Biography

Winthrop Rockefeller is an American politician and philanthropist, who served as the first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.

Winthrop Rockefeller was born in New York, to philanthropists John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abigail Greene "Abby" Aldrich (1874-1948). Winthrop attended Yale University (1931-34). Prior to attending Yale, he graduated from the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. In early 1941, he enlisted in the Army. As a soldier of the 77th Infantry Division, he fought in World War II, advancing from Private to Lieutenant Colonel. He earned a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters and a Purple Heart for his actions aboard the troopship USS Henrico, after a kamikaze attack during the invasion of Okinawa. His image appears in the Infantry Officer Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Rockefeller moved to central Arkansas in 1953 and established Winrock Enterprises and Winrock Farms atop Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton in Conway County. In 1955, Faubus appointed Rockefeller chairman of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission. Rockefeller initiated a number of philanthropies and projects. He financed the building of a model school at Morrilton and led efforts to establish a Fine Arts Center in the capital city of Little Rock. He financed the construction of medical clinics in some of the state's poorest counties, in addition to making annual gifts to the state's colleges and universities. These philanthropic activities continue to this day through the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.