American family, including John Davison (1839-1937), an oil magnate who amassed great wealth through the Standard Oil Company and spent about half of his fortune on philanthropic works. His son, John Davison, Jr. (1874-1960), continued his father's work and had six children, including Nelson Aldrich (1908-1979), who was governor of New York (1959-1973) and vice president of the United States (1974-1977) under Gerald Ford.