Richard Gilder Rockefeller (January 20, 1949 – June 13, 2014)
''bloomberg.com.'' was a family physician in

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. This northern suburb of Portlan ...

, who practiced and taught medicine in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, from 1982 to 2000. He is the son of

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

, the grandson of financier and philanthropist

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 co-founder

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

Early life

Rockefeller was born on January 20, 1949, and was a son of Margaret ( née McGrath) Rockefeller and banker

. He was also a grandson of American financier

, and a great-grandson of American business magnate and philanthropist

Sr. Rockefeller obtained an undergraduate degree 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 high ...

, a master's degree in Education, and a medical degree from

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

Career

He was chairman of the United States Advisory Board of

Doctors Without Borders Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

from 1989 until 2010, and served on the board of Rockefeller University in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

until 2006. In the last few years of his life, Rockefeller was working to establish better worldwide methods of treatment for individuals suffering from

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

. Richard gave an inspiring talk at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club (December 9, 2013) about the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to treat PTSD. During the last few years of his life, he dedicated time and resources to the research and development of GcMAF therapy, an immune boosting injection that has been successful in treating cancer and other diseases. Rockefeller was the founder and former chairman of Hour Exchange Portland, a service credit barter in Portland and throughout the state of Maine. He also served as chairman of the board of Maine Coast Heritage Trust from 2000 to 2006. Rockefeller served as president of the

Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...

Personal life

Rockefeller was first married to Nancy C. Anderson, with whom he had two children, Clayton and Rebecca. After their divorce, he married Nancy King, and was the stepfather to her two children. After their divorce, his first wife remarried to Dale Gowen.

Death

Rockefeller, an experienced pilot, was flying home after visiting his father at the Rockefeller family estate in

Pocantico Hills Pocantico Hills is a hamlet in the Westchester County town of Mount Pleasant, New York, United States. The Rockefeller family estate, anchored by Kykuit, the family seat built by John D. Rockefeller Sr., is located in Pocantico Hills, as is the a ...

, a hamlet in the town of

Mount Pleasant, New York Mount Pleasant is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 44,436. The hamlets of Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pocantico Hills, and Thornwood, and the vill ...

. The family patriarch, his father,

, had celebrated his 99th birthday on June 12, 2014. Rockefeller took off from

Westchester County Airport Westchester County Airport is a county-owned airport in Westchester County, New York, three miles (6 km) northeast of downtown White Plains, with territory in the towns of North Castle and Harrison, New York, and village of Rye Brook, N ...

in a Piper Meridian single-engine

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

at 8:08 a.m. on June 13, 2014, departing from runway 16 in dense fog and steady rain. Less than 10 minutes later, the Federal Aviation Administration notified airport officials it had lost contact with the pilot. At 8:23 a.m. local police in the town of Harrison, New York, reported Rockefeller's plane crashed less than a mile from the airport in the town of Harrison. Rockefeller, the pilot, was the only person on the private plane. The cause of the crash was attributed to the pilot's failure to maintain a positive climb rate after takeoff due to spatial disorientation ( somatogravic illusion).http://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20140613X91656&AKey=1&RType=Final&IType=FA Rockefeller was the only one of the six siblings to have died during his father's lifetime. Through him, he was also a nephew of the late U.S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockefeller, Richard 1949 births 2014 deaths Accidental deaths in New York (state) Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Rockefeller family Winthrop family People from Falmouth, Maine Rockefeller University Médecins Sans Frontières American billionaires Philanthropists from Maine Physicians from Maine Harvard Medical School alumni American primary care physicians Physicians from New York City Aviators from Maine Philanthropists from New York (state) Family physicians Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2014