Morris Abraham Schapiro (1903 – December 26, 1996) was an American investment banker and

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

master. In the 1950s, he negotiated the mergers of

Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase, is an American National bank (United States), national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking su ...

with the Bank of Manhattan and

Chemical Bank Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United Stat ...

with the

New York Trust Company The New York Trust Company was a large trust and wholesale-banking business that specialized in servicing large industrial accounts. It merged with the Chemical Corn Exchange Bank and eventually the merged entity became Chemical Bank. History 19t ...

. His brother was art historian

Meyer Schapiro Meyer Schapiro (23 September 1904 – 3 March 1996) was a Lithuanian-born American art historian who developed new art historical methodologies that incorporated an interdisciplinary approach to the study of works. An expert on early Christian, ...

Background

Morris Abraham Schapiro was born in the Russian Empire in 1903 and came to the United States in 1907. The family lived in Brownsville and Flatbush,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. His father worked as a paper and cordage wholesaler, though he also wrote articles on philosophical subjects. His brother was art historian

. He excelled in mathematics and Latin at school. At 16, Schapiro entered Columbia University on a Pulitzer Scholarship and graduated from Columbia College in 1923. He received an advanced degree from Columbia University in engineering in 1925.

Chess

Schapiro excelled in chess. He led the Columbia University chess team to four national championships. In New York, he took 3rd, behind

Dawid Janowski Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish chess player. Several opening variations are named after Janowski. Biography Born into a Jewish-Polish family in Wołkowysk, Russian Empire ...

and Roy Turnbull Black, in 1920, twice won Manhattan CC championship in 1921 and 1922, and took 9th in 1923. He won a match against Oscar Chajes (7.5 : 5.5) in 1923. He took 5th at Lake Hopatcong 1923 (

American Chess Congress The American Chess Congress was a series of chess tournaments held in the United States, a predecessor to the current U.S. Chess Championship. It had nine editions, the first played in October 1857 and the last in August 1923. First American C ...

Frank James Marshall Frank James Marshall (August 10, 1877 – November 9, 1944) was the U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936, and one of the world's strongest chess players in the early part of the 20th century. Chess career Marshall was born in New York Cit ...

won), tied for 4-5th at New York 1924 (

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was the third World Chess Championship, world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he was widely renowned for his exceptional Chess ...

won), and took 2nd, behind

Abraham Kupchik Abraham Kupchik (25 March 1892 – 26 November 1970) was an American chess master. Abraham Kupchik was born into a Jewish family in Brest, Belarus, Brest (then Russian Empire, now Belarus) to parents Pinchas Kupchik and Bessie Kupchik née Perlm ...

, at New York 1924.

Career

Schapiro served as head of his own investment banking firm, M. A. Schapiro & Company. He established new business techniques for the banking industry. He also led some of the banking industry's largest mergers: Chase Bank and the Bank of Manhattan in 1955, then Chemical Bank and New York Trust in 1959. His obituary in ''The New York Times'' reads: "On both deals, Mr. Schapiro followed his traditional strategy. He recommended the two banks' stocks to affluent clients, then asked them to press the banks' managements to agree to a deal."

Philanthropy

Schapiro donated to Columbia University, including the

Schapiro Hall Morris A. Schapiro Hall, popularly known as Schapiro, is an undergraduate residence hall of Columbia University. The building is named after investment banker Morris Schapiro, who oversaw the merger of Chase Bank and Bank of Manhattan as well as ...

dormitory and Morris A. Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research.

Family and death

Schapiro married Alma Binion Cahn, a painter, who died in 1987, after 58 years of marriage. They had two children, Linda Schapiro Collins and Dr. Daniel Schapiro. His grandchildren include painter

Jacob Collins Jacob Collins (born 1964) is an American realist painter working in New York City. He is a leading figure of the contemporary Classical Realism, classical art revival. He has founded several schools of art including the Water Street Atelier, th ...

. He died, aged 93, at his New York City apartment on December 26, 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schapiro, Morris 1903 births 1996 deaths Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Lithuanian Jews American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Lithuanian chess players Jewish chess players 20th-century American chess players Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jews from New York (state)