Milton Shapp

Milton Jerrold Shapp (born June 25, 1912 as Milton Shapiro in Cleveland , Ohio , † November 24, 1994 in Wynnewood , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician and from 1971 to 1979 the 40th governor of Pennsylvania.

Early years

Milton Shapp was born as Milton Shapiro. His father, Aaron Shapiro, was a Jewish businessman. Because of his origins, Milton feared anti-Semitic attacks. So he had his last name changed to Shapp. He attended the Case Institute of Technology until 1933 and was trained as an electrical engineer. Due to the economic crisis at the time, he couldn't find work in this area and had to work as a truck driver in the coal mine. He later found a job selling radio spare parts and electrical goods. Then he went into business for himself and ran such a shop himself. During the Second World War he was an officer in the US Army in North Africa, Italy and Austria. After the end of the war, he founded the Jerrolds Electronics Corporation . In 1946 he started with two employees; when he sold the company to Sidney Harman in 1966 , several thousand people were employed there. The company manufactured TV sets, among other things. Today the company operates as Harman International .

Political rise

Milton Shapp was a member of the Democratic Party and, in 1960, a supporter of John F. Kennedy . After Kennedy's inauguration as US president, Shapp became an advisor to the Department of Commerce and the Peace Corps . In 1966 he unsuccessfully applied for the office of governor of Pennsylvania. Four years later he was more successful and was elected the new governor.

Governor of Pennsylvania

Milton Shapp took up his new post on January 19, 1971. In addition to being the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania, he was also the first governor to serve under the new 1968 constitution that allowed him to be re-elected. After this re-election he could remain in office until January 16, 1979. He managed to consolidate the budget. He introduced a state lottery to improve state revenues and reformed the country's highway administration. Consumer protection was also promoted under his government, and the country's insurance and welfare programs were reformed. At that time, divorce law was reformed and prison reform was implemented. During his time, Pennsylvania was hit by Hurricane Agnes, which killed 48 people. Even the governor and his wife had to be rescued from their official residence in Harrisburg by boat from the water.

Shapp's government also had its downside. Its administration was overshadowed by several scandals, most of them corruption allegations. Although Shapp was not personally involved, the scandals damaged his reputation. In 1976, he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Further life

After the end of his tenure, Milton Shapp no ​​longer appeared politically. He devoted himself to his private interests and died in November 1994 at the age of 82. He was married to Muriel Matzkin, with whom he had three children.

Web links

• Milton Shapp in the database of the National Governors Association (English)
• Milton Shapp ( April 17, 2008 memento on the Internet Archive ) in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission database
• Milton Shapp in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Harman Kardon History. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 9, 2016 ; accessed on March 20, 2019 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.