Philip Hornbein

Phillip became a very prominent Denver lawyer (labor on the union side, criminal

matters and other) and Democrat Party politician, being head of the party in Colorado

for almost 50 years. He spoke at the 1932 convention in favor of the platform item to

repeal Prohibition. He made the nominating speech at the 1940 convention for Sen. Alva

Adams of Colorado for vice president. He argued the landmark Fourth Amendment case

of Wolf v. Colorado before the United States Supreme Court. He was a towering figure

in the Jewish community (he may have been the most important Jew in Colorado in his

heyday) and was well-respected by all. My aunt has told me that Denver had a place

where the politicos ate lunch, and there was a Republican table and a Democratic table.

When a politico would show up for lunch, all of the people at the appropriate table would

rise to greet him, except for Phil, for whom both tables would rise. Apparently he

remarked to his daughter Marjorie that if he had any character or integrity, it came from

the Koenigsberg side rather than the Hornbein side of the family.