San Francisco County
Biographies
PHILIP N.
LILIENTHAL
Though nearly a quarter of a century has
passed since “Phil” Lilienthal came to an untimely
end as the result of an automobile accident, “there are still a host of people
in every walk of life through the length and breadth of land,” said a
contemporary biographer, “whose eyes grow moist when speaking of him. A handsome
man he was. Tall and imposing, of courtly manner and distinguished bearing,
possessed of a charm that few could withstand, he attracted attention wherever
he went. Yet, petted though he was by nature, brilliant though his success, he
was neither pompous, proud or lordly. He was a man in
the noblest sense of the term. Jew to the core, his heart throbbed in loving
sympathy for the unfortunate of every creed. Phil Lilienthal
was not known to be a rich man in the sense in which that term is usually
understood. Great wealth did not give him that remarkable prominence in the
civic, business and social life of this state and the nation. It was rather his
sterling qualities as a man and a citizen; his splendid ability as a man of
affairs, his fine sense of honor, his civic virtues, his love of mankind, his
innumerable deeds of loving kindness—all
that and much more gave him such a wonderful hold upon the people that knew
him. Despite his great responsibilities and arduous duties, he was intensely
democratic. Whether it was the seeker of advice or assistance, or the merchant
prince—everybody was welcome. No announcement was necessary. His office was no
sanctum sanctorum of the latter-day man of importance. All one had to do was to
approach his desk—in the Anglo-California Bank—the simplest piece of furniture
in the establishment—and state one’s business. One was ever sure of a hearty
greeting, a kind word. He loved to give and do good
and the number of his benefactions probably will never be known. Had he
possessed the necessary ambition he could have had any office in the gift of
the people of California, for he enjoyed the respect and affection of all men,
and the republican party of this state, through its leaders, had approached him
time and again with a view of becoming their standard bearer. But the pomp and
glitter of political office had no charm for him. He was a banker par
excellence and the beau ideal of a man. When in 1890 persecutions drove
hundreds of thousands of Russian Jews to this country, Phil Lilienthal
with Dr. Jacob Voorsanger and others founded the
Russian Jewish Alliance, and assisted thousands of people. At that time he was
director in the Union Iron Works, and it is common knowledge that he procured
work for hundreds of Russian Jews in that institution. Space does not permit
the mention of his innumerable deeds. He was ever ready to help. God had given
him a commission and his task was well performed.”
He
was born in New York city, November 4, 1850, and was
the son of Rev. Dr. Max and Pepi (Nettre)
Lilienthal. Dr. Lilienthal
was one of the most distinguished members of the American Rabbinate and was
foremost in the reform movement. Phil Lilienthal was
educated in Cincinnati, Ohio, until the age of fourteen, when he was employed
by Stix Krause & Company of that city, and at the
age of seventeen went to New York, where he entered the office of J. W.
Seligman & Company, the famous firm of bankers. Mr. Lilienthal
proved an apt pupil in the financial school. He rose quickly through the
different stages of clerk, cashier and manager and in 1869 came to San
Francisco to take charge of a Seligman bank, which had been founded in San
Francisco during the Civil war. Seeing the opportunities here he made an
independent move for his firm and in 1873 founded the Anglo-California Bank,
Limited, of London, the institution with which he had been associated until his
death, on September 9, 1908. For thirty years he devoted his splendid powers to
the strengthening of that bank, sharing his labor for part of that time with Ignatz Steinhart, the co-manager of the institution. To a
man as generously endowed as Mr. Lilienthal, the work
of the bank became only a part of his activities. He interested himself in the
development of banking in this city and throughout the state. He founded the
Porterville Bank of Porterville, California, and became its president. He also
assisted in establishing many other interior banks, in most of which he held
important official positions, and was president of the Bank of South San Francisco,
the Bank of Pleasanton, the Bank of Willits, and the Bank of Eureka. He was
director of the California Title Insurance & Trust Company of this city.
Despite the many claims on his time and strength, he found opportunities to
demonstrate in a practical way his sympathies as a citizen. No important public
or semi-public movement in the city was ever considered well managed unless it
had behind it in some capacity this resourceful and energetic man. He was one
of the men who made the Midwinter Fair a success. He was for some time director
of the San Francisco Free Library. He was president of the Philharmonic
Society, member of Temple Emanu-El and of all the
charitable institutions. He was a prominent member of the Bohemian, Family,
Pacific Union, Union League, Commonwealth and Argonaut Clubs and his membership
in each meant something. In each organization he left his mark.
Mr.
Lilienthal was married December 10, 1879, to Miss
Isabella Seligman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Seligman of New York. There
were four children: Joseph L Lilienthal; Elsie, wife
of Dr. Edwin Beer of New York; Philip N. Lilienthal,
Jr.; and Theodore Max Lilienthal.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Byington, Lewis Francis, “History of
San Francisco 3 Vols”, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1931. Vol. 2 Pages 311-314.
© 2007 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S SAN
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