WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Born in 1874, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller was a socialite and philanthropist.
Rockefeller launched into her charitable acts when the U.S. entered World War I, financing the work of the American Red Cross. She then became a chair of the YWCA. She later founded the Museum of Modern Art.
In the mid-1920s Rockefeller and her husband funded the massive restoration of Williamsburg — which led to Colonial Williamsburg — one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.
