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* ROCKEFELLER. 206 ROCKFORD COLLEGE. County, N. Y. W'lien twi'lve years old he was taken by his parents to (.'levelanil, Ohio, where he was educated in the public scliools, and at six- teen became a clerk in a commission house. In 1858 he embarked in the commission business himself with a partner named Clark. Both mem- bers of the firm were resourceful and clever at driving bargains, and their success was immedi- ate. In 18U2 they became associated with Sam- uel Andrews, an expert oil refiner, and, under the firm name of Andrews, Clark & Company, engaged extensively in the oil business. William Rockefeller, a brother, was admitted to partner- ship, and a new company, William Rockefeller & Co,, was formed, which, in 1805, built, at Cleveland, a large refinery, known as the Stand- ard Oil Refinery, The next extension was the formation of an eastern branch at New York, with Henry JI, Flagler as an additional partner. In 1870 the several firms were combined under the name of the Standard Oil Corapanv, with a capital of $1,000,000, Of the combination John D. Rockefeller was the president and controlling spirit. From this time on all his energies were bent toward obtaining control of the oil business of the entire country. To accomplish this it was necessary to obtain control not only of the out- put of the oil fields, but of the means of trans- portation, and Rockefeller devised a .systematic scheme of making arrangements with the rail- roads whereby the Standard Oil Company, by a system of rebates, should be given preferential shi]iping rates, that would, in time, render com- petition next to impossible. With this end in view a cooperative concern known as the South Improvement Company was organized, but so great was the opposition that it was soon dis- solved, and less open methods to the same end were adopted. Gradually the Standard Oil Com- pany absorbed or drove out of business most of its principal rivals, and its influence or alliance with the railroads became closer. In 1882 John D. Rockefeller organized the Standard Oil Trust, but after a ten years' existence it was dissolved. Since then the various companies have been oper- ated separately, but all are under the manage- ment of Rockefeller, whose control of the oil business is as complete as though he had but one company to look after. In the intervals of a busy career Rockefeller found time to devote to religious, benevolent, and educational institu- tions, particularly those connected with the Bap- tist Church. In 1892 he founded and endowed the University of Chicago, the full title of which is "The University of Chicago, founded by John D. Rockefeller." To this institution in 1903 he had given in all more than .?,500,000. He also gave largely to other institutions. His gifts for education, which aggregate a greater sum than has ever before been contributed by a single per- son to such purposes, have been mostly condi- tional upon the raising of a similar amount by the institution benefited. ROCKET, See Artillert; Ptbotechny; Sig- N.LING AKD TeLEGR.^PHING, MILITARY; SIGNALS, Marine. ROCKET. Sec Dame's Violet. ROCKFISH. The name of a variety of fishes ■which haunt rocky places. In the Eastern States the term is applied to (1) the striped bass {Reccus Uneatun), (2) the rock bass (q.v,), (3) the yellow-finned grouper {Myctioperca vene- nusa) of Florida and southward, which is about three feet long and clear olive green, with light green and orange-brown markings, and (4) to a familiar killifish (Fuiidiihis majalis). On the Pacific Coast 'rockfish' is a general name for a large group of marine shore-fishes of the family Scorpienidae, of which about thirty genera and 250 species are laiown. Many bring forth their young alive, the fry at birth being about a quarter of an inch in length. The typical rockfishes of California are those of the genus Sebastodes, of which 50 species are recog- nized by Jordan and Evermann, ho mono- graphed the group with much detail in their Fishes of Xorth and Middle America (Washing- ton, 1898). On the average the}- are about 15 inches long and weigh 2 or 3 pounds, ilost of them are of brilliant hues, with striking mark- ings. Nearly all of these fish are fair eating and furnish the principal part of the marine market su])ply of California, Consult : Goode, Fishery Iiiditstries, sec, i, (Washington, 1884) ; Eigen- mann and Beeson, "Revision, . . of the Sub- family Sebastinae," in Proceedings of the Na- tional Museum, vol, xvii. (Washington, 1894) ; Jordan and Evermann, American Game and Food Fishes (Xew York, 1902), Compare Rosefish; Gkovper, ROCK'FORD, A city and the county-seat of Winnebago County, 111., 87 miles west by north of Chicago, on Rock River, here spanned by sev- eral bridges, and on the Chicago and North- western, the Illinois Central, the Chicago, Bur- lington and Quincy, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul railroads (Map: Illinois, CI). It is divided by the Rock River and covers a total area of about eight square miles. In the eastern .section are the handsome building and grounds of Rockford College for Women. A pub- lic library with more than 35,000 volumes oc- cupies a fine structure, the gift of Andrew Carnegie. Memorial Hall and the City and Saint Antliony's hospitals are among other prom- inent features of the city. The Piansom Medical and Surgical Sanitarium is two miles distant to the north, and the Broughton Sanitarium is at the city limits on the south. Good water-power and excellent transportation facilities have con- tributed largely to Rockford's industrial and commercial importance. In the census year of 1900 there was invested in the various industries capital amounting to $27,971,013, The total production was valued at $48,871,596, Furniture, hosiery and knit goods, foundry and machine- shop products, agricultural implements, clothing, and harness constitute the leading manufactures. The government is vested in a mayor, chosen biennially, and a unicameral council. The city spends annually for maintenance and operation about $378,000, the principal items being: Schools, $105,000: streets, $58,000; water-works, $53,000; fire department, $36,000; nuuiicipal lighting, $22,000; interest on debt, $20,000: po- lice department. $20,000. Rockford was settled in 1834, laid out in 1836. and chartered as a city in 1852. It was enlarged by the annexation of suburbs in 1890. Population, in 1890. 23,584; in 1900, 31,051. ROCKFORD COLLEGE, An undenomina- tional institution for the higher education of women at Rockford, 111., founded in 1849. It had in 1902 property valued at $173,000. with grounds and buildings worth $135,000. an endow-