James Stillman Rockefeller, the former head of the bank that became Citigroup Inc. and the oldest known U.S. Olympic medal winner, died Tuesday, his family said.
Rockefeller, who was 102, had lived in Greenwich. Born June 8, 1902, he was a grandson of William Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil with his brother, John D. Rockefeller.
He captained an eight-man crew with coxswain from the Yale University rowing team to win the gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics - beating the Canadian team by less than 16 seconds. Another member of the crew was Dr. Benjamin Spock, who became a renowned pediatrician with his best-selling book about child rearing.
U.S. Olympic Committee records show that Rockefeller was the oldest American medal winner, a spokeswoman from the committee said.
He graduated from Yale in 1924 and started at the bank, then called the National City Bank, in 1930. Rockefeller was named president in 1952. He was named chairman in 1959 and retired in 1967.
The company later changed its name to Citicorp, and became Citigroup in a 1998 merger with Travelers Group.
Rockefeller, who had served in the Airborne Command during World War II, also was a director of companies including Pan American Airways, Northern Pacific Railroad, NCR and Monsanto.
He and his wife, Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller, had four children.
In The Nature Conservancy - North Carolina Issue for Winter 2005, there is a story "Long Valley Farm" which tells of the retreat where James Stillman Rockefeller strolled and swam and spent time with family and friends. When he passed away Aug. 2004 at the age of 102, he bequeathed this historic property to the Nature Conservancy.
He was the son of William G Rockefeller and the great - nephew of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller. James S. Rockefeller was president and chairman of National City Bank in N.Y., and sat on the board of the American Museum of Natural History. An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Rockefeller was the captain of the Yale University rowing team in the early 1920's and helped the U.S. secure the gold medal in rowing at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
Provided by Mary Louise Stillman Emerson