Michael Salter was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 saloon keeper, ward heeler

Ward heeler

A ward heeler variously describes a politician or political worker in the United States who is in politics for private gain rather than public service, who does illegal acts on behalf of a political party, or who is a low level political operative soliciting votes and doing chores for a political...

 and underworld figure in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Biography

He was born in 1868. He was a prominent figure in Chinatown

Chinatown, Manhattan

Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...

, opening the first cabaret and dance hall in the district in 1904, and was popular among sportsmen at the turn of the century

Turn of the century

Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....

. It was at his establishment that Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...

 started his early musical career as a singing waiter prior to becoming a professional ragtime musician. While working for Salter, Irving composed his first song for the club owner entitled "Marie from Sunny Italy" in 1907. The Pelham was also reportedly the birthplace of the fox trot.

His Pell Street resort, the Pelham, was considered part the boundary separating the territory of the Eastman

Eastman Gang

The Eastman Gang was the last of New York's street gangs which dominated the city's underworld during the late 1890s until early 1910s. Along with the Five Points Gang under Paul Kelly, the Eastmans succeeded the long dominant Whyos as the first non-Irish street gang to gain prominence in the...

 and Five Points Gang

Five Points Gang

Five Points Gang was a 19th-century and early 20th-century criminal organization, primarily of Italian-American origins, based in the Sixth Ward of Manhattan, New York City. Since the early 19th century, the area was first known for gangs of Irish immigrants...

, although Five Pointers leader Paul Kelly

Paul Kelly (criminal)

Paul Kelly was an Italian immigrant who founded the Five Points Gang in New York City after starting some brothels with prize monies earned in boxing...

 did not recognize the Eastmans' claim. His club, a popular Lower East Side

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

 underworld hangout, was also where Biff Ellison and Razor Riley planned the failed murder of Kelly at the New Brighton in November 1908. Salter eventually sold the club prior to Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 and opened a restaurant in Coney Island

Coney Island

Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....

 around 1919. He also bought a residence on East Fourth Street in Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach is an oceanside neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. As of 2000, it has a population of 75,692 with a total of 31,228 households.-Location:...

. On December 14, 1922, Salter suffered a heart attack while at Surf Avenue and Seaside Walk shortly before midnight. He was taken to a local hospital where he died the following day. At Salter's funeral, according to the New York Herald

New York Herald

The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...

, "of the legions of notables who once found it pleasant to boast of Mike's friendship and familiarity with his notorious dive" only Berlin attended his funeral.

Further reading

• Gong, Eng Ying and Bruce Grant. Tong War!: The First Complete History of the Tongs in America, Details of the Tong Wars and Their Causes, Lives of Famous Hatchetmen and Gunmen, and Inside Information as to the Workings of the Tongs, Their Aims and Achievements. New York: Nicholas L. Brown, 1930.
• Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931.