Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st Vice President of the United States from December 1974 to January 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and previously as the 49th Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs (1944–1945) as well as Under Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1953–1954). He was a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family, being the grandson of billionaire John D. Rockefeller.
Politically, Rockefeller was famous for being a Republican who was often considered to be liberal, progressive, or moderate, reason for which in his time, liberals in the Republican Party were called "Rockefeller Republicans".
After unsuccessfully seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 1960, 1964, and 1968, Rockefeller was appointed vice president of the United States under President Gerald Ford, who ascended to the presidency following the August 1974 resignation of Richard Nixon. Rockefeller was the second vice president appointed to the position under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, following Ford himself. Rockefeller was not placed on the 1976 Republican ticket with Ford, in favor of having Ford run with the more conservative Bob Dole. He retired from politics after leaving office and died two years later in 1979, meaning that he would have failed to complete his second term had he been re-nominated and elected. Rockefeller is the most recent Vice President who failed to complete a full four-year term in that office.
In Media
Film- Played by Edward Herrmann in Oliver Stone's Nixon, where he meets Nixon at a dinner party and spars with him about the future of the Republican Party.
- He was parodied on Batman (1966) as "Governor Stonefellow."
- Saturday Night Live: The "Jack McManus Bar" sketch has the titular bartender (Chris Farley) cite Rockefeller among the patrons he stood up to.
