Background
Schall was born in Reed City, Michigan, and moved with his family to Campbell, Minnesota, in 1884.
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Schall was born in Reed City, Michigan, and moved with his family to Campbell, Minnesota, in 1884.
He initially attended Hamline University, but graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1902, followed by William Mitchell College of Law (then the Street Paul College of Law) in 1904.
He served in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Minnesota. He was initially elected as a Progressive but later joined the Republican Party. Three years later, he was blinded by an electrical shock from a cigar lighter.
Schall was elected to the House of Representatives in 1914 and served from March 4, 1915, to March 3, 1925, in the 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th, and 68th congresses.
As he was legally blind, he was granted, by House vote, a full-time page to assist him with his work. After losing the Republican primary for a special election to the Senate in 1923, Schall was elected to the Senate in 1924, defeating Magnus Johnson with 46% of the vote.
He served from March 4, 1925, until his death, in the 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, and 73rd congresses. Schall was struck by a hit and run driver while walking across the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Cottage City, Maryland, on December 19, 1935.
He died in Washington three days later, becoming one of few United States Senators or Congressmen to die in a road accident while in office.
He is buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.