Daniel Maggin ME ’20 came to the United States from a town near Odessa, in the Ukraine as a child, and grew up in Brooklyn. Shortly after receiving his Bachelor’s degree from Cooper Union in 1920, Daniel Maggin worked briefly with New York engineering firms before moving into the insurance field.
By the mid-30’s Maggin had started his own business as a financial and insurance consultant. He joined Diebold Inc., makers of bank vaults and office equipment in 1946. He worked his way up in the company becoming chair in 1951. Dan led the company in a series of mergers, and eventually developed it into a major manufacture in its field.
Daniel Maggin returned to The Cooper Union in the late 1950’s as the institution was heading into its centennial. The school had a campaign to construct modern facilities for the School of Engineering and Science which Daniel Maggin supported. In 1962, he became the first alumnus to be elected a Cooper Union trustee. Dan Maggin was chair of the CU Board of Trustees in 1967 when the contents of the Cooper Hewitt Museum were transferred to the Smithsonian.
Dan Maggin was also chair of the CU Board of Trustees in 1969 when Mayor Lindsay launched a public campaign to remove the tax exempt status of the property under the Chrysler Building. The Mayor’s proposed bill passed in the NY State Legislature with a grandfathering clause that exempted buildings already built.
Daniel Maggin also was a supporter of the Mount Sinai Medical Center and the Hospital for Joint Diseases. He passed away in March of 1982.
Awards
Daniel Maggin received the 1962 Gano Dunn Award and a Cooper Union President’s Citation in 1982. He was inducted into the Cooper Union Hall of Fame in 2009.
References
- Daniel Maggin Is Dead at 83; Ex-Chairman of Diebold Inc. New York Times, March 1, 1982.
- Cohn, Warner. Cooper Union and the Chrysler Building, 1996 Link
- The New Yorker, February 3 , 1968. P. 21 Talk interview with Daniel Maggin, the new board chairman of Cooper Union. Link
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Link