Michael Rockefeller was an American researcher in the field of ethnography and anthropology. In addition, he was directly related to the Rockefeller family, his father was a famous politician and banker.
The fate of the ethnographer is shrouded in mystery, since he disappeared in 1961 during an expedition to New Guinea. The most popular version in the press is that it was eaten by the cannibals of one of the tribes. This statement is based on the fact that the researcher was sent to a tribe of Aborigines, which was distinguished by its bloodthirstiness. Who this man was and what he did in Oceania can be found in the article.
Rockefellers
Michael was a representative of the richest family of America at that time. The Rockefeller family symbolizes wealth. Its representatives are an icon of economic and political culture.
Members of this family are among the largest law firms, military structures, the media, lobbying organizations. They became a legendary dynasty thanks to the work of John Rockefeller Jr., who lived in the nineteenth century and was engaged in the oil industry and financial affairs. No less famous representative of this family was Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, which should also be talked about a little. It was he who sponsored his son and looked for him after his disappearance.
Famous politician
Michael Rockefeller was the son of an influential person in America. Nelson Aldrich was not just a banker, he was engaged in political activities and quite well succeeded in this. In the years 1974-1977 he was vice president of the United States.
He began with work in the banks of New York, London and Paris. His name is associated with the creation of the famous Rockefeller Center in New York, the construction and decoration of which he directed.
The banker has been engaged in politics since the forties of the last century. He was a member of the Republican Party. Under the reign of Dwight Eisenhower, he was Deputy Minister, and later - Special Assistant to the Head of State for Foreign Policy.
In 1959-1973, Nelson was the governor of New York. All this time he tried to run for president, but to no avail. All four attempts did not find sufficient support among representatives of his party.
The politician died on 01/26/1979 from a heart attack that arose during sexual intercourse with his mistress. At the time of his death, he was seventy years old.
Nelson Aldrich was married twice and had seven children:
- Rodman;
- Ann;
- Stephen;
- Mary;
- Michael;
- Nelson;
- Mark.
It is noteworthy that Mary and Michael were twins. Further, all the details will concern only the life of Michael.
Biography
Michael Rockefeller was born on 05/18/1938. His father, as we have already said, is banker Nelson Aldrich, and his grandfather is the first dollar billionaire John. All of them bore the name Rockefeller.
From childhood, the boy was interested in antiquity. These hobbies were fully supported by the father. From a young age, he spent time at the Institute of Anthropology, which existed through contributions from his family. Having decided to become a scientist, Michael entered Harvard University, where he graduated in 1960.
After that, the young man served for several months in the army. He strove to become a member of a scientific expedition to Oceania to collect his own collection of objects that would tell about the life of Aboriginal people. The father supported his son in this and financed the expedition.
Michael Rockefeller, whose biography is considered in the article, was able to hit the road in the fall of 1961.
Expedition to Oceania
Having agreed with the Dutch ethnographer, whose name was Rene Wassing, Michael Rockefeller left for Oceania. At the place of arrival, they hired two residents as guides. Their names were Leo and Simon.
Together, they moved from village to village, exchanging Aboriginal objects of art, including applied art. In exchange, they offered metal products, among which axes and hooks were very popular.
Researchers were not enough seen and received. They were attracted by the idea of ​​meeting a tribe of cannibals, which was distinguished by its bloodthirstiness.
Skull Buyers
Some Papuans offered kushi to white scientists. So they called dried and decorated human skulls. They managed to assemble an impressive collection, which they donated to the New York Museum.
If the researchers stopped at this, perhaps their fate would be different. Missing scientists decided to take a chance and go to Asmat.
Trip to Asmat
The expedition to the bloodthirsty tribes began on 11/18/1961. Missing researchers decided to get to the desired village along the river. To do this, they traded a home-made boat for the Papuans, suspended the engine from it and set off. The boat was overloaded, but the young people did not pay attention to it.
They needed to swim three kilometers, and they hoped that there would be no problems. Michael decided to send the conductors to the shore to help. Leo and Simon got to the ground, but were lost in the jungle. Rescuers found them in a couple of days.
Scientists were left to wait for help, but a large wave swept the boat and turned it over. Rene decided to stay afloat with the help of a fragment of a swimming means, and his friend swam to the shore and disappeared there.
A few hours later, Rene was discovered using a Dutch Navy seaplane, and the Tasman schooner took him aboard. Rene was in a state of fainting and was able to talk about what happened when he came to himself.
Huge forces were cast in search of a wealthy heir. During them, they combed the forest, the bottom of the river, questioned the natives. No traces were found. A father who flew in from New York spent a huge amount on continuing his search, but they were unsuccessful. The mystery is that even the body of the scientist was not found, so the inconsolable Nelson Rockefeller had no choice but to return home with nothing.
The tragedy in the family did not affect the career of a politician who, returning home, took the post of vice president of the United States. In memory of his son, he built a wing to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It bears the name of the missing scientist. It exhibits expositions of primitive art.
Eat version
Where did Michael Rockefeller go? The cause of the death of the ethnographer will probably remain one of the mysteries of the last century. Many media are fueling the version of the fact that Michael was eaten by bloodthirsty aborigines. It is assumed that he managed to swim to the shore and get to the Asmatians.
From the words of one of the missionaries, it became known that representatives of this tribe carried the clothes of the missing American. They even showed human bones supposedly belonging to Rockefeller. But it was not possible to find out all the details, since the Christian Jan Smith died.
There was another witness, also a missionary, who said that he had heard from the natives about the murdered young man. It is noteworthy that the skull that was kept by the shaman of this tribe had “iron eyes”. Most likely, these were the researcher’s glasses, which he never took off. But nobody managed to find this skull.
Why could asmatians eat a researcher? The first reason could be the belief that the cannibals ate their enemies in order to master their strength and skill. The second reason could be that the natives believed in a sea monster that comes out of the water in human form with fair skin. And when the son of a billionaire left the river, they got scared and killed him.
Other versions of extinction
The American ethnographer could not have died at the hands and teeth of Aboriginal people. They put forward the version that he drowned in the river, was eaten by crocodiles. However, the river was combed through quite carefully and nothing was found to confirm this. And the version with crocodiles seems unlikely, because the guides and Rene were also in the water for a long time, but not a single crocodile touched them.
There is no final answer to the question of the disappearance of the young man to this day.
Documentary film
How can we learn more about the tragic expedition in which Michael Rockefeller disappeared? “Secrets of the Century” created and released a documentary called “The Missing Rockefeller Expedition”.
The film was released in 2003, its duration is thirty-nine minutes. The director of the picture was Oleg Ryaskov. He was the executive producer of this and other documentaries from the cycle. Under his leadership, 30 films of this series were released.
"Secrets of the Century" is devoted to riddles and facts that have not received an unambiguous interpretation among the historical community. By the end of each issue, the viewer can independently choose for himself one of the proposed points of view.