Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller and the Oil Industry

By gerrardmohead
  • Rockefeller gets his first job.

    Rockefeller gets his first job.

    At the age of 16, Rockefller went to work at Hewitt and Tuttle.
    (The picture is Rockefeller as a teenager.)
  • Period: to

    Rockefeller and the OIl Industry

  • Oil was drilled in America.

    Oil was drilled in America.

    Edwin Drake drilled America's first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. (The picture is of the first oil well.)
  • Rockefeller enters the oil industry.

    Rockefeller enters the oil industry.

    Rockefeller invests in a Clevland refinery, and begins his work in the oil industry. (The picture is an oil refinery in Clevland.)
  • Rockefeller first starts to take control of the oil industry.

    Rockefeller first starts to take control of the oil industry.

    In 1865, Rockefeller began buying out his partners in order to take control of the refinery in Clevland, Ohio.
  • Standard Oil Company is formed.

    Standard Oil Company is formed.

    Rockefeller, along with his brother, William, and Henry Flagler, form the Standard OIl Company of Ohio.
  • Rockefeller is listed as one of the twenty most wealthy men in America.

    Rockefeller is listed as one of the twenty most wealthy men in America.

  • The Standard Oil Trust was formed.

    The Standard Oil Trust was formed.

    Although trusts weren't exactly up-front and legal, Rockefeller used them gain control of 90% of America's refineries and pipelines.
  • The Standard Oil Company moves to New York.

    The Standard Oil Company moves to New York.

    The Rockefeller family moved to New York from Ohio. The Standard OIl Company did as well. (The picture is of the Standard Oil Company's New York office building on Broadway.)
  • Rockefeller agrees to help found a college in Chicago.

    Rockefeller agrees to help found a college in Chicago.

    Rockefeller starts his philanthropy work by agreeing to help found what would later be known as the University of Chicago. (The picture is of the University of Chicago, built in 1891.)
  • The Sherman Antitrust Act is passed.

    The Sherman Antitrust Act is passed.

    The act prohibitted trusts, making a practice used by the Standard OIl Company illegal.
  • Rockefeller begins to retire.

    Rockefeller begins to retire.

    Not wanting to cause a lot of attention, Rockefeller gradually and secretly begins to pull out of the Standrad Oil Company so he can retire.
  • The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research is founded.

    The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research is founded.

    After his retirement, Rockefeller turned to philanthropic work, helping to create the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, later known as Rockefeller University. It is one of the leading institutes for medicine experimentation.