After stepping down from his position as Undersecretary, he started his law firm and grew closer to John D. Rockefeller Jr., which would lead to a long and fruitful relationship as a friend and adviser.

Fosdick lead the organisation through the difficult years of World War II before retiring and becoming an author, documenting the history of the foundation and Rockefeller Jr.'s life.

[2] He grew up in a household that valued literature and learning highly; with the family often gathering around their living room table, as the children chose books to read from their extensive library.

[6] After having had developed a deep admiration for Woodrow Wilson while being a student of his at Princeton University, Fosdick was nominated as auditor and comptroller of the Democratic National Committee in 1912 despite the fact he was a lifelong Republican.

[7] The offer came at Wilson's direct request, who told Fosdick in a letter that he would "feel greatly honoured that a former pupil, who has distinguished himself in a position of trust, should turn to me at this time".

[8] Fosdick first met John D. Rockefeller Jr. while investigating the issue of "white slavery" (Mann Act) and prostitution, as the latter was the chairman of the special Grand Jury in Manhattan which was looking into the matter.

[10]  This eventually led to the publication of another report by Fosdick on the American police systems, which would remain incomplete until 1920 because of the interruption caused by World War I.

[12] He was tasked with tackling social hygiene issues in military training camps, such as diseases linked to the ripe prostitution trade and morally corrupt behaviour due to the availability of alcohol.

He advocated that Baker should both publicly condemn and act to suppress alcohol and prostitution to clean up troop camps while providing resources for healthier recreational activities like sports.

[16] Fosdick would subsequently be appointed by President Wilson as Undersecretary to the provisional organisation of the League of Nations, all while being personally concerned that he was not qualified for such an immense task.

[23] Rockefeller was eventually brought round to Fosdick's view on the issue, commissioning him to the Liquor Study committee on alcohol regulation problems.

One of Fosdick's primary goals at the onset was to restore harmony, and, within eighteen months, he had implemented numerous policy changes that brought the various factions back together and rejuvenated the atmosphere at the foundation.

[30] The foundation also played an important role in the Mexican Agricultural Program, which was a revolutionary plan that started in 1943 to maximise crop production and would go on to kickstart the Green Revolution.

It didn't take him by surprise though, as in the years leading up to the war he worried about the increasing tide of totalitarian regimes and what he called the impending "intellectual blackout", where the academic and research links that the foundation had fostered internationally would be snuffed out.

An even greater tragedy was the disappearance or death around the world of hundreds of trained peoples – doctors, nurses, scientists and scholars – who represented the promise of the future, and whose creative work the Foundation had supported over long years.

[37] The foundation also helped develop detailed maps of Europe that laid out important cultural monuments and distribute them to Allied bombing headquarters, as a way to protect these historical structures during military operations.