Michael Rockefeller was a descendant of the renowned Rockefeller family; One of the richest and most influential families the world has ever seen. The young man mysteriously disappeared in 1961 at the age of 23 on an expedition to New Guinea, administered by the Netherlands. His disappearance remains one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries of the 20th century. Then what happened to Michael Rockefeller? Is he alive or dead? If he’s dead, how did he die?
Who Was Michael Rockefeller – Nelson Rockefeller’s Son?
Michael Rockefeller was a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family, one of the wealthiest families America has ever produced. The Rockefeller dynasty was preceded by Michael’s paternal great-grandfather, John Davison Rockefeller Snr. Rockefeller Snr initially made his fortune from oil refining. At one point his company, Standard Oil, was refining 90% of America’s crude oil. The family was also interested in banking, finance, real estate and politics.
Michael Rockefeller was born on May 18, 1938. His father was Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, former Governor of New York State and former Vice President of the United States of America. His mother was Mary Todhunter Rockefeller. He had three other siblings and a twin sister named Mary. Michael attended several prestigious educational institutions, including Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and Harvard University, where he studied history and economics. When Michael disappeared in 1961, his father was the governor of New York State. The father ran for President in 1960 before serving as Vice President of the United States between 1974 and 1977.
The journey of no return
In childhood, Michael Rockefeller fell in love with art thanks to his parents, who were both art lovers. According to his twin sister Mary, he loved watching his father arrange his art collection. In February 1957, Michael’s father opened the Museum of Primitive Art. The museum carried art and artifacts from various prehistoric societies; These included a wooden mask from Nigeria, a hand-carved paddle from Easter Island, and Mayan stone figures from Mexico. The museum was Nelson’s pride and joy. Michael, who was still debating his career path at the time, decided to make his father proud by going on expeditions and sourcing these artworks directly. It was a win-win since he was an art lover himself.
To gain the necessary experience, he enrolled as an audio engineer on a Harvard expedition to New Guinea. While there, he took some time to study the Asmat tribe, known for their wood carving skills. At the end of the Harvard expedition, he decided to return to the Asmat tribe to collect artifacts that could be displayed in the museum. He was accompanied on the journey by a Dutch anthropologist, Rene Wassing.
Buoyed by the success, Michael Rockefeller returned to the nearest town of Agat so that he and his companion could gather supplies and return for more items from the Asmat tribes. After replenishment, they set out again on November 17, 1961, along with two young local guides.
As they were crossing the Besj, there was a violent storm that caused their wooden boat to capsize. The two guides, who were experienced swimmers, decided to return to Agat and get help. Michael and Rene Wassing stayed on the boat for the next 24 hours without help coming. The next day was the 19th of November, Michael decided to swim ashore (which was about 12 miles away) and get help as their boat kept drifting back into the open sea. His companion told him not to go, but he felt he could make it.
Michael stripped down to his briefs and attached two gallons to himself as a lifeguard of sorts, and then made his way to shore. That was the last thing anyone saw of Michael Rockefeller. In the afternoon of the same day, the Dutch colonial government’s rescue helicopters spotted Wassing and rescued him the next morning.
The colonial government and the Rockefellers spared no effort in finding Michael, whose father was the then governor of New York. Numerous ships, helicopters and planes were used in the search, but all to no avail. Rockefeller’s money, power and influence proved useless.
The story caught the attention of the world media. Michael’s remains were never seen and after a while search efforts were called off. It was concluded that he had drowned. Michael Rockefeller was pronounced dead in 1964. His official cause of death is drowning.
What happened to Michael Rockefeller?
This has long been the subject of speculation. It has been the subject of many television shows, novels and books. In 2015, Netflix aired a documentary titled The Search for Michael Rockefeller . Some are of the opinion that he also died from exhaustion or cold, while some believe that he was eaten by sharks. Another group believes that he was captured by the natives and lived among them. Some others say he was a victim of cannibalism and headhunting.
In 2014, veteran author Carl Hoffman published a tipped book , Savage Harvest: A Story of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Quest for Primitive Art , detailing his exploration of the disappearance. During the research, Hoffman consulted with Catholic priests who were serving as missionaries in the area at the time. He also traveled to New Guinea where he met with members of the Asmat tribe; and passed through cables and telegrams exchanged between officials of the Dutch colonial government.
The conclusion was that Michael Rockefeller was killed by members of the Asmat tribe (specifically of the village of Otsjanep) as revenge for five of their men who had previously been killed by Dutch colonial authorities in 1958. He was immediately surrounded by about 50 men. They first speared his lungs before killing him with a blow to the head. Then they beheaded him and roasted his body, which they ate. Some parts of his body, such as B. his skull, were preserved. An investigation conducted by a Dutch official in 1962 also found that Michael made it to shore but was killed.
heritage
To this day, Michael’s family does not accept Carl Hoffman’s version of events; They maintain the view that he drowned. They cannot be blamed as the details of his death as portrayed by Hoffman were gruesome. The artifacts collected by Michael Rockefeller are housed in a wing of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art named after him. The pictures he took were also exhibited at the Peabody Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology.