John Davison Rockefeller was born in on July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York, to William Avery Rockefeller and Eliza Davison. He was the 2nd out of 6 children. His mom taught him that "willful waste makes woeful want: while his dad would cheat his boys every chance he got because he wanted to make 'em sharp. When Rockefeller was a kid he displayed an excellent mind for numbers and detailed accounting, he was also an excellent debater and loved music. When he was 16 he got his first job as a bookkeeper and ever since his first paycheck he's donated 6% of his earnings to charity. By the age of 20 it increased to 10%. In 1864 he married Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelmen, they had 4 daughters, and 1 son. Rockefeller once said, "Her judgment was always better than mine. Without her keen advice, I would be a poor man."
John D Rockefeller's brother William Rockefeller built another refinery in Cleveland and brought John into partnership in 1866. In 1867 the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler was established when Herny M. Flagler became a partner. By 1868 the company owned 2 Cleveland refineries and a marketing subsidiary in New York. The predecessors of the Standard Oil Company were Rockefeller, Andrew & Flagler. Cleveland was 1 of 5 main refining centers in the US by the end of the Civil War. Rockefeller formed Standard Oil of Ohio in June 1870, it rapidly became one of the most profitable refiner in Ohio. Grew to become one of the largest shippers of oil and kerosene in the country. Rockefeller continued his self-reinforcing cycle of buying competing refiners, improving efficiency of operations, pressing for discounts on oil shipment, undercutting his competition, making deals in secret, raising investment pools and buying out rivials. "Cleveland Conquest" and "Cleveland Massacre" in 1872 in less than 4 months, by than Standard Oil had absorbed 22 out of 26 Cleveland competitors. Rockefeller was a fierce competitor, he either bought out his competitors or ran them out of business. He saw himself as an angel of mercy, absorbing the week and making the industry stronger. Standard was refining over 90% of the oil in the U.S. by the end of the 1870's. Rockefeller's two great ambitions were to make $100,000 which he more than made and to live 100 years. He died 2 months shy of his 98 birthday, on May 23, 1937, he died of arteriosclerosis. Rockefeller referred to his son not to his millions as his greatest fortune.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller
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Good summary but be sure to include personal thoughts.