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{{Short description|American oil company (1870–1911)}}
{{About|the oil company that was dissolved in 1911|successor companies with similar names|Standard Oil (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Standard Oil Company
| logo = Standard_Oil_Logo.svg
| type = {{plainlist|
* [[Trust (19th century)|Business trust]] (1882–1892)
* [[New Jersey]] [[Holding company|Holding Company]] (1899–1911)<ref name="mrQkV" /> }}
| slogan = 
| founded = {{Start date|1882|1|2}}
| defunct = {{start date and age|1911}}
| fate = Split into [[Successors of Standard Oil|39 different companies]]; [[Standard Oil of New Jersey]] (then the controlling entity) later became [[ExxonMobil]]
| location = {{plainlist|
* Cleveland, Ohio (1870–1885)
* [[New York City]], New York (1885–1911)<ref name="jB0XB" />}}
| founders = {{indented plainlist|
* [[John D. Rockefeller]]
* [[Stephen V. Harkness]]
* [[Henry M. Flagler]]
* [[William Rockefeller Jr.|William A. Rockefeller]]
* [[Samuel Andrews (chemist)|Samuel Andrews]]
}}
| key_people = {{plainlist|
* [[John D. Archbold]], Vice President
* [[Charles Pratt]], Senior Executive
* [[Henry H. Rogers]], Senior Executive
* [[Oliver H. Payne]], Senior Executive
* [[Daniel O'Day]], Senior Executive
* [[Jabez A. Bostwick]], Senior Executive & First Treasurer
* [[William G. Warden]],<ref name="bsqBC" /> Senior Executive
* [[Jacob Vandergrift]],<ref name="gsgoW" /> Senior Executive}}
| num_employees = 60,000 (1909)<ref name="hUKrr" />
| industry = [[Oil and gas industry|Oil and gas]]
| products = {{hlist|[[Fuel]]|[[lubricant]]|[[petrochemicals]]}}
| revenue = 
| net_income = 
| successor = [[Successors of Standard Oil|39 successor entities]]
| assets = 
| equity = 
| website =
}}
'''Standard Oil Company''' was a [[Trust (business)|corporate trust]] in the [[petroleum industry]] that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the [[Standard Oil Company (Ohio)]], which had been founded in 1870 by [[John D. Rockefeller]]. The trust was born on January 2, 1882, when a group of 41 investors signed the Standard Oil Trust Agreement which pooled their securities of 40 companies into a single holding agency managed by nine [[Trustee|trustees]].<ref>Hidy, Ralph W., and Muriel E. Hidy, ''History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) Volume 1: Pioneering in Big Business, 1892–1911'', (Harper and Brothers, 1955): 46.</ref> The original trust was valued at $70 million. On March 21, 1892, the Standard Oil Trust was dissolved by order of the [[Supreme Court of Ohio]], and its holdings were reorganized into 20 independent companies that formed an unofficial union referred to as "Standard Oil Interests."<ref>Hidy, 219.</ref> In 1899, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (Jersey Standard) acquired the shares of the other 19 companies and became the [[holding company]] for the trust.<ref>Hidy, 305.</ref>

Jersey Standard operated a near [[monopoly]] in the [[Petroleum in the United States|American oil industry]] from 1899 until 1911 and was the largest corporation in the United States. In 1911, the landmark Supreme Court case ''[[Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States]]'' found Jersey Standard guilty of anticompetitive practices and ordered it to break up its holdings. The charge came about in part as a consequence of the reporting of [[Ida Tarbell]], who wrote ''[[The History of the Standard Oil Company]]''.<ref>Daniel Yergin, ''The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power'', (Simon and Schuster, 1991), 101–102.</ref> The net value of companies severed from Jersey Standard in 1911 was $375 million, which constituted 57% of Jersey Standard's value. After dissolution, Jersey Standard became the United States' second largest corporation after [[U.S. Steel|United States Steel]].<ref>Gibb, George S. and Evelyn H. Knowlton, ''History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) Volume 2: The Resurgent Years, 1911–1927'', (Harper and Brothers, 1956): 6–7.</ref>

Jersey Standard, which was renamed Exxon in 1973 and [[ExxonMobil]] in 1999, remains one of the largest public oil companies in the world. [[Successors of Standard Oil|Many of the companies that disassociated from Jersey Standard in 1911]] remained powerful businesses through the 20th century and have since merged into other oil and gas companies; two of the largest include [[Chevron Corporation]], the continuation of the Standard Oil Company of California, and [[BP]], which while founded separately from Standard's lineage later acquired Standard Oil of Ohio and Standard Oil of Indiana (later was known as [[Amoco]]).

==Founding and early years==
[[File:John D Rockefeller 1872.png|thumb|left|150px|[[John D. Rockefeller]] {{circa|1872}}, shortly after founding Standard Oil]]
Standard Oil's prehistory began in 1863, as an [[Ohio]] partnership formed by industrialist [[John D. Rockefeller]], his brother [[William Rockefeller]], [[Henry Flagler]], chemist [[Samuel Andrews (chemist)|Samuel Andrews]], silent partner [[Stephen V. Harkness]], and [[Oliver Burr Jennings]], who had married the sister of William Rockefeller's wife.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Snodgrass |first=Mary Ellen |title=The Civil War Era and Reconstruction: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural and Economic History (Volumes 1–2) |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-317-45791-6 |location=Oxon |pages=573 |language=en}}</ref> In 1870, Rockefeller abolished the partnership and incorporated Standard Oil in Ohio. The company was established with $1 million in [[Capital (economics)|capital]].<ref name=":0" /> Of the initial 10,000 [[Share (finance)|shares]], John D. Rockefeller received 2,667, Harkness received 1,334, William Rockefeller, Flagler, and Andrews received 1,333 each, Jennings received 1,000, and the firm of [[Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler]] received 1,000.<ref name="njurJ" /> Rockefeller chose the "Standard Oil" name as a symbol of the reliable "standards" of quality and service that he envisioned for the [[Petroleum in the United States|nascent oil industry]].<ref name="05Rgi" />

[[File:Standard Oil Articles of Incorporation - 1870.png|thumb|Standard Oil Articles of Incorporation signed by John D. Rockefeller, Henry M. Flagler, Samuel Andrews, Stephen V. Harkness, and William Rockefeller, 1870]]
[[File:Standard Oil Company 1878.JPG|thumb|Share of the Standard Oil, issued May 1, 1878<ref name="Udo Hielscher p. 68 - 74" />]]
[[File:Standard Oil Trust 1883.JPG|thumb|Share of the Standard Oil Trust, issued January 18, 1883<ref name="Udo Hielscher p. 68 - 74" />]]
In the early years, John D. Rockefeller dominated the combine; he was the single most important figure in shaping the oil industry.<ref name="Yergin_The_Prize_1991" /> He quickly distributed power and the tasks of policy formation to a system of committees but always remained the largest [[shareholder]]. Authority was centralized in the company's main office in [[Cleveland]], but decisions in the office were made cooperatively.<ref name="sG0Ho" />

[[Image:Standard Oil Company 1889 CP04381 - DPLA - 032e381bb16b1a45abecfd1a6a86ae3a (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Standard Oil Refinery No. 1 in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], 1897]]

The company grew by increasing sales and through [[Mergers and acquisitions|acquisitions]]. After purchasing competing firms, Rockefeller shut down those he believed to be inefficient and kept the others. In a seminal deal in 1868, the Lake Shore Railroad, a part of the [[New York Central Railroad]], gave Rockefeller's firm a going rate of one cent per gallon or 42 cents per barrel—an effective 71% discount from its listed rates—in return for a promise to ship at least 60 carloads of oil daily and to handle loading and unloading on its own.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morse |first=Eric Robert |title=Juggernaut: Why the System Cushes the Only People Who Can Save It |publisher=New Classic Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60020-049-6 |pages=260 |language=en}}</ref> Smaller companies decried such deals as unfair because they were not producing enough oil to qualify for discounts.

Standard's actions and secret transport deals helped its [[kerosene]] price to drop from 58 to 26 cents from 1865 to 1870.<ref name="Nhew6" /> Rockefeller used the [[Erie Canal]] as a cheap alternative form of transportation—in the summer months when it was not frozen—to ship his refined oil from Cleveland to the industrialized Northeast. In the winter months, his options were the three trunk lines—the [[Erie Railroad]] and the New York Central Railroad to New York City, and the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.<ref name="HNaUa" />

Competitors disliked the company's business practices, but consumers liked the lower prices. Standard Oil, being formed well before the discovery of the [[Spindletop]] oil field (in Texas, far from Standard Oil's base in the Midwest) and a demand for oil other than for heat and light, was well placed to control the growth of the oil business. The company was perceived to own and control all aspects of the trade.

===South Improvement Company===
In 1872, Rockefeller joined the [[South Improvement Company]] which would have allowed him to receive rebates for shipping and drawbacks on oil his competitors shipped. He successfully convinced [[Oil refinery|refineries]] in Cleveland to sell their businesses to Standard Oil in exchange for cash or stock.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tarbell |first=Ida M. |title=The History of the Standard Oil Company ( 2 Volumes in 1) |publisher=Cosimo, Inc. |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-61640-399-7 |location=New York, NY |pages=63 |language=en}}</ref> But when this deal became known, competitors convinced the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly|Pennsylvania Legislature]] to revoke South Improvement's [[charter]]. No oil was shipped under this arrangement.<ref name="A3mht" /> Using highly effective tactics, later widely criticized, it absorbed or destroyed most of its competition in Cleveland in less than two months{{how|date=September 2017}} and later throughout the northeastern United States.

===Hepburn Committee===
[[A. Barton Hepburn]] was directed by the [[New York State Legislature]] in 1879 to [[The Hepburn Committee|investigate the railroads' practice of giving rebates to their largest clients within the state]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://archive.org/details/cu31924022800019/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |title = Proceedings of the Special Committee on Railroads, Appointed under a resolution of the Assembly to investigate alleged abuses in the Management of Railroads chartered by the State of New York (Vol. I, 1879) |author = <!--Not stated--> |date = 1879 |via = Internet Archive |publisher = New York State Legislature |access-date = February 11, 2022 |quote = Resolved, That a special Committee of five [afterwards increased to nine] persons be appointed, with power to send for persons and papers, and to employ a stenographer, whose duty it shall be to investigate the abuses alleged to exist in the management of the railroads chartered by this State, and to inquire into and report concerning their powers, contracts and obligations; said Committee to take testimony in the city of New York, and such other places as they may deem necessary, and to report to the Legislature, either at the present or the next session, by bill or otherwise, what, if any, legislation is necessary to protect and extend the commercial and industrial interests of the State. Composed of Messrs. HEPBURN, HUSTED, DUGUID, LOW, GRADY, NOYES, WADSWORTH, TERRY and BAKER, met at the Capitol in the City of Albany on Wednesday March 26th, 1879, at 3 o'clock P. M., and was called to order by the Chairman. }}</ref> Merchants without ties to the oil industry had pressed for the hearings. Prior to the committee's investigation, few knew of the size of Standard Oil's control and influence on seemingly unaffiliated oil refineries and pipelines—Hawke (1980) cites that only a dozen or so within Standard Oil knew the extent of company operations.<ref name="ul6uO" />

The committee counsel, [[Simon Sterne]], questioned representatives from the Erie Railroad and the New York Central Railroad and discovered that at least half of their long-haul traffic granted rebates and much of this traffic came from Standard Oil. Even independent companies not allied with Standard Oil confirmed receiving these rebates such as Simon Bernheimner, who was once a partner of the Olefin Oil Company.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Olien |first1=Roger M. |title=Oil and Ideology: The Cultural Creation of the American Petroleum Industry |last2=Hinton |first2=Diana Davids |last3=Olien |first3=Diana Davids |date=2000 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=0-8078-2523-9 |location=Chapel Hill, NC |pages=62 |language=en}}</ref> The committee then shifted its focus to Standard Oil's operations. Acme Oil Company president [[John Dustin Archbold]] denied that Acme was associated with Standard Oil; he then admitted to being a director of Standard Oil.<ref name="ul6uO" />

The committee's final report scolded the railroads for their rebate policies and cited Standard Oil as an example. This scolding was largely moot to Standard Oil's interests since long-distance [[Pipeline|oil pipelines]] had become their preferred method of transportation.<ref name="ul6uO" />

===Standard Oil Trust===
In response to state laws that had the result of limiting the scale of companies, Rockefeller and his associates developed innovative ways of organizing to effectively manage their fast-growing enterprise. On January 2, 1882,<ref name="Exep5" /> they combined their disparate companies, spread across dozens of states, under a single group of [[Trustee|trustees]]. By a secret agreement, the existing 37 stockholders conveyed their shares "in [[Trust (law)|trust]]" to nine trustees:<ref name="N6uX2" /> John and William Rockefeller, [[Oliver Hazard Payne|Oliver H. Payne]], [[Charles Pratt]], [[Henry Flagler]], [[John Dustin Archbold|John D. Archbold]], William G. Warden, [[Jabez A. Bostwick|Jabez Bostwick]], and [[Benjamin Brewster (financier)|Benjamin Brewster]].<ref name="qeb6w" />

"Whereas some state legislatures imposed special taxes on out-of-state corporations doing business in their states, other legislatures forbade corporations in their state from holding the stock of companies based elsewhere. (Legislators established such restrictions in the hope that they would force successful companies to incorporate—and thus pay taxes—in their state.)"<ref>{{cite book |last = Armentano |first = Dominick |title = Antitrust and Monopoly: Anatomy of a Policy Failure |location = Oakland, CA |publisher = The Independent Institute |date = 1999 |pages = 64–65 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1 = Daniels |first1 = Eric |title = Antitrust with a Vengeance: The Obama Administration's Anti-Business Cudgel |magazine = The Objective Standard |volume = 14 |issue = 4 |pages = 84–85 |publisher = Glen Allen Press |date = Winter 2009 |url = https://theobjectivestandard.com/2009/11/obama-antitrust/#_edn2 }}</ref> Standard Oil's organizational concept proved so successful that other giant enterprises adopted this "trust" form.

By 1882, Rockefeller's top aide was Archbold, whom he left in control after disengaging from business to concentrate on philanthropy after 1896. Other notable principals of the company include Flagler (developer of the [[Florida East Coast Railway]] and resort cities) and [[Henry Huttleston Rogers|Henry H. Rogers]], who built the [[Virginian Railway]].

In 1885, Standard Oil of Ohio moved its headquarters from Cleveland to its permanent headquarters at [[26 Broadway]] in [[New York City]]. Concurrently, the trustees of Standard Oil Company of Ohio chartered the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey to take advantage of New Jersey's more lenient corporate stock ownership laws.

===Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890===
In 1890, [[Congress of the United States|Congress]] overwhelmingly passed the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]] (Senate 51–1; House 242–0), a source of American anti-[[monopoly]] laws. The law forbade every contract, scheme, deal, or conspiracy to restrain trade, though the phrase "restraint of trade" remained subjective. The Standard Oil group quickly attracted attention from [[antitrust]] authorities leading to a lawsuit filed by [[Ohio Attorney General]] [[David K. Watson]].

===Earnings and dividends===
From 1882 to 1906, Standard paid out $548,436,000 ({{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=548436000|start_year=1906|r=-5|fmt=eq}}) in [[dividend]]s at a 65.4% [[payout ratio]]. The total net earnings from 1882 to 1906 amounted to $838,783,800 ({{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=838783800|start_year=1906|r=-5|fmt=eq}}), exceeding the dividends by $290,347,800, which was used for plant expansions.

==1895–1913==
[[File:Standard oil.gif|thumb|Financials<ref name="Hyr3z" />]]

In 1896, John Rockefeller retired from the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, the holding company of the group, but remained president and a major shareholder. Vice-president Archbold took a large part in the running of the firm. In 1904 Standard Oil controlled 91% of oil refinement and 85% of final sales in the United States.<ref name="l8Fpb" /> State and federal laws sought to counter this development with antitrust laws. In 1911, the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Justice Department]] sued the group under the federal antitrust law and ordered its breakup into 39 companies.

Standard Oil's market position was initially established through an emphasis on efficiency and responsibility. While most companies dumped [[gasoline]] in rivers (this was before the automobile was popular), Standard used it to fuel its machines. While other companies' refineries piled mountains of heavy waste, Rockefeller found ways to sell it. For example, Standard bought the company that invented and produced [[Vaseline]], the [[Chesebrough Manufacturing Company|Chesebrough Manufacturing Co.]], which was a Standard company from 1908 to 1911.

One of the original "[[Muckraker]]s," [[Ida M. Tarbell]], was an American author and journalist whose father was an oil producer whose business had failed because of Rockefeller's business dealings. After extensive interviews with Rogers—a sympathetic senior executive of Standard Oil—Tarbell's investigations of Standard Oil fueled growing public attacks on Standard Oil and monopolies in general. Her work was published in 19 parts in ''[[McClure's]]'' magazine from November 1902 to October 1904, then in 1904 as the book ''[[The History of the Standard Oil Company|The History of the Standard Oil Co]]''.

The Standard Oil Trust was controlled by a small group of families. Rockefeller stated in 1910: "I think it is true that the Pratt family, the Payne–[[Whitney family]] (which were one, as all the stock came from Colonel Payne), the Harkness-Flagler family (which came into the company together) and the [[Rockefeller family]] controlled a majority of the stock during all the history of the company up to the present time."<ref name="IF6vl" /> These families reinvested most of the dividends in other industries, especially railroads. They also invested heavily in the gas and the electric lighting business (including the giant [[Consolidated Edison|Consolidated Gas Co. of New York City]]). They made large purchases of stock in [[U.S. Steel]], [[Amalgamated Copper]], and even [[Corn Products Refining Company|Corn Products Refining Co.]]<ref name="FcwqW" />

===China===
Standard Oil's production increased so rapidly it soon exceeded U.S. demand, and the company began viewing export markets. In the 1890s, Standard Oil began marketing kerosene to China's large population of close to 400&nbsp;million as lamp fuel.<ref name="r3ibf" /> For its Chinese trademark and brand, Standard Oil adopted the name ''Mei Foo'' ({{zh|<!--hant-->美孚}}) as a transliteration.<ref name="B5WZt" /><ref name="uJG4Q" /> Mei Foo became the name of the tin lamp that Standard Oil produced and gave away or sold cheaply to Chinese farmers, encouraging them to switch from vegetable oil to kerosene. The response was positive, sales boomed, and China became Standard Oil's largest market in Asia. 

The North China Department of Socony (Standard Oil Company of New York) operated a subsidiary called Socony River and Coastal Fleet, North Coast Division, which became the North China Division of Stanvac ([[Standard Vacuum Oil Company]]) after that company was formed in 1933.<ref name="ukMJV" /> To distribute its products, Standard Oil constructed storage tanks, canneries (bulk oil from large ocean tankers was re-packaged into {{convert|5|usgal|adj=on}} tins), warehouses, and offices in key Chinese cities. For inland distribution the company had motor tank trucks and railway tank cars, and for river navigation it had a fleet of low-draft steamers and other vessels.<ref name="GU2OV" /> 

Stanvac's North China Division, based in Shanghai, owned hundreds of vessels, including motor barges, steamers, launches, tugboats, and tankers.<ref name="svxm4" /> Prior to World War II, Stanvac was the largest single U.S. investment in [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="bJUhL" /> Up to 13 tankers operated on the [[Yangtze River]], the largest of which were ''Mei Ping'' ({{GRT|1,118|disp=long}}), ''Mei Hsia'' ({{GRT|1,048|link=off}}), and ''Mei An'' ({{GRT|934|link=off}}).<ref name="qhz95" /> All three were destroyed in the 1937 [[USS Panay incident|USS ''Panay'' incident]].<ref name="DqcVc" /> ''Mei An'' was launched in 1901 and was the first vessel in the fleet. Other vessels included ''Mei Chuen'', ''Mei Foo'', ''Mei Hung'', ''Mei Kiang'', ''Mei Lu'', ''Mei Tan'', ''Mei Su'', ''Mei Hsia'', ''Mei Ying'', and ''Mei Yun''. ''Mei Hsia'', a tanker, was specially designed for river duty. It was built by New Engineering and Shipbuilding Works of Shanghai, who also built the 500-ton launch ''Mei Foo'' in 1912.<ref name="61Eab" /><ref name="uYZ8R" />

''Mei Hsia'' ("Beautiful Gorges") was launched in 1926 and carried 350 tons of bulk oil in three holds, plus a forward cargo hold, and space between decks for carrying general cargo or packed oil. She had a length of {{convert|206|ft}}, a beam of {{convert|32|ft}}, a depth of {{convert|10|ft|6|in|1}}, and had a bulletproof wheelhouse. ''Mei Ping'' ("Beautiful Tranquility"), launched in 1927, was designed off-shore, but assembled and finished in Shanghai. Its oil-fuel burners came from the U.S. and water-tube boilers came from England.<ref name="61Eab" /><ref name="uYZ8R" />

===Middle East===
Standard Oil and Socony-Vacuum Oil Company became partners in providing markets for the oil reserves in the Middle East. In 1906, Socony (later [[Mobil Oil Corporation|Mobil]]) opened its first fuel terminals in [[Alexandria]]. It explored in Palestine before World War I broke out but ran into conflict with the local authorities.<ref name="pjbbD" />

===Monopoly charges and antitrust legislation===
{{See also|Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States}}
By 1890, Standard Oil controlled 88% of the refined oil flowed in the United States. Ohio successfully sued Standard, compelling the dissolution of the trust in 1892. In response, Standard simply separated Standard Oil of Ohio and kept control of it. Eventually, the state of New Jersey changed its incorporation laws to allow a company to hold shares in other companies in any state.<ref name="auto">{{harvp|Yergin|1991|pp=96–98}}.</ref> As a result, the Standard Oil Trust, based at 26 Broadway in New York, was legally reborn as a [[holding company]] in 1899: the ''Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey'' (SOCNJ). This company held stock in 41 others, which controlled other companies, which in turn controlled yet other companies. According to [[Daniel Yergin]] in his [[Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction|Pulitzer Prize-winning]] ''[[The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power]]'' (1990), this conglomerate was seen by the public as all-pervasive, controlled by a select group of directors, and completely unaccountable.<ref name="auto" />

[[File:PuckCartoon-TeddyRoosevelt-05-23-1906.jpg|thumb|170px|U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] depicted as the infant [[Hercules]] grappling with Standard Oil in a 1906 ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' magazine cartoon by [[Frank A. Nankivell]]]]
In 1904, Standard controlled 91% of production and 85% of final sales. Most of its output was kerosene, of which 55% was exported around the world. After 1900, it did not try to force competitors out of business by selling at a loss.<ref name="YjrPF" /> The federal Commissioner of Corporations studied Standard's operations from the period of 1904 to 1906<ref name="CNNcF" /> and concluded that "beyond question ... the dominant position of the Standard Oil Co. in the refining industry was due to unfair practices—to abuse of the control of pipe-lines, to railroad discriminations, and to unfair methods of competition in the sale of the refined petroleum products".<ref name="KaxEH" />

Because of competition from other firms, their market share gradually eroded to 70% by 1906 which was the year when the antitrust case was filed against Standard. Standard's market share was 64% by 1911 when Standard was ordered broken up.<ref name="zEhM2" /> At least 147 refining companies were competing with Standard including [[Gulf Oil|Gulf]], [[Texaco]], and [[Shell plc|Shell]].<ref name="bXoDi" /> 

[[File:Landis Rockefeller 1.png|thumb|170px|John D. Rockefeller sitting in the witness stand and testifying before Judge [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]], July 6, 1907]]
In 1909, the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Justice Department]] sued Standard under federal antitrust law, the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, for sustaining a monopoly and restraining interstate commerce by:

<blockquote>Rebates, preferences, and other discriminatory practices in favor of the combination by railroad companies; restraint and monopolization by control of pipe lines, and unfair practices against competing pipe lines; contracts with competitors in restraint of trade; unfair methods of competition, such as local price cutting at the points where necessary to suppress competition; [and] espionage of the business of competitors, the operation of bogus independent companies, and payment of rebates on oil, with the like intent.<ref name="MUnNu" /></blockquote>

The lawsuit argued that Standard's monopolistic practices had taken place over the preceding four years:

<blockquote>The general result of the investigation has been to disclose the existence of numerous and flagrant discriminations by the railroads on behalf of the Standard Oil Co. and its affiliated corporations. With comparatively few exceptions, mainly of other large concerns in California, the Standard has been the sole beneficiary of such discriminations. In almost every section of the country that company has been found to enjoy some unfair advantages over its competitors, and some of these discriminations affect enormous areas.<ref name="rC00n" /></blockquote>

Prosecutors identified four illegal patterns: (1) secret and semi-secret railroad rates; (2) discriminations in the open arrangement of rates; (3) discriminations in classification and rules of shipment; (4) discriminations in the treatment of private tank cars. The government alleged:

<blockquote>Almost everywhere the rates from the shipping points used exclusively, or almost exclusively, by the Standard are relatively lower than the rates from the shipping points of its competitors. Rates have been made low to let the Standard into markets, or they have been made high to keep its competitors out of markets. Trifling differences in distances are made an excuse for large differences in rates favorable to the Standard Oil Co., while large differences in distances are ignored where they are against the Standard. Sometimes connecting roads [[Pro rata|prorate]] on oil—that is, make through rates which are lower than the combination of local rates; sometimes they refuse to prorate; but in either case the result of their policy is to favor the Standard Oil Co. Different methods are used in different places and under different conditions, but the net result is that from Maine to California the general arrangement of open rates on petroleum oil is such as to give the Standard an unreasonable advantage over its competitors.<ref name="lVwTF" /></blockquote>

The government said that Standard raised prices to its monopolistic customers but lowered them to hurt competitors, often disguising its illegal actions by using bogus, supposedly independent companies it controlled.

<blockquote>The evidence is, in fact, absolutely conclusive that the Standard Oil Co. charges altogether excessive prices where it meets no competition, and particularly where there is little likelihood of competitors entering the field, and that, on the other hand, where competition is active, it frequently cuts prices to a point which leaves even the Standard little or no profit, and which more often leaves no profit to the competitor, whose costs are ordinarily somewhat higher.<ref name="oDQ16" /></blockquote>

On May 15, 1911, the [[US Supreme Court]] upheld the lower court judgment and declared the Standard Oil group to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act, Section II. It ordered Standard to break up into 39 independent companies with different boards of directors,<ref name="Briscoe" /><ref name="ReiQO" /> the biggest two of the companies being Standard Oil of New Jersey (which became [[Exxon]]) and Standard Oil of New York (which became Mobil).<ref name="yA9lf" />

Standard president John D. Rockefeller had long since retired from any management role. But as he owned a quarter of the shares of the resultant companies, and those share values mostly doubled, he emerged from the dissolution as the richest man in the world.<ref name="6rWCc" /> The dissolution had actually propelled Rockefeller's personal wealth.<ref name="DmItM" />

==Breakup==
{{main|Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States|Successors of Standard Oil}}
[[File:Standard Oil chart 2022.svg|thumb|289x289px|Abbreviated chart of some of [[Successors of Standard Oil|Standard Oil's successors]]]]

Over the next few decades, Standard Oil of New Jersey and Standard Oil of New York grew significantly. Jersey Standard, led by [[Walter C. Teagle]], became the largest oil producer in the world. It acquired a 50 percent share in [[Humble Oil|Humble Oil & Refining Co.]], a [[Texas]] oil producer. Socony purchased a 45 percent interest in [[Magnolia Petroleum Co.]], a major refiner, marketer, and pipeline transporter. In 1931, Socony merged with [[Vacuum Oil Company|Vacuum Oil Co.]], an industry pioneer dating back to 1866, and a growing Standard Oil spin-off in its own right.<ref name="Briscoe" />

In the [[Asia-Pacific]] region, Jersey Standard had oil production and refineries in the [[Dutch East Indies]] but no marketing network. Socony-Vacuum had Asian marketing outlets supplied remotely from California. In 1933, Jersey Standard and Socony-Vacuum merged their interests in the region into a 50–50 joint venture. Standard-Vacuum Oil Co., or "Stanvac", operated in 50 countries, from [[East Africa]] to [[New Zealand]], before it was dissolved in 1962.

Rockefeller's original company, Standard Oil Company of Ohio (Sohio), effectively ceased to exist when it was purchased by [[BP]] in 1987.<ref name="19P93" /> BP continued to sell gasoline under the Sohio brand until 1991.<ref name="19P93" /> Other Standard oil entities include "Standard Oil of Indiana" which became [[Amoco]] after other mergers and a name change in the 1980s, and "Standard Oil of California" which became [[Chevron Corporation]].

==Legacy and criticism of breakup==
{{multiple image
|align = 
|total_width = 300
|image1 = Original Standard Oil of Indiana "torch & oval" logo used 1947–1961.jpg
|caption1 = This logo used by [[Amoco]] (originally ''Standard Oil of Indiana'', today a subsidiary of [[BP]]) is often affiliated with Standard Oil
|image2 = Standardoil calif logo 1931.png
|caption2 = In the western United States, Standard Oil's successors used a chevron logo, paving the way for Standard Oil of California to rename itself to [[Chevron Corporation]]
}}
Some have speculated that if not for that court ruling, Standard Oil could have possibly been worth more than $1&nbsp;trillion by the 2000s.<ref name="Bo1kK" /> Whether the breakup of Standard Oil was beneficial is a matter of some controversy.<ref name="EUUty" /> Some economists believe that Standard Oil was not a monopoly and argue that the intense [[free market]] competition resulted in cheaper oil prices and more diverse petroleum products. The Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits the restraint of trade. Defenders{{who|date=May 2025}} of Standard Oil insist that the company did not restrain trade; they were simply superior competitors. The federal courts ruled otherwise.

Critics claimed that success in meeting consumer needs was driving other companies who were not as successful out of the market.<ref name="Xdkvh" /> An example of this thinking was given in 1890, when Representative [[William E. Mason (American politician)|William Mason]], arguing in favor of the Sherman Antitrust Act, said: "trusts have made products cheaper, have reduced prices; but if the [[price of oil]], for instance, were reduced to one cent a barrel, it would not right the wrong done to people of this country by the ''trusts'' which have destroyed legitimate competition and driven honest men from legitimate business enterprise".<ref name="Xdkvh" />

Some economic historians have observed that Standard Oil was in the process of losing its monopoly at the time of its breakup in 1911. Although Standard had 90 percent of American refining capacity in 1880, by 1911 that had shrunk to between 60 and 65 percent because of the expansion in capacity by competitors.<ref>{{harvp|Yergin|1991|p=79}}.</ref> Numerous regional competitors (such as [[Pure Oil]] in the East, Texaco and [[Gulf Oil]] in the Gulf Coast, [[Cities Service Company|Cities Service]] and [[Sun Oil|Sun]] in the Midcontinent, [[Union Oil|Union]] in California, and Shell overseas) had organized themselves into competitive vertically integrated oil companies, the industry structure pioneered years earlier by Standard itself.<ref name="hm18m" />

In addition, demand for petroleum products was increasing more rapidly than the ability of Standard to expand. The result was that although in 1911 Standard still controlled most production in the older regions of the Appalachian Basin (78 percent share, down from 92 percent in 1880), Lima-Indiana (90 percent, down from 95 percent in 1906), and the [[Illinois Basin]] (83 percent, down from 100 percent in 1906), its share was much lower in the rapidly expanding new regions that would dominate U.S. oil production in the 20th century. In 1911, Standard controlled only 44 percent of production in the midcontinent, 29 percent in California, and 10 percent on the Gulf Coast.<ref name="hm18m" /> Some analysts argue that the breakup was beneficial to consumers in the long run, and no one has proposed that Standard Oil be reassembled in pre-1911 form.<ref name="gDfON" /> ExxonMobil, however, does represent a substantial part of the original company.

Since the breakup of Standard Oil, several companies, such as [[General Motors]] and [[Microsoft]], have come under antitrust investigation for being inherently too large for market competition; however, most of them remained together.<ref name="CNN-MSfine" /><ref name="euantitrust" /><ref name="bQZLb" /> The only company since the breakup of Standard Oil that was divided into parts like Standard Oil was [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]], which after decades as a regulated [[natural monopoly]], was forced to [[Breakup of the Bell System|divest itself]] of the [[Bell System]] in 1984.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

==Successor companies==
{{Main|Successors of Standard Oil Company}}

Standard Oil's breakup split the company into 39 separate companies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1909-09-20 |title=Final Judgment: U.S. v. Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, et al. |url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/page/file/1119131/download |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=U.S. Department of Justice}}</ref> Several of these companies were considered among the Seven Sisters who dominated the industry worldwide for much of the 20th century, and both Standard Oil's direct and indirect descendants make up [[Big Oil]].

Today, Standard Oil's influence is primarily concentrated in a few companies:

* [[ExxonMobil]], continuation of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (later Exxon) which merged with Standard Oil Company of New York (later [[Mobil]])
* [[Chevron Corporation|Chevron]], continuation of Standard Oil of California which acquired [[Kyso|Kentucky Standard]]
* [[BP]], continuation of the [[Anglo-Persian Oil Company]] which acquired [[Standard Oil of Ohio]] and [[Amoco|Standard Oil of Indiana]]
* [[Marathon Oil]] and [[Marathon Petroleum]],{{Efn|In 2011, Marathon Oil spun off its [[Downstream (petroleum industry)|downstream]] assets into Marathon Petroleum. Marathon Oil today is an exclusively [[Upstream (petroleum industry)|upstream]]-oriented company.}} continuations of The Ohio Oil Company
* [[ConocoPhillips]] and [[Phillips 66]],{{Efn|In 2012, ConocoPhillips spun off its [[Downstream (petroleum industry)|downstream]] assets into Phillips 66. ConocoPhillips today is an exclusively [[Upstream (petroleum industry)|upstream]]-oriented company.|name=}} continuations of the Continental Oil Company

Many of today's largest oil and gas companies are or have acquired a descendant of Standard Oil. Moreover, many other companies have acquired or been created from Standard Oil descendants over time, including [[Unilever]] (which acquired Standard descendant [[Vaseline]] in 1987), [[TransUnion]] (created originally as a holding company for Standard descendant [[Union Tank Car Company|Union Tank Car]]) and [[Berkshire Hathaway]] (which later acquired Union Tank Car).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Desjardins |first=Jeff |date=2017-11-24 |title=Chart: The Evolution of Standard Oil |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/chart-evolution-standard-oil/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=Visual Capitalist |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-07-16 |title=The History of TransUnion – Comin' on Like a Freight Train (part 2 of 3) |url=https://www.creditinfocenter.com/history-of-transunion/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=CreditInfoCenter.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Rights to the name==
[[File:Standardmap.png|thumb|right|300px|This map shows by state which company has the rights to the Standard Oil name. [[ExxonMobil]] has full international rights and continues to use the [[Esso]] name overseas. States that are gray have a dot representing their owners, but are not actively being used; ExxonMobil operates in all these states and have [[de facto]] claimed the trademark.]]
Of the 39 "Baby Standards", 11 were given rights to the Standard Oil name, based on the state they were in. [[Conoco]] and [[Atlantic Petroleum|Atlantic]] elected to use their respective names instead of the Standard name, and their rights would be claimed by other companies. By the 1980s, most companies were using their brand names instead of the Standard name, with Amoco being the last one to have widespread use of the "Standard" name, as it gave Midwestern owners the option of using the Amoco name or Standard.

Three supermajor companies now own the rights to the Standard name in the United States: ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP. BP acquired its rights through acquiring Standard Oil of Ohio and merging with Amoco and has a small handful of stations in the Midwestern United States using the Standard name. Likewise, BP continues to sell marine fuel under the Sohio brand at various marinas throughout Ohio. ExxonMobil keeps the [[Esso]] trademark alive at stations that sell [[diesel fuel]] by selling "Esso Diesel" displayed on the pumps.

ExxonMobil has full international rights to the Standard name, and continues to use the Esso name overseas and in Canada.  To protect its trademark, Chevron has one station in each state it owns the rights to be branded as Standard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Last Standard Oil Company Gas Station in California |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/standard-oil-gas-station |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> Some of its Standard-branded stations have a mix of some signs that say Standard and some signs that say Chevron. Over time, Chevron has changed which station in a given state is the Standard station. As of 2024 Chevron got a new federal trademark registered for the Standard name for its new electric charging fuel stations. In 2016, ExxonMobil successfully asked a U.S. federal court to lift the 1930s trademark injunction that banned it from using the Esso brand in some states. Neither BP nor Chevron objected to the decision. ExxonMobil asked for it to be lifted primarily so it could have universal marketing material for its stations globally and, likewise, the Esso name returned to some minor station signage at both Exxon and Mobil stations.<ref name="CSP">{{cite web |url = http://www.cspdailynews.com/industry-news-analysis/corporate-news/articles/return-esso-gasoline |title = The Return of Esso Gasoline? |date = February 16, 2016 |work = Law360 |access-date = September 18, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.law360.com/articles/740293/after-78-years-exxon-asks-court-to-use-esso-name-again |title = After 78 Years, Exxon Asks Court To Use 'Esso' Name Again |date = December 21, 2015 |work = Law360 |access-date = September 18, 2016 }}</ref>

As of 2021, six states that have the Standard Oil name rights are not being actively used by the companies that own them. Chevron withdrew from [[Kentucky]] (home of the [[Kyso|Standard Oil of Kentucky]], which Chevron acquired in 1961) in 2010, while BP gradually withdrew from five [[Great Plains]] and [[Rocky Mountain]] states ([[Colorado]], [[Montana]], [[North Dakota]], [[Oklahoma]], and [[Wyoming]]) since the initial conversion of Amoco sites to BP. As ExxonMobil has stations in all of these states, with the aforementioned minor signage ExxonMobil has de facto claimed the Standard trademark in these states, though they are still held by their respective rights holders.

<gallery>
File:Standardgasstation.jpg|One of 15 Chevron stations branded as "Standard" to protect Chevron's trademark; this one is in [[Paradise, Nevada]]
File:Esso Diesel.jpg|A combination gasoline/diesel pump at an Exxon in [[Zelienople, Pennsylvania]] selling Exxon gasoline and "Esso Diesel"
Image:bpstandarddurand.jpg|BP station with "torch and oval" Standard sign in [[Durand, Michigan]]
Image:Sohio anderson ferry marina.jpg|BP continues to sell marine fuel under the Sohio brand at various marinas on Ohio waterways and in Ohio state parks in order to protect its rights in the Sohio and Standard Oil names 
File:EssoOhio.jpg|Station signage at an Exxon station in [[Columbus, Ohio]] featuring the Esso logo, while BP owns the rights to the Standard Oil name in Ohio
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[History of ExxonMobil]]
* [[Standard Oil Gasoline Station (disambiguation)]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Udo Hielscher p. 68 - 74">{{cite book |first = Udo |last = Hielscher |title = Historische amerikanische Aktien |year = 1987 |pages = 68–74 |publisher = Stadtsparkasse Ludwigshafen |isbn = 3921722063 }}</ref>
<ref name="Yergin_The_Prize_1991">{{cite book |title = The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power |date = 1991 |first = Daniel |last = Yergin |author-link = Daniel Yergin |location = New York |publisher = [[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn = 0-671-50248-4 |title-link = The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power |page = 35 }}</ref>
<ref name="Briscoe">{{cite web |url = http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00352/cah-00352.html |title = A Guide to the ExxonMobil Historical Collection |publisher = [[University of Texas at Austin]] |access-date = January 9, 2014 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140109191218/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00352/cah-00352.html |archive-date = January 9, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="CNN-MSfine">{{cite news |url = http://www.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/03/24/microsoft.eu |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060413082435/http://www.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/03/24/microsoft.eu |archive-date = April 13, 2006 |title = Microsoft hit by record EU fine |publisher = CNN |date = March 25, 2004 |access-date = August 14, 2010 }}</ref>
<ref name="euantitrust">{{cite web |title = Commission Decision of 24.03.2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 82 of the EC Treaty (Case COMP/C-3/37.792 Microsoft) |publisher = Commission of the European Communities |url = http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62004A0201:EN:NOT |date = April 21, 2004 |access-date = August 5, 2005 |format = PDF }}</ref>
<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/22/business/at-t-move-is-a-reversal-of-course-set-in-1980-s.html |work = The New York Times |first = Andrew |last = Pollack |title = AT&T Move Is a Reversal Of Course Set in 1980's |date = September 22, 1995 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161119045505/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/22/business/at-t-move-is-a-reversal-of-course-set-in-1980-s.html |archive-date = November 19, 2016 }}</ref>
<ref name="mrQkV">{{cite web |url = http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/rockefeller/bio2.htm |title = John D. and Standard Oil |access-date = May 7, 2008 |publisher = Bowling Green State University |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080504162252/http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/rockefeller/bio2.htm |archive-date = May 4, 2008 }}</ref>
<ref name="jB0XB">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/timeline/index.html |title = Rockefellers Timeline |access-date = May 7, 2008 |publisher = PBS |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080426135147/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/timeline/index.html |archive-date = April 26, 2008 }}</ref>
<ref name="bsqBC">{{cite web |url = http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMVRR |title = Warden Winter Home |work = Florida Historical Markers |publisher = Waymarking.com |access-date = May 1, 2018 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170807235009/http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMVRR |archive-date = August 7, 2017 }}</ref>
<ref name="gsgoW">{{cite web |url = http://www.oil150.com/essays/2007/02/jacob-vandergrifttransportation-pioneer |title = Jacob Vandergrift…Transportation Pioneer - Oil150.com<!-- Bot generated title --> |website = oil150.com |access-date = May 1, 2018 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120314115703/http://www.oil150.com/essays/2007/02/jacob-vandergrifttransportation-pioneer |archive-date = March 14, 2012 }}</ref>
<ref name="hUKrr">{{cite book |url = http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17090?msg=welcome_stranger |title = Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller |access-date = May 1, 2018 |via = www.gutenberg.org |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180501014153/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17090?msg=welcome_stranger |archive-date = May 1, 2018 }}</ref>
<!--<ref name="zEqdb">{{cite web |url = http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/history/about_who_history.aspx |title = Exxon Mobil - Our history |access-date = February 3, 2009 |publisher = Exxon Mobil Corp. |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081112123409/http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/history/about_who_history.aspx |archive-date = November 12, 2008 }}</ref>-->
<ref name="njurJ">{{cite book |title = Behind the Wall Street Curtain |last = Dies |first = Edward |year = 1969 |publisher = Ayer |page = 76 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DVA2Hdri9XsC |isbn = 9780836911787 }}</ref>
<ref name="05Rgi">{{cite book |last1 = Grayson |first1 = Leslie E. |year = 1987 |title = Who and How in Planning for Large Companies: Generalizations from the Experiences of Oil Companies |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ScKwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA213 |page = 213 |publisher = Springer |access-date = June 27, 2017 |isbn = 9781349084128 }}</ref>
<ref name="sG0Ho">{{cite book |last1 = Hidy |first1 = Ralph W. |first2 = Muriel E. |last2 = Hidy |name-list-style = amp |title = History of Standard Oil Co. (New Jersey : Pioneering in Big Business 1882–1911) |publisher = Harper |year = 1956 }}</ref>
<ref name="Nhew6">{{cite book |last = Jones |first = Eliot |title = The Trust Problem in the United States |year = 1922 |url = https://archive.org/details/trustprobleminu00jonegoog |page = 76 |publisher = New York, Macmillan Co. }}.</ref>
<ref name="HNaUa">{{cite book |last = Hawke |first = David Freeman |title = John D. The Founding Father of the Rockefellers |publisher = Harper & Row |date = 1980 |isbn = 978-0060118136 |url = https://archive.org/details/johndfoundingfa00hawk }}</ref>
<ref name="A3mht">{{Cite web |url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-woman-who-took-on-the-tycoon-651396/ |title = The Woman Who Took on the Tycoon |last = King |first = Gilbert |website = Smithsonian |language = en |access-date = February 6, 2019 }}</ref>
<ref name="ul6uO">{{cite book |last = Hawke |first = David Freeman |title = John D. The Founding Father of the Rockefellers |publisher = Harper & Row |date = 1980 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/johndfoundingfa00hawk/page/145 145–150] |isbn = 978-0060118136 |url = https://archive.org/details/johndfoundingfa00hawk/page/145 }}</ref>
<ref name="Exep5">{{cite book |first1 = David O. |last1 = Whitten |first2 = Bessie Emrick |last2 = Whitten |name-list-style = amp |title = Handbook of American Business History: Manufacturing |publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group |year = 1990 |page = 182 }}</ref>
<ref name="N6uX2">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Standard-Oil-Company-and-Trust|title=Standard Oil Company and Trust {{!}} American corporation|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=August 25, 2017|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825032203/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Standard-Oil-Company-and-Trust|archive-date=August 25, 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="qeb6w">{{cite book |title = The Robber Barons |last = Josephson |first = Matthew |year = 1962 |publisher = Harcourt Trade |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZqtTdEcT0iAC |isbn = 0156767902 }}</ref>
<ref name="Hyr3z">{{harvp|Jones|1922|p= 88}}.</ref>
<ref name="l8Fpb">{{cite web |first = Jeff |last = Desjardins |title = Chart: The Evolution of Standard Oil |date = November 24, 2017 |url = http://www.visualcapitalist.com/chart-evolution-standard-oil/ }}</ref>
<ref name="IF6vl">Standard Oil controlled by a small group of families—see {{cite book |last = Chernow |first = Ron |title = Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. |location = London |publisher = Warner Books |year = 1998 |page = 291 }}</ref>
<ref name="FcwqW">{{harvp|Jones|1922|pp= 89–90}}.</ref>

<ref name="r3ibf">{{Cite book |last = Crow |first = Carl |title = Foreign Devils in the Flowery Kingdom |year = 2007 |edition = 2nd |location = Hong Kong |publisher = Earnshaw Books |isbn = 978-988-99633-3-0 }} pp. 41–42</ref>
<ref name="B5WZt">{{cite book |last = Cochran |first = S. |title = Encountering Chinese Networks: Western, Japanese, and Chinese Corporations in China, 1880–1937 |publisher = University of California Press |year = 2000 |page = 38 }}</ref>
<ref name="uJG4Q">{{cite book |last = Anderson |first = Irvine H. Jr. |title = The Standard-Vacuum Oil Co. and United States East Asian Policy, 1933–1941 |publisher = Princeton University Press |year = 1975 |page = 16 }}</ref>
<ref name="bJUhL">{{harvp|Anderson|1975|p= 203}}.</ref>
<ref name="ukMJV">''The Mei Foo Shield, A monthly publication of the North China Department of Standard Oil Co. of New York for its Far Eastern Staff''.</ref>
<ref name="GU2OV">{{harvp|Cochran|2000|p=31}}.</ref>
<ref name="svxm4">{{harvp|Cochran|2000|p=32}}.</ref>
<ref name="qhz95">{{harvp|Anderson|1975||p= 106}}.</ref>
<ref name="DqcVc">{{cite book |last = Mender |first = Peter |title = Thirty Years a Mariner in the Far East 1907–1937, The Memoirs of Peter Mender, a Standard Oil Ship Captain on China's Yangtze River |publisher = Booklocker |location = Bangor, ME |year = 2010 }}</ref>
<ref name="61Eab">''The Mei Foo Shield'', May 1926, November 1927</ref>
<ref name="uYZ8R">''Mobil Mariner'', May 1958</ref>
<ref name="pjbbD">{{cite book |first = John A. |last = DeNovo |title = American Interests and Policies in the Middle East: 1900–1939 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=X21GnILv-KcC&pg=PA169 |year = 1963 |publisher = University of Minnesota Press |pages = 169–175 |isbn = 9781452909363 }}</ref>
<ref name="YjrPF">{{harvp|Jones|1922|pp= 58–59, 64}}.</ref>
<ref name="CNNcF">{{harvp|Jones|1922|p= 58}}.</ref>
<ref name="KaxEH">{{harvp|Jones|1922|pp= 65–66}}.</ref>
<ref name="zEhM2">{{cite book |editor-last = Rosenbaum |editor-first = David Ira |title = Market Dominance: How Firms Gain, Hold, or Lose It and the Impact on Economic Performance |publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group |year = 1998 |page = 33 }}</ref>
<ref name="bXoDi">{{cite book |last = Armentano |first = Dominick |title = Antitrust: The Case for Repeal. |publisher = Ludwig von Mises Institute |year = 1999 |page = 57 }}</ref>
<ref name="MUnNu">{{cite book |last = Manns |first = Leslie D. |chapter = Dominance in the Oil Industry: Standard Oil from 1865 to 1911 |editor-first = David I. |editor-last = Rosenbaum |title = Market Dominance: How Firms Gain, Hold, or Lose it and the Impact on Economic Performance |page = 11 |publisher = Praeger |year = 1998 }}</ref>
<ref name="rC00n">{{harvp|Jones|1922|p= 73}}.</ref>
<ref name="lVwTF">{{harvp|Jones|1922|pp= 75–76}}.</ref>
<ref name="oDQ16">{{harvp|Jones|1922|p= 80}}.</ref>
<ref name="yA9lf">See generally ''Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States'', 221 U.S. 1 (1911).</ref>
<ref name="6rWCc">Rockefeller the richest man after the dissolution of 1911—see {{harvp|Yergin|1991|p=113}}.</ref>
<ref name="DmItM">{{Cite news |url = https://www.economist.com/business/1999/12/23/standard-ogre |title = Standard ogre |newspaper = The Economist |date = December 23, 1999 |language = en |access-date = March 24, 2018 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170930020617/http://www.economist.com/node/347251 |archive-date = September 30, 2017 }}</ref>
<ref name="ReiQO">{{cite web |url = http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit7_8.pdf |title = The Sherman Antitrust Act and Standard Oil |publisher = [[University of Houston]] |date = January 9, 2014 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140109182217/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit7_8.pdf |archive-date = January 9, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="19P93">{{Cite web |url = http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Standard_Oil_Company |title = Standard Oil Company|website=Ohio History Central|language = en |access-date = August 25, 2017 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170825145830/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Standard_Oil_Company |archive-date = August 25, 2017 }}</ref>
<ref name="Bo1kK">{{cite web |url = http://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-income/2007/12/03/the-investing-secrets-of-the-richest-man-the-world.aspx |title = The Investing Secrets of the Richest Man the World Has Ever Known |first = Jim Fink |last = CFA |website = fool.com |date = December 3, 2007 |access-date = May 1, 2018 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171201131323/https://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-income/2007/12/03/the-investing-secrets-of-the-richest-man-the-world.aspx |archive-date = December 1, 2017 }}</ref>
<ref name="EUUty">{{cite web |first = Jude |last = Wanniski |date = June 12, 1998 |url = http://www.polyconomics.com/searchbase/06-12-98.html |title = Antitrust, by Alan Greenspan |work = Polyconomics |access-date = December 17, 2005 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051217172640/http://www.polyconomics.com/searchbase/06-12-98.html |archive-date = December 17, 2005 }}</ref>
<ref name="Xdkvh">Congressional Record, 51st Congress, 1st session, House, June 20, 1890, p. 4100.</ref>
<ref name="hm18m">{{cite book |first = Harold F. |last = Williamson |display-authors = etal |year = 1963 |title = The American Petroleum Industry, 1899–1959 |location = Evanston, Illinois |publisher = Northwestern University Press |pages = 4–14 }}</ref>
<ref name="gDfON">{{cite book |editor-first = David I. |editor-last = Rosenbaum |title = Market Dominance: How Firms Gain, Hold, or Lose it and the Impact on Economic Performance |location = New York |publisher = Praeger |year = 1998 |pages = 31–33 }}</ref>
<ref name="bQZLb">{{cite news |first1 = Harry |last1 = First |first2 = Peter |last2 = Carstensen |name-list-style = amp |date = June 19, 2009 |url = http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090619_215800.htm |title = Too Big and Failing: The Missed Chance to Break Up GM |department = Viewpoint |work = Bloomberg Businessweek |access-date = November 22, 2013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140914061131/http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090619_215800.htm |archive-date = September 14, 2014 }}</ref>
}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last = Bringhurst |first = Bruce |title = Antitrust and the Oil Monopoly: The Standard Oil Cases, 1890–1911 |location = New York |publisher = Greenwood Press |year = 1979 }}
* {{cite book |last = Giddens |first = Paul H. |title = Standard Oil Co. (Companies and men) |location = New York |publisher = Ayer Co. Publishing |year = 1976 }}
* {{cite book |last = Henderson |first = Wayne |title = Standard Oil: The First 125 Years |location = New York |publisher = Motorbooks International |year = 1996 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Knowlton |first1 = Evelyn H. |first2 = George S. |last2 = Gibb |name-list-style = amp |title = History of Standard Oil Co.: Resurgent Years 1911–1927 |location = New York |publisher = Harper & Row |year = 1956 }}
* {{cite magazine |first = Naomi R. |last = Lamoreaux |year = 2019 |url = https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.33.3.94 |title = The Problem of Bigness: From Standard Oil to Google |magazine = Journal of Economic Perspectives |volume = 33 |issue = 3 |pages = 94–117 |doi = 10.1257/jep.33.3.94 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last = Latham |editor-first = Earl |title = John D. Rockefeller: Robber Baron or Industrial Statesman? |year = 1949 }}
* {{cite book |last = Montague |first = Gilbert Holland |title = The Rise And Progress of the Standard Oil Co. |year = 1902 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zjzUAAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite magazine |last = Montague |first = Gilbert Holland |author-mask = ——— |title = The Rise and Supremacy of the Standard Oil Co. |magazine = Quarterly Journal of Economics |volume = 16 |issue = 2 |date = February 1902 |pages = 265–292 |jstor = 1882746 }}
* {{cite magazine |last = Montague |first = Gilbert Holland |author-mask = ——— |title = The Later History of the Standard Oil Co. |magazine = Quarterly Journal of Economics |volume = 17 |issue = 2 |date = February 1903 |pages = 293–325 |jstor = 1883667 }}
* {{cite book |author-link = Allan Nevins |last = Nevins |first = Allan |title = John D. Rockefeller: The Heroic Age of American Enterprise |year = 1940 |url = https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.74195 }}
* {{cite book |last = Nowell |first = Gregory P. |title = Mercantile States and the World Oil Cartel, 1900–1939 |url = https://archive.org/details/mercantilestates00nowe |url-access = registration |year = 1994 |publisher = Cornell University Press |isbn = 9780801428784 }}
* Olien, Diana Davids, and Roger M. Olien. "Why Big Bad Oil?" ''OAH Magazine of History'' 11#1 (1996), pp. 22–27. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163113 online]
* {{cite book |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040220010424/http://www.history.rochester.edu/fuels/tarbell/main.htm |archive-date = February 20, 2004 |url = http://www.history.rochester.edu/fuels/tarbell/main.htm |last = Tarbell |first = Ida M. |title = The History of the Standard Oil Co. |year = 1904 }}
* {{cite book |author-link = Harold F. Williamson |last1 = Williamson |first1 = Harold F. |first2 = Arnold R. |last2 = Daum |name-list-style = amp |title = The American Petroleum Industry: The Age of Illumination, 1859–1899 |year = 1959 |volume = 1 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Williamson |first1 = Harold F. |first2 = Arnold R. |last2 = Daum |name-list-style = amp |author-mask1 = ——— |author-mask2 = ——— |title = American Petroleum Industry: the Age of Energy 1899–1959 |volume = 2 |year = 1964 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category inline}}

{{Standard Oil}}
{{Chevron Corporation}}
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[[Category:Standard Oil| ]]
[[Category:1870 establishments in Ohio]]
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[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1911]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1870]]
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[[Category:Defunct oil companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Former monopolies]]
[[Category:History of the petroleum industry in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1911]]
[[Category:Non-renewable resource companies established in 1870]]
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