Also Will Vote on Measures to Discourage Hostile Takeovers : Indiana Standard Seeks Name Change

More than 30 companies once called themselves Standard Oil, a name synonymous with the birth of Big Oil and the man who fathered it, John D. Rockefeller.

But Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) proposed Wednesday to become Amoco Corp., and that would leave Standard Oil Co. (Ohio) as the last company to carry on the legacy of the Standard Oil Trust founded by Rockefeller and later broken up by the federal government.

The name change, as well as measures designed to discourage a hostile takeover of the nation’s fifth-largest oil company, are among items to be voted on at Indiana Standard’s annual shareholders meeting April 23, the company said in a statement.

Eliminate Confusion

A company historian said Rockefeller would approve of the change.

“From reading the histories, it’s clear the Rockefellers were alert to adapting to change. You could speculate he (John D.) would see the useful purpose in changing the name at this particular time,” said George Ewing, an editorial consultant who edited the company’s history, “Challenge and Response,” published last year.

Richard Morrow, chairman of Chicago-based Indiana Standard, said the name change would eliminate confusion and promote identification of the parent company and its subsidiaries.

The company’s principal operating subsidiaries and the chemical and petroleum products they market already are known worldwide as Amoco, which came into the Standard fold in 1954, Morrow said.

If the name change is approved, only Standard Oil Co. (Ohio), which is 55% owned by British Petroleum Co. PLC, would retain the flagship title Standard Oil.

Standard Oil (Ohio), also known as Sohio, was the first of more than 30 companies to bear the Standard name after being founded by Rockefeller and several associates in 1870 for the purpose of buying refineries.

Standard Oil Trust

“In those early days of the oil business, you had a number of teapot (small) refineries operating independently, and the quality, quantity and deliverability could vary wildly,” said Ewing.

“John D. set about to standardize his products,” he said. “He was a real entrepreneur. He could see the advantage of a solid reputation--hence ‘Standard.’ ”

In 1892, Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Trust, which controlled almost all U.S. oil refining and distribution and much of the world’s oil trade.

But his success brought his dealings under closer scrutiny and, in 1911, his holding company, Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, was broken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in a historic antitrust case.

The name change from Indiana Standard to Amoco would follow a trend that has seen Standard Oil Co. (New York) become Mobil Corp., Standard Oil Co. (New Jersey) become Exxon Corp. and Standard Oil Co. of California become Chevron Corp.

‘Shark Repellent’

Although no hostile attempts to acquire Sohio have surfaced, shareholders also will be asked to approve several “shark-repellent” measures, Morrow said, because Indiana Standard is among companies whose stock he believes is undervalued by the market.