Leon Friedman (October 23, 1886 – September 1, 1948) was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who served from 1932 to 1940 as a member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

from his native

Natchitoches Parish Natchitoches Parish (french: Paroisse des Natchitoches or ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805. The Natchito ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Friedman was a member of a prominent landowning

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family from

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

in southern Natchitoches Parish. His father, Samuel Friedman (1848-1888), died when Leon was barely a year old. This left his mother, Caroline S. Friedman (1847-1906), as head of the household. A brother, Harry, died in 1895 at the age of fourteen. An older brother,

J. Isaac Friedman John Isaac Friedman, known as J. Isaac Friedman (October 1871 – December 11, 1949), was an American politician who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1908 to 1916 and in the Louisiana State Senate from 1922 to 1924 follow ...

, served in the state House from 1908 to 1916 and in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

for an abbreviated term from 1922 to 1924, following the resignation of

Charles Milton Cunningham Charles Milton Cunningham (April 2, 1877 – May 17, 1936) was a Louisiana attorney and newspaper publisher who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1915 to 1922. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Cunningham r ...

, the editor and publisher of ''The Natchitoches Times''. The Friedmans are interred at the Jewish Cemetery in Natchitoches. Leon and J. Isaac Friedman were not the first Jewish representatives from Natchitoches Parish. Earlier,

Leopold Caspari Leopold Caspari (July 28, 1830March 11, 1915) was a Louisiana businessman and politician who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1884 to 1892, where he advocated the establishment of Northwestern State University. Born in L ...

, who in 1884 pushed successfully for the creation of

Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

, also served in both houses of the legislature, nonconsecutively between 1884 and his death in 1915.

References

1886 births 1948 deaths People from Natchez, Louisiana Jewish American state legislators in Louisiana Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians {{Louisiana-politician-stub