Arthur Levitt Sr.
{{Short description|American politician (1900–1980)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Arthur Levitt Sr.
| image = Arthur Levitt Sr. 1959 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Levitt in 1959
| office = 50th Comptroller of New York
| governor = W. Averell Harriman
Nelson Rockefeller
Malcolm Wilson
Hugh Carey
| term_start = January 1, 1955
| term_end = December 31, 1978
| predecessor = J. Raymond McGovern
| successor = Edward Regan
| party = Democratic
| rank = Colonel
| birth_date = {{birth date|1900|6|28}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1980|5|6|1900|6|28}}
| death_place = New York City. U.S.
| branch = {{Army|United States}}
| battles = World War I
World War II
| children = Arthur Levitt
| alma_mater = Columbia University (BA, LL.B)
}}
Arthur Levitt Sr. (June 28, 1900 – May 6, 1980) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 50th New York State Comptroller from 1955 to 1978.
Early life
Levitt was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn in 1900, to parents Israel Levitt and Rose Daniels.{{cite web |title=Levitt, Arthur, Sr. |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/levitt-arthur-sr |website=Encyclopedia.com |publisher=Encyclopaedia Judaica |access-date=December 30, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Arthur Levitt, Sr. (1900 - 1980) - Genealogy |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Arthur-Levitt-Sr/6000000047097866990 |website=Geni.com |access-date=December 30, 2024}}{{cite web |title=LEVITT, ARTHUR, SR. |url=https://judaism_enc.en-academic.com/12111/LEVITT%2C_ARTHUR%2C_SR. |website=Encyclopedia of Judaism |access-date=December 30, 2024}}{{cite news|title = Arthur Levitt Dead at 79; Comptroller for 24 Years|last = Carroll|first = Maurice|date = May 7, 1980|url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/05/07/111154714.html?pageNumber=42|page = B10|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = subscription|accessdate = September 20, 2024}} He served in the U.S. Army in World War I and World War II, finishing the latter as a colonel. After leaving the military, he earned degrees from Columbia University and Columbia Law School.{{Cite web|title=Levitt, Arthur Sr. |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/levitt-arthur-sr|website=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=2020-05-05}} While attending Columbia College, Levitt was initiated into the Alpha chapter of Phi Sigma Delta which later merged into Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.
Career
Levitt served on the New York State Board of Education from 1952 to 1954.
Levitt was New York State comptroller from 1955 to 1978, elected on the Democratic and Liberal tickets in 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1974, the longest-serving person in this office. He was a delegate to the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Democratic National Conventions.
In 1961, he was the Tammany Hall regular candidate for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, but was defeated in the primary by incumbent Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. who had broken with Tammany's leader, Carmine DeSapio.
Levitt was granted an honorary degree from Hamilton College in 1979. The Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center on the Hamilton College is named in his honor.{{Cite web|title=Levitt, Arthur, 1900-1980 {{!}} ArchivesSpace Public Interface|url=https://archives.hamilton.edu/agents/people/103?&filter_fields%5B%5D=subjects&filter_values%5B%5D=drawings+(visual+works)|website=archives.hamilton.edu|access-date=2020-05-05}}
Personal life
Levitt married Dorothy Wolff. They had a son, Arthur Levitt Jr., who was chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from 1993 to 2001.
After retiring as comptroller, Levitt became an investment advisor with Lincoln Savings Bank, headquartered at the Pan Am Building. He suffered a fatal heart attack at his office there on May 6, 1980, aged 79.
{{Portal|Biography}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101125103051/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924120,00.html Obit] in Time magazine on May 19, 1980
- [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/levingston-levitt.html Political Graveyard]
{{S-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Spencer C. Young}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for New York State Comptroller|years=1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1972}}
{{s-aft|after=Harrison J. Goldin}}
{{S-off}}
{{Succession box | title = New York State Comptroller | before = J. Raymond McGovern | after = Edward Regan | years = 1955–1978}}
{{S-end}}
{{NYSComptroller}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitt, Arthur Sr.}}
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:20th-century New York (state) politicians
Category:Jewish American military personnel
Category:Jewish American people in New York (state) politics
Category:New York (state) Democrats
Category:New York state comptrollers
Category:Politicians from Brooklyn
Category:United States Army colonels
Category:United States Army personnel of World War II
Category:United States Army personnel of World War I