On His Own Terms

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Richard Norton Smith is an American historian and author. He is the former director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and a regular guest on C-Span and PBS NewsHour. He has written numerous critically acclaimed studies of American political figures and presidents, including the Pulitzer-shortlisted Thomas E. Dewey and His Times and Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation. Smith was a close friend of Gerald R. Ford.

In 1960, Nelson Rockefeller faced a series of personal and professional challenges, beginning with his failure to secure the Republican nomination against Richard Nixon. That same year, he endured the deaths of his press secretary, close friend Frank Jamieson, and his father, John D. Rockefeller Jr., marking a period of profound loss. Meanwhile, his two-decade-long marriage to Mary Todhunter Clark, known as Tod, was unraveling, as Nelson had fallen in love with his secretary, Margaretta "Happy" Murphy, who was also married with children. Despite warnings from figures like President John F. Kennedy about the political risks of divorce, Nelson prioritized his personal life, publicly separating from Tod. However, just days after the divorce announcement, tragedy struck when their 23-year-old son Michael disappeared in Indonesia while pursuing his passion for art. Though Nelson tirelessly searched, Michael’s body was never found. These events underscored the complexities of Nelson’s life, defined by ambition, personal struggles, and an unrelenting drive to pursue his passions.

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