William Morris Feigenbaum (December 25, 1886 – April 23, 1949) was an American statistician, journalist and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on December 25, 1886, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the son of Benjamin Feigenbaum (1860–1932)''Feigenbaum Dies; Pioneer Socialist; Had Been Long Ill''
in the '' Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' on November 10, 1932 and Matilda (Kaminsky) Feigenbaum, both originally from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The family emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and settled in

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 ...

where he attended the public schools and

Boys High School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

. He graduated

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Columbia College in 1907, and A.M. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1908. He also took courses at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, Wisconsin University and

National University School of Law National University School of Law was an American law school founded in Washington, D.C. in 1869. Originally intended as part of a larger design for a national university in the United States, the school was the principal component of National Unive ...

. From 1909 to 1912, he worked in the Bureau of Statistics and Accounts of the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1912, he returned to New York and worked for the New York Public Service Commission (1st D.). He was a member of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

. In November 1916, he ran for Congress in the 10th District, but was defeated by the incumbent Republican

Reuben L. Haskell Reuben Locke Haskell (October 5, 1878 – October 2, 1971) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Haskell was graduated from Hempstead High School in Hempstead, New York, in 1894. He took additional co ...

. In November 1917, he was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Kings County, 6th District), defeating the incumbent Republican

Nathan D. Shapiro Nathan Daniel Shapiro (August 15, 1887 – September 12, 1969) was a Russian-born Jewish-American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Shapiro was born on August 15, 1887, in Russia, the son of Rabbi Daniel Shapiro and Minnie Sanit. He imm ...

. Feigenbaum polled 3,694 votes, Shapiro polled 3,184 votes, and Democrat Martin Solomon polled 2,217. Feigenbaum was one of ten Socialist members of the

141st New York State Legislature The 141st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 13, 1918, during the fourth year of Charles S. Whitman's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the p ...

in 1918. Afterwards he became the associated editor of '' The New Leader'', and wrote for several newspapers and political magazines. In 1930 and 1932, he ran for the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(4th D.) but was defeated both times by Democrat Philip M. Kleinfeld. He died on April 23, 1949, at the Montgomery Nursing Home in

.''W. Feigenbaum, Newsman, Politico''
in the '' Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' on April 24, 1949

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feigenbaum, William M. 1886 births 1949 deaths American people of Belgian-Jewish descent Politicians from Brooklyn Members of the New York State Assembly Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state) Belgian emigrants to the United States Belgian Jews Belgian people of Polish-Jewish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni 20th-century American newspaper editors 20th-century American legislators Boys High School (Brooklyn) alumni 20th-century New York (state) politicians