A Portrait of
John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
by Tomislav

John was born in Richford, NY in the year of 1839. In 1843 William A. Rockefeller moved their family to Moravia, NY. In 1846 John raised wild turkeys to sell. In 1853 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1855 John got his first job. In 1859 John opened a business and in that year E. L. Drake drilled the first oil well ever in Titusville, PA. In 1863 John built his first oil refinery just outside Cleveland, Ohio. In 1864 John married Laura Celestia Spelman. In 1865 John and Samuel Andrews formed a new company called Rockefeller and Andrews. In 1879 the Standard Oil Company was formed. In 1883 John moved his family to New York City. In 1884 John gave $5,000 to a school for a black women's college in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1887 John did the same thing, he gave $600,000 to a small school in Chicago, Illinois. In 1843 John bought land in Pocantico Hills, NY. In 1895 John deeded an acre of land for a school. In 1901 John founded the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. From 1902 to 1904 Ida Tarbell wrote a articles about the Standard Oil Trust. In 1909 John set up the Rockefeller Sanitation Commission. In 1909 John's autobiography was published. In 1911 John retired from Standard Oil. In 1911 the U.S. Justice Department ordered the breakup of Standard Oil. In 1913 The Rockefeller Foundation was made. In 1915 Laura Celestia Rockefeller died in Pocantico Hills, NY. In 1937 the King of Oil died at the age of 97.

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