Otto Wilhelm Christian Schack (1818 – September 1, 1875) was a Danish born American broker.

Early life

Schack was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in 1818. He was the youngest son of Gregers Schack (1781–1840) and Anna Sophie Kircksteen (1788–1854). His father was a Counselor of State and

Secretary of Finance The Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit ( es, Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, SHCP) is the finance ministry of Mexico. The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the department, and is a member of the federal executive ...

to the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...

. Among his siblings were the soldier and painter

Sophus Schack Sophus Peter Lassenius Schack was a Danish painter and officer who served in the First and Second Schleswig Wars. Biography Military career Schack was the son of barrister Gregers Schack. He became a cadet 1821 and promoted to second lieutenant i ...

, and sister Caroline Schack, who married industrialist

Lauritz Peter Holmblad Lauritz Peter Holmblad (8 July 1815 – 16 November 1890), often referred to as L. P. Holmblad, was a Danish industrialist and philanthropist. His company, which was simply known as L. P. Holmblad, had activities in dyes, soap, glue and plati ...

. Otto "received a careful education up to his seventeenth year, when he came to the United States under the charge of Mr. Rudolph Braüm, one of his father's many warm friends. He remained with Braüm until that gentleman's death."

Career

In 1848, he began a career on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

, becoming a

broker-dealer In financial services, a broker-dealer is a natural person, company or other organization that engages in the business of trading securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers. Broker-dealers are at the heart of the securities and d ...

and a member of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

in 1851. He was associated with Messrs. Jacob Little & Co. for 27 years, the head of which,

Jacob Little Jacob Little (March 17, 1794 – March 28, 1865) was an early 19th-century Wall Street investor and the first and one of the greatest speculators in the history of the stock market, known at the time as the "Great Bear of Wall Street". Litt ...

, was his brother-in-law. A

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

, he was a member of the Cœur de Leon Commandery of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

Personal life

On August 25, 1841, Schack was married to Elizabeth Inez McCarty (1826–1910), a daughter of Peter McCarty, a descendant of one of the Earls of Clancarty, and Eliza Ann ( Sanders) McCarty. Her sister, Augusta, was married to

and was the mother of Lt.

William McCarty Little William McCarty Little (6 September 1845 – 12 March 1915) was a United States Navy officer of the late 19th century. He is most noted for his contributions to the development of naval wargaming at the United States Naval War College in Newport, ...

. Together, they lived at 173

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

and were the parents of: * Rudolph Wilhelm Schack (1845–1889), who married Minna Swift

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

, daughter of Charles James Livingston, in 1879. * Albert Peter Schack (1847–1926), a graduate of

Columbia College School of Mines The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as th ...

and professor who died unmarried. * Constance Elise Schack (1852 —1937), who married Col.

Archibald Gracie IV Archibald Gracie IV (January 15, 1858 – December 4, 1912) was an American writer, soldier, amateur historian, real estate investor, and survivor of the sinking of RMS ''Titanic''. Gracie survived the sinking by climbing aboard an overturned ...

, son of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Brig.-Gen.

Archibald Gracie III Archibald Gracie III (December 1, 1832 – December 2, 1864) was a career United States Army officer, businessman, and a graduate of West Point. He is well known for being a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War and for his de ...

, in 1890. After his death she married Signor Raphael d'Arbiue, a musician and painter who had represented himself as a Count. He fled later, and, Mrs. Gracie said, had taken $5,000 worth of her jewels. It was brought out then that he was not a Count, but a dishwasher." * Augusta Temple Schack (1853 —1920), who married George William Merritt, son of George Merritt, in 1881. After his death she married piano manufacturer William Dalliba Dutton in 1911. Schack died at his residence in New York City on September 1, 1875. After a funeral at New Jerusalem Church on 35th Street in Manhattan, he was buried at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. His widow died on March 5, 1910, at 120 East 25th Street, which was then her residence in New York.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schack, Otto Wilhelm Christian 1818 births 1875 deaths American investors Businesspeople from New York City 19th-century American businesspeople Danish emigrants to the United States