John D. Rockefeller Sr.

Birth Name:
John Davison Rockefeller
Birth Date:
July 8, 1839
Birth Place:
Richford, New York
Death Date:
May 23, 1937
Place of Death:
The Casements, Ormond Beach, Florida
Age:
97
Cause of Death:
Arteriosclerosis
Cemetery Name:
Lakeview Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Business and Finance
There’s rich, there’s wealthy, and then there’s John D. Rockefeller. Considered by many to be the most financially-prosperous individual in modern history with an estimated $900,000,000 bank balance (unadjusted for inflation) in the early 1910s, Rockefeller made his massive fortune by dominating the oil industry. While Rockefeller was prone to controversy—he was accused of being a monopoly in the fuel business—he was also a generous philanthropist, donating over a half-billion dollars in his lifetime (and that's also unadjusted for inflation).

Fun Fact:

Due to be drafted to serve the Union in the Civil War in 1863, the 23-year-old Rockefeller did what many men of means had done: He paid for someone to serve in his place. This practice was allowed by the U.S. government, which granted draftees the ability to offer up a substitute. No record exists of who the man who took Rockefeller’s spot was. His brother, Frank, chose to serve at age 16, telling a recruiting sergeant he was 18. Despite being wounded in battle, he survived.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Lakeview Cemetery

12316 Euclid Avenue

Cleveland, Ohio, 44160

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Section 10

Grave Location Description

In the section behind the James A. Garfield Memorial. Just look above the tree line for the tallest monument in the cemetery.

Grave Location GPS

41.51132251, -81.59148066

Visiting The Grave:

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FAQ's

John D. Rockefeller Sr. was born on July 8, 1839.

John D. Rockefeller Sr. was born in Richford, New York.

John D. Rockefeller Sr. died on May 23, 1937.

John D. Rockefeller Sr. died in The Casements, Ormond Beach, Florida.

John D. Rockefeller Sr. was 97.

The cause of death was Arteriosclerosis.

John D. Rockefeller Sr.'s grave is in Lakeview Cemetery

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Gilbert F. Heublein

popular name: Gilbert F. Heublein

date_of_death: March 21, 1937

age: 87

cause_of_death: Arteriosclerosis

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: German-born Gilbert F. Heublein was a prominent hotelier, restaurateur, food and liquor distributor in Hartford, Connecticut. While most people remember Gilbert for securing the license and distribution rights of A-1 Steak Sauce to the United States, his real claim to fame should be his discovery and marketing of pre-made cocktails. As the legend goes, Gilbert and his brother Louis had prepared a quantity of premixed cocktails for a large annual picnic. It rained and the event was canceled. A few days later a employee of the Heubleins was told to dispose of the unused beverages. Deciding to taste them first, he found that the drinks had suffered no deterioration and announced the discovery to his bosses. The Heubleins took note and began selling the premixed libations in their saloon and restaurant. The cocktails proved very popular with customers and increasingly became the focus of the family’s attention. With Gilbert now running the business, the new firm concentrated on the premixed cocktails such as Martinis and Manhattans, advertising them widely as Club Cocktails. Upon the enactment of Prohibition in 1920, Heublein's "secondary sideline" of A.1. Sauce served as a fortunate savior, when the production, transportation and sale of all other Heublein products became illegal in the US for the next thirteen years. Upon Gilbert’s death, the company was taken over by John G. Martin, the son of Alice Heublein and Percy Martin, Gilbert Heublein’s grandson. Through Martin’s business savvy, G.F. Heublein & Bro. acquired the rights to sell Smirnoff vodka, Don Q rum, and Jose Cuervo tequila. In 1969, Heublein, Inc. began to package pre-mixed cocktails in 8-ounce cans, such as the ‘Brass Monkey’. The company also made acquisitions outside the liquor industry with the purchase of Grey Poupon mustard in 1936 and Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1971. In 1982, Heublein, Inc was sold to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for 1.4 billion dollars.

Franklin Clarence Mars

popular name: Franklin Clarence Mars

date_of_death: April 8, 1934

age: 50

cause_of_death: Heart and Kidney issues

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Franklin Clarence Mars was an American entrepreneur and the visionary founder of Mars, Inc., multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products. As a child recovering from polio, he learned to hand-dip chocolate with his mother—a skill that ignited his lifelong passion for candy-making. At 19, he began selling molasses chips, which set him on a path to confectionery innovation. In 1911, alongside his second wife Ethel Veronica Healy, Mars established the Mars Candy Factory in Tacoma, Washington, though early competition forced its relocation. By 1920, the company moved to Minneapolis under the name Mar‑O‑Bar Co., later incorporating as Mars, Inc.. Mars’s breakthrough came in 1923 with the Milky Way bar—conceived from a suggestion by his son Forrest—a chocolate, caramel, and nougat confection that propelled his company to national success. He followed this triumph with the introduction of the Snickers bar in 1930, named after the family’s favorite horse. Mars later settled in Chicago (River Forest, Illinois), where he became an honorary captain of the Oak Park police. Beyond candy, he invested in his passion for horse breeding and ranching, establishing the sprawling Milky Way Farm in Tennessee—complete with barns, clubhouse, and racetrack. He remained actively involved in both his business and agricultural pursuits until his death at age 50 from heart and kidney issues at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Arthur Letts

popular name: Arthur Letts

date_of_death: May 18, 1923

age: 60

cause_of_death: Suddenly of unknown causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Arthur Letts Sr. was an immigrant from England who made his fortune in Los Angeles, California, in the early year 1900s when he built a department store and real estate empire by transforming a small, bankrupt dry goods store in downtown Los Angeles into the prominent The Broadway department store, later adding the Bullock's store. His son, Arthur Jr., continued with his legacy with great success.

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