Nelson Rockefeller

Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st <a href="/facts/Vice_president_of_the_United_States/tYWUGv0A">vice president of the United States</a> under President <a href="/facts/Gerald_Ford/AdMS7jGW">Gerald Ford</a> serving from 1974 to 1977. He was the 49th <a href="/facts/Governor_of_New_York/4dmAhlrP">governor of New York</a>, serving from 1959 to 1973. Rockefeller was a member of the <a href="/facts/Republican_Party_(United_States)/XXM1EVPr">Republican Party</a> and of the wealthy <a href="/facts/Rockefeller_family/hL1oefbe">Rockefeller family</a>.
After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1930, Rockefeller worked at various businesses connected to his family. He served as <a href="/facts/Assistant_secretary_of_State_for_American_Republic_Affairs/KDBg0CG2">assistant secretary of State for American Republic Affairs</a> for Presidents <a href="/facts/Franklin_D._Roosevelt/HtG9vMQv">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a> and <a href="/facts/Harry_S._Truman/2E2LmMoB">Harry S. Truman</a> (1944–1945), and as <a href="/facts/United_States_Deputy_Secretary_of_Health_and_Human_Services/qzmBC9fH">Undersecretary of Health, Education and Welfare</a> (HEW) under <a href="/facts/Dwight_D._Eisenhower/a21WXe8r">Dwight D. Eisenhower</a> from 1953 to 1954. He was first elected governor of New York in 1958, and was re-elected in 1962, 1966, and 1970. As governor of New York, Rockefeller's achievements included the expansion of the <a href="/facts/State_University_of_New_York/EuEWW1KJ">State University of New York</a> (SUNY), efforts to protect the environment, the construction of the <a href="/facts/Empire_State_Plaza/mLpmuxb6">Empire State Plaza</a> in <a href="/facts/Albany,_New_York/A4p7Ugnt">Albany</a>, increased facilities and personnel for medical care, and the creation of the <a href="/facts/New_York_State_Council_on_the_Arts/EyMqxuqH">New York State Council on the Arts</a>. Rockefeller was often considered to be liberal, progressive, or moderate. In an agreement that was termed the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Fifth_Avenue/RKjPmVJH">Treaty of Fifth Avenue</a>, he persuaded <a href="/facts/Richard_Nixon/HS8uXAoC">Richard Nixon</a> to alter the Republican Party platform just before the <a href="/facts/1960_Republican_National_Convention/eqXIWly2">1960 Republican National Convention</a>. In his time, liberals in the Republican Party were called "<a href="/facts/Rockefeller_Republican/3CWwlCsu">Rockefeller Republicans</a>". 
After unsuccessfully seeking the Republican <a href="/facts/United_States_presidential_nominating_convention/FKwXatjy">presidential nomination</a> in <a href="/facts/1960_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries/uMJPGYkq">1960</a>, <a href="/facts/1964_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries/amBkDmos">1964</a>, and <a href="/facts/1968_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries/SsS5XHDb">1968</a>, Rockefeller was appointed vice president of the United States by President <a href="/facts/Gerald_Ford/AdMS7jGW">Gerald Ford</a> in December 1974. Rockefeller was the second vice president appointed to the position under the <a href="/facts/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution/mWD4zf81">25th Amendment</a>, following Ford himself. Rockefeller did not seek a full term in the 1976 election with Ford, who named <a href="/facts/Kansas/koenIXmE">Kansas</a> Senator <a href="/facts/Bob_Dole/aEGlx9vj">Bob Dole</a> as his running mate instead of Rockefeller that year. Rockefeller retired from politics in 1977 and died two years later.
As a businessman, Rockefeller was president and later chair of Rockefeller Center, Inc. He also formed the International Basic Economy Corporation in 1947. Rockefeller assembled a significant art collection and promoted public access to the arts. He served as trustee, treasurer, and president of the <a href="/facts/Museum_of_Modern_Art/75lxKjfj">Museum of Modern Art</a> and founded the <a href="/facts/Museum_of_Primitive_Art/H5xWuKNp">Museum of Primitive Art</a> in 1954. In the area of philanthropy, he founded the <a href="/facts/Rockefeller_Brothers_Fund/rRGw2M21">Rockefeller Brothers Fund</a> in 1940 with his four brothers and established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development in 1946.

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Nelson Rockefeller