Richard Gilder Rockefeller (January 20, 1949 – June 13, 2014)
''bloomberg.com.'' was a family physician in Falmouth, Maine, who practiced and taught medicine in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, from 1982 to 2000. He was a son of

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

, a grandson of financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., and a great-grandson 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 ...

co-founder

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 ...

Early life and education

Rockefeller was born on January 20, 1949, to Margaret (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

McGrath) Rockefeller and banker

. He was also a grandson of American financier John D. Rockefeller Jr., and a great-grandson of American

business magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and philanthropist

Sr. Rockefeller obtained an undergraduate degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

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

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

Career

He was chairman of the United States Advisory Board of Doctors Without Borders from 1989 until 2010, and served on the board of

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

. 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.

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

At the time of his death, Rockefeller, an experienced pilot, was flying home after visiting his father at the Rockefeller family estate in Pocantico Hills, a hamlet in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York. 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, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, northeast of downtown White Plains, New York, White Plains, with territory in the Town (New Y ...

in a Piper Meridian single-engine

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

at 8:08 a.m. on Friday, 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 Harrison is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town and Administrative divisions of New York (state), village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York Cit ...

, reported Rockefeller's plane crashed less than a mile from the airport in the town of Harrison. Rockefeller, the pilot, was the only person in 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). 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 Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

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