• An American teacher, author and journalist - Ida Tarbell was one of the leading "muckrakers" during this time period.
• She was also a pioneer of investigative journalism.

• She is most well-known for her reports on John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company.

• In 1904 she published a piece of work called, The History of the Standard Oil Company, which sought to expose the unfair business practices within the company.
• In 1999, this piece was ranked by New York University as number 5 out of 100 works of 20th century American Journalism.

• For more see, Ida Tarbell: The Woman Who Took on Standard Oil from ConnecticutHistory.org

Ida M. Tarbell, 86, Dies in Bridgeport, The New York Times (January 17, 1944)

Multimedia Resources

Click here for a video highlighting the life of Ida Tarbell.

Primary Sources

Click here to read a copy of The History of the Standard Oil Company

Excerpts from The History of Standard Oil Company

A Journalistic Masterpiece, from The Rockefellers, PBS American Experience

Standard oil octopus political cartoon, 1904

Lesson Plans

Click here for a lesson plan that focuses on Ida Tarbell and Rockefeller.

Tarbell vs. Rockefeller

Links for Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Monopoly from the Constitutional Rights Foundation

May 15, 1911, Supreme Court Orders Standard Oil to be Broken Up


Standard Oil Company of New Jersey v. United States (1911)

The Dragon Slain: The Breakup of the Standard Oil Trust, e-Education Institute, Pennsylvania State University