Michael Schaap (March 20, 1874 – December 23, 1957) was an American businessman and politician from

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Life

He was born on March 20, 1874, in

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, the son of Maurits Alexander Schaap and Esther (Digtmaker) Schaap. He attended New York Evening High School, and graduated LL.B. from

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

in 1896. He practiced law in New York City until 1917. In November 1912, he was elected on the

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ticket to the

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(New York Co., 31st D.), and was re-elected in November 1913. He was a member of the State Assembly in 1913 and 1914, sitting in the 136th and

137th New York State Legislature The 137th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to May 20, 1914, while Martin H. Glynn was Governor of New York, in Albany. Background Under the provisions o ...

s. He was the Progressive leader in the Assembly during both terms. On April 27, 1914, he married Stella Hammerslough. In 1914 and 1915, he made unsuccessful efforts to get elected to the New York City Court. In November 1916, he ran on the Democratic ticket for Congress in the 19th District but was defeated by the incumbent Progressive

Walter M. Chandler Walter Marion Chandler (December 8, 1867 – March 16, 1935) was a Progressive and later a Republican U.S. Representative from New York. Biography Born on December 8, 1867 near Yazoo City, Mississippi, Chandler attended public schools, the Uni ...

who ran on the Republican ticket for re-election. In 1917, he began to work for

Bamberger's Bamberger's was a department store chain with branches primarily in New Jersey and other locations in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. The chain was headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. History 1892–1912 Newark was known for ma ...

and was vice president and managing director of the company when it was acquired by

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

in 1929. He was president of

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...

from 1929 to 1944, and chairman of the board from 1944 to 1948. He died on December 23, 1957, after falling out of a window at his lodgings on the 12th floor of the Hotel Chatham, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

.''EX-RETAILER DIES IN 12-STORY FALL; Michael Schaap, 83,...''
in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' on December 24, 1957 (subscription required)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaap, Michael 1874 births 1957 deaths Politicians from Manhattan Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Progressives (1912) 20th-century American politicians Jewish American state legislators in New York (state) Accidental deaths in New York (state) Accidental deaths from falls