David Rockefeller
Index cards aren’t just about notes for writing indexes. On a basic level they are about organizing data—lots of data. Linnaeus used them to keep track of biological characteristics for determining categories and relationships. Ronald Regan used them to organize jokes and quips. Rockefeller used them to maintain information on 100,000 people he networked with. Filed in a custom-built Rolodex five feet high he amassed a 200,000 card collection.
He began his 50 year collection after WWII where he served as an intelligence officer. He rose through the ranks of Chase Manhattan Bank to become its CEO. Over his 101 years he traveled to 103 countries and met with 200 heads of state. He recorded meetings, parties, contact information, and personal facts of spouses. He met with presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Ford, Clinton, and Kennedy.
The 3 x 5 cards were divided into four categories:
*Contact Files—every new contact was given a card which was updated as needed
*Cross-File Cards—every new contact was also given a card to document their affliations
*Trip File Cards—organized by place they document contacts made at appointments, dinners, etc.
*Morgue File Cards—when a contact died their contact card was removed, marked through and refiled here
Originally stored in his New York City offices at Rockefeller Center, they were moved in 2015 to his estate in Pocantico Hills, NY. Currently they reside in filing cabinets at another estate, Kykuit.
For much more information on these cards visit the Online Collection and Catalog of Rockefeller Archive Center: https://dimes.rockarch.org/collections/37zUYmxTMaMMwNJJSrYaWT?category=
You may also want to visit: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5218459/David-Rockefeller-built-Rolodex-200-000-index-cards.html
12/22