Joel Rinaldo
New York restaurateur (1870–1956)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joel Rinaldo (June 11, 1870 – December 23, 1956) was a restaurateur whose restaurant and hotel, Joel's Bohemia, near Times Square, was a Manhattan institution from 1902 to 1925.[1]
Life
Rinaldo was born in New York City on June 11, 1870 to Marks Rinaldo and Minnie (Ellis) Rinaldo, immigrants from Poland ultimately of Portuguese Jewish origin.[2][3][1]
He opened his restaurant "Joel's" in 1902, catering to artists, writers, revolutionaries and other bohemians.[1]
In 1910, Rinaldo self-published his theory of evolution, "polygeneric theory", which hypothesized that each species was independently created when its time had come. In 1921, following Prohibition-based raids on his establishment,[4] he published Psychoanalysis of the "Reformer": A Further Contribution to the Sexual Theory which purported to demonstrate that the passion for reform of their neighbors by those who favored prohibition was a neurosis akin to a passion for "rape" or "eating caviar".[5] [6][7]
Rinaldo retired to Brooklyn in 1926[1] and died on December 23, 1956.[3]