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1930
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After six years of construction, Riverside Church, underwritten with $26 million of John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s money, opens in New York City.
Nelson marries Mary Todhunter Clark, just a few days after graduating from Dartmouth College.
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1931
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Construction of the 14-building Rockefeller Center complex begins during the Great Depression. Over the next eight years, the massive project will provide employment for 75,000 workers.
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1932
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Charles Lindbergh's son is kidnapped. The case makes America's wealthy families especially security conscious.
Edith dies of cancer at age 60. Two thousand people gather outside her mansion to pay their respects.
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1934
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Mexican artist Diego Rivera, hired to paint a mural for Rockefeller Center, is dismissed after refusing to replace the face of Lenin. Despite protests, his mural will be destroyed less than a year later.
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1937
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John D. Rockefeller Sr. dies, three years short of his goal of a hundred years. A simple funeral is held at Riverside Church. At offices, refineries and companies that had once comprised Standard Oil, work stops for five minutes.
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1938
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Nelson is named president of Rockefeller Center.
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1939
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World War II begins.
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1940
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President Franklin Roosevelt names Nelson Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, to stem Nazi influence in Latin America.
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1941
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Pearl Harbor is bombed. The U.S. enters the war.
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1943
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President Roosevelt signs a proclamation establishing Jackson Hole National Monument in the Grand Tetons, Wyoming, following two decades of behind-the-scenes lobbying by John D. Rockefeller Jr.
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1945
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Winthrop, who had enlisted in the Army in 1941, survives a Japanese kamikaze bombing of his troop transport ship.
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1946
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After the war, the Rockefeller brothers of the third generation (John D. III, Nelson, Laurance, Winthrop, and David) return to the family office at Rockefeller Center, eager to define their individual roles.
The Rockefellers offer the United Nations a tract of land on their Pocantico estate as a site for its headquarters. When that plan falls through, Nelson persuades John D. Rockefeller Jr. to purchase land on New York City's East River and donate it to the United Nations.
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1948
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Winthrop marries a divorcée, Barbara "Bobo" Sears. The couple will divorce two years later.
Abby dies at age 74.
John D. Rockefeller Jr. sells Rockefeller Center to his sons.
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1951
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John D. Rockefeller Jr. marries Martha Baird Allen, the widow of an old friend and college classmate.
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1952
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Winthrop moves to Arkansas, one of the poorest states in the country.
John D. Rockefeller Jr. sells the Pocantico family estate to his sons and begins the final disposition of his fortune, giving $73 million to charity and $57 million to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Eisenhower is elected. A few months later, Nelson joins his administration.
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1955
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Nelson plays a pivotal role in the Eisenhower-Khrushchev summit in Geneva. Along with Henry Kissinger, he orchestrates the proposal for mutual aerial inspection of Soviet and U.S military establishments, dubbed "open skies."
Nelson resigns from the Eisenhower administration and returns to assume chairmanship of Rockefeller Center.
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1958
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Nelson enters New York's gubernatorial campaign as a Republican. He runs a dynamic campaign and beats the Democratic opponent by more than 500,000 votes.
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1960
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Lincoln Center groundbreaking. John D. Rockefeller III is the leading fundraiser for the construction of New York's ambitious new complex of facilities for the performing arts.
John D. Rockefeller Jr. dies at age 86.
Nelson embarks on a brief run for the Republican Party nomination for president, but loses to Richard M. Nixon.
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1961
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Nelson announces that he is divorcing his wife of thirty years. Two days later, he receives news that his son Michael has disappeared in New Guinea while conducting anthropological research. Michael's body will never be found.
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1962
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Nelson is easily re-elected to a second term as governor of New York.
After his defeat in the California gubernatorial campaign, Nixon announces that he is withdrawing from politics.
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1963
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May: Nelson marries Margaretta "Happy" Murphy, the former wife of a family friend. The wedding jeopardizes his presidential aspirations.
November: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated.
November: Nelson decides to run for president.
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1964
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Construction begins on the South Mall in Albany, New York, a billion-dollar government complex for the State Capitol.
The spring Republican Party primaries pit Barry Goldwater against Nelson, resulting in a combative campaign.
June: Happy gives birth to the couple's first son on the eve of the decisive California primary. Goldwater defeats Nelson by a slim margin.
November: Lyndon Baines Johnson is elected president, defeating Goldwater with 61% of the popular vote.
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1966
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Nelson is re-elected to a third term as governor of New York.
Winthrop is elected governor of Arkansas. He will serve two terms.
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1968
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April: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated.
April 30: After President Johnson's withdrawal from the race, Nelson decides to enter the Republican primaries. He will lose the nomination to Nixon.
June: Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated.
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1970
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Nelson is re-elected to a fourth term as governor of New York.
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1971
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September: Nelson refuses to negotiate with the inmates during a prisoners' revolt at the maximum-security Attica State Penitentiary in upstate New York. The incident culminates in a major assault by the state police, resulting in the death of 10 hostages and 29 inmates.
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1973
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Nelson proposes harsh drug laws to the New York State legislature that call for lengthy prison sentences for petty crimes.
Winthrop dies of cancer at age 60.
Nelson announces his resignation from the governorship.
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1974
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In the wake of Watergate, President Nixon is forced to resign. President Gerald Ford nominates Nelson to be vice president. After grueling confirmation hearings that focus on the Rockefellers' wealth, Vice President Rockefeller is sworn in.
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1975
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President Ford chooses Bob Dole over Nelson as running mate.
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1976
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David Horowitz and Peter Collier publish "The Rockefellers: An American Dynasty." The book airs the fourth generation's grievances, causing a split in the family.
"Babs" dies of cancer at age 72.
Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate, is designated a National Historic Landmark. It will open to the public in 1994.
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1978
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John D. III dies in a car accident at age 72.
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1979
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January: Nelson dies of a massive heart attack at age 70 under scandalous circumstances, while in the company of a young female assistant.
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1985
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Rockefeller Center is designated a National Historic Landmark.
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