On April 24, 1913 the New York State Legislature passes an Act to incorporate the Rockefeller Foundation. The statement of purpose reads: “To promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world.” The New York Governor William Sulzer approves the charter on May 14, 1913, with John D. Rockefeller Jr. as president, with also on the board Frankin Gates (JD senior’s advisor) and Dr Simon Flexner (brother of Abraham Flexner). Beginning May 29, 1913 J.D. Rockefeller Sr. and his wife Mrs Laura S. Rockefeller “gifted” funds totalling just over $100 million. [1, 2, 3]
On June 27, 1913 the Rockefeller Foundation created the special committee called the International Health Commission for the “promotion of public sanitation and the spread of the knowledge of scientific medicine, with the world as its field.” On the back of the 1909 Rockefeller Sanitary Commission for the eradication of Hookworm disease, they determined through “diligent and extensive inquiry” that the disease encircled the earth and as such an “opportunity” presented where their chosen members could help! On the committee stood JD Rockefeller Sn & Jr. S. Flexner, F. Gates et al. Mr. Wickliffe Rose was appointed the first Director-General.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is said to be modelled on the “International Health Division of the Rockefeller Foundation”, which sent doctors abroad to study and treat human subjects. [4]
November 5, 1914 the foundation Trustees established the China Medical Board of the Rockefeller Foundation, as it presented “a most favorable time for the advancement of education in that country”, as they could benefit from “modern medicine, including public and personal hygiene, as well as the treatment of disease.” Traditional Chinese medical philosophy didn’t fit the Rockefeller agenda. They funded the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing which opened 1919. [5, 6]