Rosa Schupbach

Rosa Schupbach
Born	Rosa Lechner (1928-06-19)June 19, 1928 Zürich, Switzerland
Died	January 11, 2022(2022-01-11) (aged 93) New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American Swiss
Alma mater	Columbia University (MA) Columbia University (MA)
Occupation(s)	Economist and auxiliary police officer
Spouses	Mohamed Tajbakhsh ​ ​ (m. 1959; div. 1959)​ Edmund W. Schupbach ​ ​ (m. 1962; died 1973)​

Rosa Lechner Schupbach (née Lechner; formerly Tajbakhsh; June 29, 1928 – January 11, 2022) was an American economist, philanthropist and former auxiliary police officer of the New York City Police Department. She was primarily known for her work associated with the National Bureau of Economic Research between 1983 and 1990.

Early life and education

Schupbach was born Rosa Lechner on June 29, 1928, in Zürich, Switzerland to Florian (1886–1955) and Marie (née Ozeler). Her maternal family originally hailed from the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) with the original spelling of the last name being Özeler. Her father's family had roots in the Russian Empire and became Swiss citizens in 1899 in Oerlikon which was integrated into Zürich in 1934. She completed her Matura and earned two Master of Arts programs at Columbia University.

Career

After her emigration, Schupbach initially held clerical positions in various companies, such as an office machinery store. From 1962 to 1967 she held a position as economist at the Caltex Petroleum Corporation and subsequently became a legal assistant at Anderson, Russell Kill & Olick from 1971 to 1977. Schupbach then engaged as a research assistant to professor Fritz Machlup in the Department of Economics at New York University. Her last position was at the National Bureau of Economic Research which she held until her retirement in 1990.

Literature

• Westwärts Begegnungen mit Amerika-Schweizerinnen, Susanne Bosshard-Kälin, 2009 (in German)

Personal life

After marrying her Iranian husband in 1959 (which she shortly after divorced) she moved to London, England. Due to her marriage with a Persian she also automatically held Iranian citizenship. Under the old Swiss nationality law she initially lost her Swiss citizenship and was only later able to regain it through an administrative payment of 10 Swiss Francs. Since 1966, Schupbach held Swiss-American dual citizenship. Then she emigrated to the United States and settled down in New York City with only $2,000 in her name. In 1962, she married Edmund W. Schupbach, an American whom she met while working at Caltex Petroleum Corporation.

Schupbach died on January 11, 2022, aged 93 in her Upper East Side apartment in New York City.