HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michael Clark Rockefeller (May 18, 1938 – presumed to have died November 19, 1961) was the fifth child of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and former
U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
. He was the grandson of American financier
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...
and the great grandson of
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He
disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
during an expedition in the Asmat region of southwestern Netherlands New Guinea, which is now a part of the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
n province of Papua. In 2014, Carl Hoffman published a book that went into detail about the inquest into his killing, in which villagers and tribal elders admit to Rockefeller being killed after he swam to shore in 1961. No remains or physical proof of Rockefeller's death have been discovered.


Early life

Rockefeller was the fifth and last child of Mary Todhunter Rockefeller and
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
. He was the third son of seven children fathered by Nelson Rockefeller, and he had a twin sister, Mary. After attending The Buckley School in New York, and graduating from the
Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...
in New Hampshire, where he was a student senator and exceptional varsity wrestler, Rockefeller graduated ''
cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
with an A.B. in history and economics. In 1960, he served for six months as a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
and then went on an expedition for Harvard's
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, wi ...
to study the Dani tribe of western Netherlands New Guinea. The expedition filmed '' Dead Birds'', an ethnographic documentary movie produced by Robert Gardner, and for which Rockefeller was the sound recordist. Rockefeller and a friend briefly left the expedition to study the Asmat tribe of southern Netherlands New Guinea. After returning home from the Peabody expedition, Rockefeller returned to New Guinea to study the Asmat and collect Asmat art.
"It's the desire to do something adventurous," he explained, "at a time when frontiers, in the real sense of the word, are disappearing."
He spent his time in Netherlands New Guinea actively engaged with the culture and the art while recording ethnographic data. In one of his letters home he wrote:
I am having a thoroughly exhausting but most exciting time here ... The Asmat is like a huge puzzle with the variations in ceremony and art style forming the pieces. My trips are enabling me to comprehend (if only in a superficial, rudimentary manner) the nature of this puzzle ...


Disappearance

On November 17, 1961, Rockefeller and
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...
René Wassing were in a
dugout canoe A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (t ...
about from
shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...
when their double
pontoon boat A pleasure boat with two lengthwise pontoons A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on floats to remain buoyant. These pontoons (also called ''tubes'') contain much reserve buoyancy and allow designers to create large deck plans fitted w ...
was swamped and overturned. Their two local guides swam for help, but it was slow in coming. After drifting for some time, early on November 19, 1961, Rockefeller said to Wassing: "I think I can make it." He then swam for shore. The boat was an estimated from the shore when he made the attempt to swim to safety, supporting the theory that he died from exposure, exhaustion, or drowning. Wassing was rescued the next day, but Rockefeller was never seen again, despite an intensive and lengthy search effort. At the time, Rockefeller's disappearance was a major world news item. His body has never been found. Rockefeller was declared legally dead in 1964.


Speculation

It was originally reported that Rockefeller either drowned or was attacked by a
shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...
or
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been l ...
. However, because
headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such as ear, nose or scalp) are taken instead as trophies. Headhunting was practiced in h ...
and
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
were still present in some areas of Asmat in 1961, there has also been speculation that Rockefeller may have been killed and eaten by tribespeople from the Asmat village of
Otsjanep Otsjanep is a village in Asmat Regency, South Papua, Indonesia. The village is located on the bank of the Ewta river at the far north end of Indonesia's Casuarina Coast, named for its casuarina trees but now disappearing due to logging. Otsjanep is ...
. In 1969, the journalist
Milt Machlin Milt Machlin (June 26, 1924 – April 3, 2004) was an American journalist, author and adventurer. He is best known for coining the phrases "Bermuda Triangle" and "Abominable Snowman," as well as his expedition to find scion Michael Rockefeller, ...
traveled to the island to investigate Rockefeller's disappearance. He dismissed reports of Rockefeller living as a captive or as a Kurtz-like figure in the jungle, but concluded that
circumstantial evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need ...
supported the idea that he had been killed. Several leaders of Otsjanep village, where Rockefeller likely would have arrived had he made it to shore, had been killed by a Dutch patrol in 1958, thus providing some rationale for revenge by the tribe against someone from the "white tribe". Neither cannibalism nor headhunting in Asmat were indiscriminate, but rather were part of a tit-for-tat revenge cycle, so it is possible that Rockefeller found himself the inadvertent victim of such a cycle. The incident is described in "Dance of the Warriors", the second volume of the documentary series ''Ring of Fire'' by the Blair brothers. A book titled ''Rocky Goes West'' by author Paul Toohey claims that, in 1979, Rockefeller's mother hired a private investigator to go to New Guinea and try to resolve the mystery of his disappearance. The reliability of the story has been questioned, but Toohey claims that the private investigator swapped a boat engine for the skulls of the three men that a tribe claimed were the only white men they had ever killed. The investigator returned to New York and handed these skulls to the family, convinced that one of them was the skull of Rockefeller. If this event did actually occur, the family has never commented on it. However, the
History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
program ''Vanishings'' reported that Rockefeller's mother did pay a $250,000 reward to the investigator which was offered for final proof whether or not Michael Rockefeller was alive or dead. In the documentary film '' Keep the River on Your Right'',
Tobias Schneebaum Tobias Schneebaum (March 25, 1922 – September 20, 2005) was an American artist, anthropologist, and AIDS activist. He is best known for his experiences living and traveling among the Harakmbut people of Peru, and the Asmat people of Papua, Indo ...
states that he spoke with some members of the Asmat village of Otsjanep who described finding Rockefeller on the riverside and eating him.


2014 book on disappearance

In 2014, Carl Hoffman published the book ''Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art'' where he discusses researching Rockefeller's mysterious disappearance and presumed death. During multiple visits to the villages in the area, he heard several stories about men from
Otsjanep Otsjanep is a village in Asmat Regency, South Papua, Indonesia. The village is located on the bank of the Ewta river at the far north end of Indonesia's Casuarina Coast, named for its casuarina trees but now disappearing due to logging. Otsjanep is ...
killing Rockefeller after he swam to shore. The stories, which were similar to testimonials collected in the 1960s, center around a handful of men arguing and eventually deciding to kill Michael after he swam to shore, in revenge for a 1958 incident in which men from the village were killed in a confrontation with Dutch colonial officials. Soon after the murder, the villages were swept by a
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...
epidemic and the villagers believed that it was retribution for killing Rockefeller. As Hoffman left one of the villages for the final time, he witnessed a man acting out a scene wherein someone was killed, and stopped to videotape it. When translated, the man was quoted as saying:
Don't you tell this story to any other man or any other village, because this story is only for us. Don't speak. Don't speak and tell the story. I hope you remember it and you must keep this for us. I hope. I hope. This is for you and you only. Don't talk to anyone, forever; to other people or another village. If people question you, don't answer. Don't talk to them, because this story is only for you. If you tell it to them, you'll die. I am afraid you will die. You'll be dead; your people will be dead, if you tell this story. You keep this story in your house; to yourself, I hope, forever. Forever. ...


Asmat artifacts and photographs

Many of the Asmat artifacts Rockefeller collected are part of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing collection at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in New York City. The Peabody Museum has published the catalogue of an exhibition of pictures taken by Rockefeller during the New Guinea expedition.


In popular culture

The 1973, ''National Lampoon Comics'' contained a story (titled "New Guinea Pig") that focused on Rockefeller's disappearance as being a ruse so he could kill all the black people in New Guinea and his family could steal their resources. Rockefeller's disappearance was the subject of episode #30 of '' In Search of ...'', which originally aired January 21, 1978. The band Guadalcanal Diary wrote a song about Rockefeller's disappearance called "Michael Rockefeller". The song appeared on their 1986 album ''
Jamboree In Scouting, a jamboree is a large gathering of Scouts who rally at a national or international level. History The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held in 1920, and was hosted by the United Kingdom. Since then, there have been twenty-three other W ...
''. In the travel adventure book ''Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey'', the Blair brothers claim to have discussed Rockefeller's death with a tribesman who killed him. Christopher Stokes's short story "The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller", published in the 23rd issue of ''
McSweeney's Quarterly Concern ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'' is an American literary journal, founded in 1998, typically containing short stories, reportage, and illustrations. Some issues also include poetry, comic strips, and novellas. ''The Quarterly Concern'' is ...
'' (Spring 2007), presents a fictional account of young Michael's demise. The 2004 novel ''King of America'' by
Samantha Gillison Samantha Gillison (born 1967) is an Australian-born American writer who frequently contributes to Salon.com and Condé Nast Traveler. Gillison was born in Australia, of an Australian father and Canadian mother, but has lived overseas since she ...
is loosely based on the life of Michael Rockefeller. The 2007 film ''
Welcome to the Jungle "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 then again in Octobe ...
'' deals with two young couples who venture after Michael Rockefeller (thinking they can make a lot of money if they find evidence of Rockefeller), but meet grisly demises. Jeff Cohen's play ''The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller'', based on the short story by Christopher Stokes, had its world premiere in an Off Broadway production at the West End Theatre in New York. The play was directed by Alfred Preisser, and ran from September 10 to October 3, 2010. In 2011, Agamemnon Films released a documentary titled ''The Search for Michael Rockefeller'', based on journalist Milt Machlin's book of the same name released in 1974. In his book, Carl Hoffman characterized Machlin's early book as "mostly the tale of a wild-goose chase", but still important in laying the groundwork for questioning official stories of Rockefeller's disappearance The film introduces a third theory, that Rockefeller survived and was living among the locals. This theory is supported by a verbal claim of contact made by a mysterious Australian adventurer, plus a few frames of film footage showing a bearded white man among indigenous men, wearing local garb. In 2012, Michael's surviving twin sister Mary published a memoir, titled ''Beginning with the End: A Memoir of Twin Loss and Healing,'' about coping with her grief after the death of her brother. The book was issued in paperback in 2014 as ''When Grief Calls Forth the Healing. In their 2013 album ''The Devil Herself'', band Megan Jean and the KFB features the song ''Tobias'' which features the lyrics "We lived amongst the tribe that ate Rockefeller / Out in Papua New Guinea I’d give you the skinny / Get eaten if I tell ya". The chorus of
Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...
's song "Hollywood Lawn" off her 2019 album On the Line features the lyrics "I'm long lost like Rockefeller / drifting off to sea."


See also

*
List of people who disappeared Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...


References


External links


Asmat Art in the Michael C. Rockefeller Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100919000940/http://outsideonline.com/outside/features/200310/200310_mysteries_4.html Outside magazine: "Lost Scion: Was Michael Rockefeller eaten by cannibals?"br>Agamemnon Films Presents: The Search for Michael RockefellerTelevision segment on ''Michael Rockefeller''
hosted by
Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockefeller, Michael 1938 births 1960s missing person cases 1961 deaths Buckley School (New York City) alumni Children of vice presidents of the United States Clark banking family Deaths in Indonesia Harvard University alumni Missing people Missing person cases in Indonesia People declared dead in absentia Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Rockefeller family American twins United States Army soldiers Western New Guinea Winthrop family Cannibalism in Oceania