Photo from Library of Congress
Birth Name: Fiorello Enrico La Guardia
Date of Birth: December 11, 1882
Place of Birth: Greenwich Village, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: September 20, 1947
Place of Death: Riverdale, The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Ethnicity:
*Italian (father)
*Italian Sephardi Jewish (mother)
Fiorello La Guardia was an American politician. He served as Mayor of New York City, from January 1, 1934 to December 31, 1945. He was also a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, from March 4, 1917 to December 31, 1919, and again from March 4, 1923 to March 3, 1933, and the 10th President of the New York City Board of Aldermen, from January 1, 1920 to December 31, 1921. He was a member of the Republican Party and, from 1924 to 1934, the Progressive Party.
Fiorello was the son of Irene Luzzatto (Coen) and Achille Luigi Carlo La Guardia. His father was an Italian composer, from Foggia, Apulia, and was a non-practicing Catholic. His mother was born in Rijeka, Austria-Hungary (now Croatia), and was of an Italian Jewish background. Fiorello’s parents married in Trieste, Austria-Hungary (now Italy).
Fiorello was raised an Episcopalian and practiced that religion.
Fiorello’s paternal grandparents were Raffaele La Guardia (the son of Pietro La Guardia and Colomba Ziccardi) and Rosa Di Maria/De Maria. Colomba was the daughter of Giacomo Ziccardi and Rachele Apicella.
Fiorello’s maternal grandparents were Abramo/Abram Isacco Coen and Fiorina Luzzatto. Fiorina was a member of the prestigious Italian Jewish family of scholars, kabbalists, and poets. She had among her ancestors the famous rabbi Samuel David Luzzatto. Fiorello was named after her.
Fiorello was a polyglot, being able to speak seven languages, English, Italian, French, German, Hungarian, Hebrew, and Yiddish.
Sources: Obituary of Fiorello and Fiorello’s parents – http://www.findagrave.com
Genealogy of Fiorello H. La Guardia – https://www.geni.com
Information about Fiorello’s father (in Italian) – http://letteremeridiane.blogspot.it