Laurance Rockefeller

Laurance Rockefeller died in his sleep due to pulmonary fibrosis on July 11, 2004, at his home in New York, U.S, at the age of 94. He was buried next to his wife at the Rockefeller Family Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, Westchester County, New York.

Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was born on May 26, 1910, in New York, to John D. Rockefeller Jr., a successful financier, and his first wife, Abby Greene Aldrich, a New York socialite. He was the fourth of six children born into one of the wealthiest families in the country.

After receiving his early education from the progressive Lincoln School, Laurance was enrolled at the prestigious Princeton University. In 1932, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and then studied law at the Harvard Law School for a couple of years until he chose not to become an attorney.

In 1935, Laurance Rockefeller commenced working in the family office in Rockefeller Center, pursuing a number of prosperous careers in his lifetime. While at office, he gained business acumen and learned about various Rockefeller philanthropic activities, conservation projects and commercial interests.

Upon the death of his grandfather in 1937, Laurance inherited his seat on the New York Stock Exchange. The following year, he served as one of the founders of the Eastern Airlines, which emerged as one of the most profitable airlines after World War II.

Also a fervent environmentalist, Laurance was introduced to public service in 1939 when he was appointed a member of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC).

In 1940, he was a founding trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, serving on the committee for the next 42 years. From 1958 to 1968, he served as its president and then chaired the organization between 1968 and 1980.

During the Second World War, he was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and served from 1942 to 1945, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. Upon returning from his military service, Laurance entered into the field of venture capitalism.

Being one of America’s leading environmentalists, Laurance Rockefeller is most known for his involvement in conservation and putting the issue of conservationism on public agenda. He served as the chairman of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission and later founded the American Conservation Association, a private organization that invests in works of spreading awareness about environmental conservation.