Leo F. Rayfiel
American politician (1888–1978)
Leo Frederick Rayfiel (March 22, 1888 – November 18, 1978) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as a United States representative from New York for one term from 1945 to 1947. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 1947 to 1978.
Early life
Leo F. Rayfiel was born in New York City on March 22, 1888, a son of Hyman Rafiel and Hannah Rich Rayfiel. Rayfiel was one of eight siblings who lived to adulthood, and his family moved to Brooklyn when Rayfiel was three years old, where he attended Brooklyn's Public School 84. He graduated from Boys High School in 1906. Rayfiel then attended the New York University School of Law, from which he received his Bachelor of Laws in 1908.
Rather than begin a legal career, Rayfiel toured the country as a traveling musician in a group that included Gus Edwards, George Jessel, and Eddie Cantor. He later worked as a salesman in the garment industry and was based in Atlanta. After two years managing a clothing store in Denver, in 1914 Rayfiel returned to Brooklyn and studied law in preparation for the bar exam.
Family
In June 1916, Rayfiel married Flora Marks, his former bookkeeper and the daughter of garment manufacturer Harris Marks.
The public source identifies “Leo F. Rayfiel” as american politician (1888–1978). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rayfiel, American and politician.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2856439. VIAF identifies the subject as 702174228453511670008. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1888, 1978, 1945 and 1947.
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This entry incorporates text from “Leo F. Rayfiel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.