Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich (1908-1979), served as vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He filled a vacancy that was created when Vice President Gerald R. Ford succeeded Richard M. Nixon, who had resigned as president. Ford nominated Rockefeller for the vice presidency.
Rockefeller’s nomination required the approval of both houses of Congress under the procedures that were established in 1967 by the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Rockefeller was the second person to become vice president under terms of the 25th Amendment. Ford became the first to do so in 1973. Before adoption of the amendment, vacancies in the vice presidency had remained unfilled until the next presidential election.
Rockefeller, a Republican, had served as governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. Before he took office as governor, Rockefeller had held a number of posts in the federal government.
Early life.
Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1908, in Bar Harbor, Maine. His grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, and father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., became famous for their many contributions to American business and human welfare. Nelson graduated from Dartmouth College in 1930. During the 1930’s, he took part in his family’s business and philanthropic activities.
In 1930, Rockefeller married Mary Todhunter Clark. They had five children: Rodman, Anne, Steven, and the twins Mary and Michael. The Rockefellers were divorced in 1962. In 1963, Rockefeller married Margaretta (Happy) Fitler Murphy. The couple had two children: Nelson, Jr., and Mark.
Career in government.
In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Rockefeller coordinator of inter-American affairs. In 1944 and 1945, Rockefeller served as assistant secretary of state. He was undersecretary of health, education, and welfare in 1953 and 1954 and special assistant to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 and 1955.
Rockefeller was elected governor of New York in 1958 and won reelection in 1962, 1966, and 1970. He campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination in 1964 and 1968. In 1973, Rockefeller resigned as governor of New York and established the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans, a group devoted to the study of world problems.
On Aug. 9, 1974, Nixon resigned the presidency while facing almost certain impeachment because of his role in the Watergate political scandal. Ford became president and nominated Rockefeller for vice president. Rockefeller took office on Dec. 19, 1974. As vice president, he helped develop U.S. domestic policies and headed a federal commission that investigated the Central Intelligence Agency. He died on Jan. 26, 1979.
