Of Barbie, Western Shirts, Simon Guggenheim and 8 Other Facts About Jewish Colorado
Colorado, Barbie! Born in Denver in 1916, Ruth Handler co-founded Mattel and helped to design the Barbie doll. Image by Mattel
1) Colorado is home to approximately 92,000 Jews representing 1.8% of the population.
2) Denver clothing CEO Jack Weil was credited with the idea of putting snaps on Western-style shirts.
3) Born in Philadaelphia, Simon Guggenheim served for one term as a Colorado U.S. Senator from 1907-1913.
4) Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spent much of her teens in Denver.
5) The first Jews came to Colorado in the 1850’s, inspired by the discovery of gold at Pike’s Peak.
6) Wolfe Londoner served as Denver’s mayor from 1889-91.
7) Born Ruth Marianna Mosko in Denver in 1916, Ruth Handler, along with her husband Elliot Handler, co-founded Mattel and helped to design the Barbie doll.
8) Naropa University in Boulder is home to the Allen Ginsberg Library.
9) In early 2013, swastikas were painted on the B’nai Chaim synagogue in Morrison.
10) In September, 2013, the Pueblo Chieftain ran a purportedly anti-Semitic political ad that depicted Michael Bloomberg as a puppetmaster.
11) Champion U.S. figure skater Max Aaron attended college at Pikes Peak Community College and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
