Biography great business tycoons 1870

(1839-1937)

Who Was John D. Rockefeller?

American industrialist John D. Rockefeller built his first oil refinery near Cleveland and in 1870 incorporated the Standard Oil Company.

By 1882 he had a near-monopoly of the oil business in the United States, but his business practices led to the passing of antitrust laws. Later in life, Rockefeller devoted himself to philanthropy. He died in 1937.

Early Years

Born in Richford, New York, on July 8, 1839, John Davison Rockefeller moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of 14.

Unafraid of hard work, he embarked on a number of small-business ventures as a teenager, landing his first real office job at age 16, as an assistant bookkeeper with Hewitt & Tuttle, commission merchants and produce shippers.

By the age of 20, Rockefeller, who'd thrived at his job, ventured out on his own with a business partner, working as a commission merchant in hay, meats, grains and other goods.

At the close of the com