Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller (May 1, 1899 – February 23, 1983) was an American financier and chairman of Cranston Print Works, a Rockefeller-owned textile company.
Early life
Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller was born on May 1, 1899, and was the second son of
William Goodsell Rockefeller (1870–1922) and Sarah Elizabeth "Elsie" Stillman (1872–1935). His paternal grandfather was
William Rockefeller Jr. (1841–1922), brother of
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...
, the co-founders of
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
.
His maternal grandfather was
James Jewett Stillman (1850–1918), a businessman who was
chairman of the board of directors
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the
National City Bank.
He was a member of the
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a Collegiate secret societies in North America, secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Collegiate secret societies in North America#Yale University, Ya ...
society and graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1921.
Career
Rockefeller served as a second lieutenant in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and served as a lieutenant colonel during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was partner in
Clark, Dodge & Company; stockholder in the Enterprise Development Corporation; chairman of the Cranston Print Works; director of Benson & Hedges; trustee of the Fairfield Foundation; and had been a director of
Freeport-McMoRan since December 1931.
Personal life
He was married to Helen Gratz, sister-in-law of
Edward H. Watson. They were the parents of five children:
*
Godfrey Anderson Rockefeller (1924–2010).
*Peter Rockefeller
*Lucy Rockefeller Stewart
*Marion Rockefeller Stone
*Audrey Rockefeller Blair
Rockefeller died on February 23, 1983, of leukemia in
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...
.
See also
*
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...
References
External links
The Benno C. Schmidt Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockefeller, Godfrey Stillman
1899 births
1983 deaths
American people of English descent
American people of German descent
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
Rockefeller family
American financiers
Yale University alumni