expanded the state's infrastructure, increased spending on education including a massive expansion of the State University of New York, and increased the state's involvement in environmental issues.

In foreign affairs, Nelson Rockefeller supported American involvement in the United Nations, as well as United States foreign aid.

Nelson Rockefeller supported the fight against Communism and its membership in NATO.

Nelson Rockefeller created some 230 public-benefit authorities like the Urban Development Corporation.

Nelson Rockefeller established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development in 1946.

Nelson Rockefeller served as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art from 1932 to 1979.

Nelson Rockefeller served as treasurer from 1935 from 1939 and president from 1939 to 1941 and 1946 and 1953.

In 1933 Nelson Rockefeller was a member of the committee selecting art for the new Nelson Rockefeller Center.

Nelson Rockefeller wanted the painting to make people pause and think.

The directors of Nelson Rockefeller Center objected and Nelson Rockefeller asked Rivera to change the face of Lenin to that of an unknown laborer's face as was originally intended but the painter refused.

Nelson Rockefeller suggested that the fresco could be donated to the Museum of Modern Art, but the trustees of the museum were not interested.

At Nelson Rockefeller Center in its place is a mural by Jose Maria Sert which includes an image of Abraham Lincoln.

Nelson Rockefeller was a noted collector of both modern and non-Western art.

Nelson Rockefeller continued his mother's work at the Museum of Modern Art as president and turned the basement of his Kykuit mansion into a gallery while placing works of sculpture around the grounds.

Nelson Rockefeller commissioned Master Santiago Martinez Delgado to make a canvas mural for the Bank of New York in Bogota, Colombia; this ended up being the last work of the artist, as he died while finishing it.

On June 23,1930, Nelson Rockefeller married Mary Todhunter Clark, a daughter of Percy Hamilton Clark, a noted cricketer, and Elizabeth Williams Clark, of Germantown, Philadelphia.

On May 4,1963, Nelson Rockefeller married Margaretta Large "Happy" Fitler.

Nelson Rockefeller was a daughter of William Wonderly Fitler Jr.

Nelson and Happy Rockefeller used the entrance at 812 Fifth, while Mary Rockefeller entered through 810 Fifth.

Mary Nelson Rockefeller resented his adultery, which was one of the main reasons for their divorce.

Nelson Rockefeller convinced Mary early in the marriage that they should live separate lives, but remain married for the sake of public appearances and the children.

Ellen Harrison, the wife of Wally Harrison, the architect and Nelson Rockefeller confidant, claimed that Malinda's parentage was an open secret among Nelson Rockefeller associates.

Nelson Rockefeller died on January 26,1979 from complications of a heart attack.

Nelson Rockefeller's death occurred two years and six days after his vice presidential tenure ended.

The report was corrected to state that Nelson Rockefeller actually had the fatal heart attack at another location, a townhouse he owned at 13 West 54th Street.

Nelson Rockefeller's remains were cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in nearby Hartsdale, New York.

The circumstances of Nelson Rockefeller's death led to widespread speculation regarding a possible adulterous relationship between Nelson Rockefeller and Megan Marshack.