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Paul L. Cordish

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Paul L. Cordish
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 4th district
In office
1935–1941
Personal details
Born1909
Baltimore, Maryland
Died2003 (aged 93–94)
Baltimore, Maryland
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSylvia Cohn Bloom
ChildrenJoel A. Cordish
Michael Cordish
David S. Cordish
Howard Paul Bloom (stepchild)
Susan F. Abramson (stepchild)
Marilyn E. Bloom (stepchild)
Residence(s)Baltimore, Maryland
OccupationLawyer

Paul L. Cordish (1909–2003) was an attorney and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, he was also a businessman who worked for the Cordish Company and the founder of the Cordish Law Firm.

Early life and education

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Cordish was born in Baltimore in 1909, he was a 1926 graduate of the Park School of Baltimore and earned his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his law degree, with honors, from Yale Law School in 1932.[1] His father, Louis Cordish, was a cigar manufacturer who founded the Cordish Company in 1910[2] and served as the first president of the Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue.[3]

Career

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After law school, in 1932, he founded the Cordish Law Firm[4] and in 1933, he joined the Baltimore-based, family real estate business, the Cordish Company, founded by his father Louis Cordish in 1910.[5][6] Cordish Law serves as the legal arm of Cordish Company. In 1934, Cordish was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent the 4th legislative district in Baltimore City. He became the leader of what was then called the liberal bloc. From 1940 to 1941, he was the chairman of the House Committee on Intergovernmental Cooperation.[7] He voted against the formidable lobby representing bar and saloon owners, and sought to strike out a requirement that witnesses and jurors profess belief in God.[1] From 1963 to 1966, he served as president of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. In this position, he was able to collect $3 million from the West German government for Nazi victims of the Holocaust in Baltimore.[1]

Personal life

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He married Ethel Patz; they had three sons: Joel A. Cordish of Jerusalem; Michael Cordish of Rehovot, Israel; and David S. Cordish of Baltimore. Ethel passed away at the age of 38. In 1957, he married his second wife, Sylvia Cohn Bloom. He also has three stepchildren: Howard Paul Bloom of Lake Hill, N.Y.; Susan F. Abramson of Finksburg; and Marilyn E. Bloom of Pleasant Hill, California.[1] His son Joel was beaten and paralyzed in an attack when he was a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan.[8] His sons, Joel and Michael, became Orthodox Jews and moved to Israel.[8] Joel died in 2010.[9]

He died on April 8, 2003, and was interred at Shaarei Tfiloh Congregation Cemetery.[10]

Past general election results

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  • 1938 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 4th District[11]
Voters to choose six:
Name Votes Outcome
Leon Abramson, Democratic 13,113    Won
Jerome Robinson, Democratic 13,005    Won
Bernard S. Melnicove, Democratic 12,979    Won
Leon A. Rubenstein, Democratic 12,902    Won
Albert L. Sklar, Democratic 12,727    Won
Paul L. Cordish, Democratic 12,671    Won
W. A. C. Hughes, Jr., Republican 11,817    Lost
Arthur E. Briscoe, Republican 11,750    Lost
Sarah Fernandis Diggs, Republican 11,664    Lost
William Isaac Gosnell, Republican 11,556    Lost
Fannie A. Coplan, Republican 11,296    Lost
Benjamin M. Haughey, Republican 10,609    Lost
Albert E. Blumberg, Independent 578    Lost

References and notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Briggs, Johnathon E. (April 9, 2003). "Paul L. Cordish, 93, founder of law firm, city delegate". The Baltimore Sun.
  2. ^ "Five Questions: David Cordish". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  3. ^ Alvarez, Rafael (May 21, 1995). "At 75, Synagogue still calls Baltimore home". The Baltimore Sun. pp. 1A, 20A – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Cordish Companies: Legal Archived 2014-11-21 at the Wayback Machine retrieved September 22, 2014
  5. ^ Bloodhorse.com: "Five Questions: David Cordish" by Evan Hammonds January 18, 2010
  6. ^ Cordish Companies: People Archived 2014-11-21 at the Wayback Machine retrieved September 21, 2014
  7. ^ "Maryland Manual, 1940-41, Volume 159, Page 134". Archives of Maryland Online. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Hiaasen, Rob (February 4, 1996). "Power Play Look homeward: David Cordish relishes the challenge of a project in his own city". The Baltimore Sun. pp. 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Kelly, Jacques (August 15, 2010). "Joel Abraham Cordish dies at 67". Baltimore Sun.
  10. ^ "Paul L. Cordish Obituary". The Baltimore Sun. April 10, 2003.
  11. ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Archives. Retrieved on Nov. 24, 2013