An important mark in history is a point at which a change of great significance occurs. Large corporations grew to sizes that wielded incredible power during the late 19th century. The power of these companies would be expressed in the form of monopolies that would allow them to dominate their specific market area, if not multiple market areas. John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil was a prime example of a grand monopoly on oil and everything needed to produce and distribute it. Its control over oil would eventually lead to the need for government regulatory legislation. Standard Oil would initially attract the attention of the State of Ohio and eventually the Supreme Court. The dissolution of the companies that constituted Standard Oil's monopoly would come with the passage of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). The very origin of Standard Oil began with John D. Rockefeller himself. Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York in 1839 and moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio in 1853. In 1859 he established a business dealing in hay, grain, meat, and other commodities. He first saw a future in oil production in Pennsylvania in the early 1860s. In 1863 he immediately established his own oil refinery and within two years became the largest refinery in the Cleveland area ("John D. Rockefeller"). In 1870, Rockefeller, along with Samuel Andrews and Henry M. Flager incorporated the Standard Oil Company (The Publishers of the Encyclopedia Britannica). Rockefeller's Standard Oil began to prosper and soon began acquiring competitors. By 1872, the company had nearly complete control of all of Cleveland's refineries. With such power, the company could negotiate... middle of paper... In 1906 the US government again took action against the company under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica) On the 15th May 1911 came the final Supreme Court decision requiring the dissolution of Standard Oil within 6 months. Specifically, “the Court rules against the Standard Oil Company because it is a conspiracy to unreasonably restrain interstate commerce” (New York Times Company). The breakup of Standard Oil marked a major turning point in history for the addition of anti-monopoly regulation. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which ended this excessive corporate restraint, allowed the federal government to bring lawsuits against trusts like Standard Oil. This turning point was the beginning of regulation against restrictions or monopolies by other businesses.