Rockefeller, Winthrop

Rockefeller, Winthrop

(1912–73) governor; born in New York (grandson of John D. Rockefeller). A Yale dropout, he worked for Socony Vacuum Oil (1939–41, 1946–51), with time out to serve in World War II and then resigning to head the IBEC Housing Corporation, a Rockefeller philanthropy providing low-cost housing. Moving to Arkansas in 1953, he started a 3,500-acre cattle ranch, also chairing the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission. As Republican governor (1967–71), he advanced school desegregation and promoted penal reform.