| Kip Rhinelander | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leonard Kip Rhinelander May 9, 1903 Pelham, New York |
| Died | February 20, 1936 (aged 32) Long Beach, New York |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx |
| Occupation | socialite |
| Known for | Rhinelander v. Rhinelander |
| Spouse | Alice Jones (1924-1927) |
Leonard Kip Rhinelander (1903 - 1936) was a New York socialite. His sensational 1925 divorce trial highlighted a contemporary racial issue, i.e. the vague legal definition of that time on who was to be considered "white" or "colored". Its circumstances also led to a new development in journalistic photography, i.e. using (ethical) photomanipulation (see Composograph).
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Leonard was born in Pelham, New York on May 9, 1903 to Adelaide Kip and Philip Jacob Rhinelander, the youngest of five children, four boys and a girl. The eldest, a son, died at thirteen days of age. Mrs. Rhinelander died in 1915 as a result of injuries suffered when an alcohol lamp on her dressing table exploded. The third son, T.J. Oakley Rhinelander died in France during World War I, in 1918.
After Rhinelander met Alice Jones, a domestic servant, in 1921, a three-year long romance followed, culminating in their marriage in October, 1924. Their marriage did not go unnoticed for long. Headlines read "L. Kip Rhinelander Weds Obscure Girl". Reporters for the New Rochelle Standard Star hunting for a story, uncovered the fact that Alice was of mixed race and suggested that she had hidden this fact from her husband. Newspaper headlines soon read, "Rhinelander's Son Marries Daughter of Colored Man."
For a time, Kip stood by his wife during the intense national coverage of their marriage. After two weeks, he left her and signed an annulment complaint that his father's lawyers had prepared. It charged Alice with hiding her race from her husband. The document asserted that she had tried to pass herself off as white. The trial was known as Rhinelander v. Rhinelander. Kip's attorney was a former New York Supreme Court justice, Isaac Mills. Alice retained a former protege of Mills, Lee Parsons Davis. The jury was all-white and all-male. Vaudeville star Al Jolson was among the witnesses.
The most famous aspect of the trial was the question of whether she was really "colored" as both sides contended. In a notorious episode of indecisiveness, an attorney instructed her (in the judge's chambers) to remove her upper clothing so that the jury could inspect the precise color of her nipples (245 N.Y. 510). They viewed her breasts, back and legs, concluding that she was indeed "colored" and that Kip must have known that she was not white. The judge barred reporters from seeing this, leading to the creation of a composograph.
Alice won the case. The annulment was denied and the marriage upheld. According to the terms of the settlement, Kip paid Alice a lump sum of $32,500 and $3600 per year for life. In return, Alice forfeited all claims to the Rhinelander estate and agreed not to use the Rhinelander name, nor to lecture or write publicly about her story, pledges which she honored for the rest of her life. Her life over, the name carved on her gravestone is "Alice J. Rhinelander."
Kip appealed several times but the verdict held. He disappeared from public view, although rumors suggested that they had reunited. In 1930, Kip resurfaced in Nevada, a single man. There he won a divorce, but it was valid only in the state of Nevada. The two signed a separation agreement in New York at a later date.
Kip died of pneumonia at his father's house in Long Beach, New York, on February 20, 1936, but Alice outlasted him, dying in 1989. He is buried in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx.
Leonard Rhinelander v. Alice Rhinelander; 219 A.D. 189; 219 N.Y.S. 548; Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department (1927).[1]