Former West Virginia governor and longtime US senator Jay Rockefeller, the last member of the prominent Rockefeller political dynasty and the only Democrat in his family, has died at the age of 89.
According to Associated Press, cited by Report, Rockefeller died at his home in Washington on Thursday evening.
His death was announced by Mary Stewart, vice president of external relations at public broadcaster WETA. The politician's wife, Sharon Rockefeller, serves as the organisation's president and CEO.
The politician's full name was John Davison Rockefeller IV. He was born in New York. His great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company, died a month before his birth. His father, John D. Rockefeller III, was a prominent philanthropist.
Jay Rockefeller's uncles, Winthrop and Nelson Rockefeller, were Republicans who served as governors of Arkansas and New York, respectively. Another uncle, David Rockefeller, headed Chase Manhattan Bank.
Jay Rockefeller broke with his family"s Republican tradition and was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates as a Democrat in 1966.