November 19, 1961: Michael Rockefeller, a member of one of the nation's leading families in business, banking and politics, disappears in Dutch New Guinea.
Michael Rockefeller was born on May 18, 1938, the 5th and last child of Nelson Rockefeller and his 1st wife, the former Mary Todhunter. He had a twin sister, Mary. He went to the Buckley School in Manhattan, and Philips Exeter Academy of New Hampshire. He graduated from Harvard University, and served in the U.S. Army.
Following his military service, Rockefeller went on an expedition for Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to study the Dani tribe of western Dutch New Guinea. The expedition filmed Dead Birds, an ethnographic documentary film for which Rockefeller was the sound recordist.
His great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, had built America's 1st billion-dollar fortune, through oil. His grandfather, John D. Rockefeller Jr., had expanded the family fortune into banking, and had become America's leading philanthropist. His sons, including Michael's father Nelson, had further expanded the businesses and philanthropic efforts, and had begun to run for public office. So Michael's generation could afford to stick to philanthropic and other humanitarian efforts. As he put it, "It's the desire to do something adventurous, at a time when frontiers, in the real sense of the word, are disappearing."
On November 17, 1961, he and Dutch anthropologist René Wassing were overturned in their double pontoon boat. Their two local guides swam for help, but it was slow in coming. After drifting for some time, early on November 19, Rockefeller said to Wassing: "I think I can make it." According to Wassing, Rockefeller created a float for himself out of a jerry can and the boat's gas tank, took a compass and knife, and set off for the shore between 7 and 8 AM on the 19th. Wassing's last sight of him was about 30 minutes later: "I saw him in a straight line going towards shore until I just saw three dots: The two cans and his head."
Wassing was rescued the next day, but Rockefeller was never seen again, despite an intensive and lengthy search effort. According to Rockefeller's surviving twin Mary Morgan, who accompanied her father to South Papua to participate in the search for her brother, "The Dutch and Australian naval and air units had been sending out helicopters and boats to participate in the search, along with the local Dutch control officers. And many of the Asmat villagers were valiantly combing the small rivers in their canoes for some evidence of Michael."
But he was never found, either dead or alive, and was declared legally dead in 1964. Theories included drowning, murder by villagers, or him surviving and adopting a "white modern god ruling over primitive people" role, similar to that of Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness.
He never married, and left no known children. Some of the artifacts he gathered were taken to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and placed in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, named in his memory, and home to native art from the Pacific, Africa and Latin America.
In 1963, the Kingdom of the Netherlands transferred Dutch New Guinea to the Republic of Indonesia.
*
November 19, 1961 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. These games were played in the NFL:
* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 42-21 at Yankee Stadium.
* The Baltimore Colts beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 16-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.
* The Cleveland Browns beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 45-24 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams, 35-17 at the new Green Bay City Stadium, later renamed Lambeau Field.
* The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings, 37-10 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of
Bloomington, Minnesota.
* The Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys played to a tie, 28-28 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Chicago Bears, 41-31 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
There were 3 games in the AFL:
* The New York Titans, forerunners of the Jets, lost to the Houston Oilers, 49-13 at Jeppesen Stadium (later Robertson Stadium) in Houston.
* The Buffalo Bills beat the Denver Broncos, 23-10 at Bears Stadium (later Mile High Stadium) in Denver.
* And the San Diego Chargers beat the Dallas Texans, forerunners of the Kansas City Chiefs, 24-14 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego.
There were 2 games in the NBA. The Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 128-112 at the Cincinnati Gardens. And the Philadelphia Warriors beat the Chicago Packers, 122-114. Just another day at the office for Wilt Chamberlain: 51 points.
Yes, football fans: "Chicago Packers." Fans didn't like that combination of names, and the team was a lousy expansion team besides, and they didn't show up to support them. The next season, the name was changed to the Chicago Zephyrs, and fans still didn't show up. The next season, they moved, becoming the Baltimore Bullets. They are now known as the Washington Wizards.
And the NHL's entire "Original Six" was in action:
* The New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 at the old Madison Square Garden.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 6-2 at the Boston Garden.
* And the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks, played to a tie, 3-3 at the Chicago Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment