Here is the biography of Nelson Rockefeller:
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1908, in Bar Harbor, Maine, to John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He was the third child and second son of his parents. His maternal grandfather, Rhode Island Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, was a prominent figure in politics and a power broker in the Senate.
Rockefeller grew up in a wealthy family and was educated at Dartmouth College. He worked in his family's oil business, but his true passions were public service and the arts. He learned Spanish while working for a Venezuelan subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey and developed an interest in Latin America.
In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Rockefeller Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs. He served in this position until 1945, when he resigned to return to private business. In 1945, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference on International Organization, where the UN was founded. Rockefeller played a key role in persuading the UN to establish its headquarters in New York City, and his father subsequently donated the land on which the UN building was built.
In 1947, Rockefeller was appointed chairman of the International Development Advisory Board, a position he held until 1953. In 1953, he was appointed Under Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, a position he held until 1955. He was also a special assistant to President Dwight D. Eisenhower for foreign affairs.
In 1958, Rockefeller was elected governor of New York State, a position he held until 1973. During his tenure, he expanded the size and scope of the state government and increased the state debt. He was a proponent of big government and was the head of the progressive wing of the Republican Party.
Rockefeller was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1960, 1964, and 1968, but was unsuccessful in his bids. In 1964, he lost the nomination to Barry Goldwater, and in 1968, he refused to campaign for Goldwater's presidential campaign.
In 1973, Rockefeller resigned as governor of New York State and was appointed Vice President of the United States by President Gerald Ford. He served in this position until 1977, when he was not re-nominated for the position.
After his retirement from public service, Rockefeller returned to private life and continued to be involved in the arts and philanthropy. He was a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and a patron of the arts. He died on January 26, 1979, at the age of 70.
