| Arthur Levitt Sr. | |
| 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 |
| Birth Place: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Rank: | Colonel |
| Birth Date: | June 28, 1900 |
| Battles: | World War I World War II |
| Children: | Arthur Levitt |
| Death Date: | May 6, 1980 (aged 79) |
| 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.
Levitt was born in Brooklyn in 1900. 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.[1] While attending Columbia College, Levitt was initiated into the Alpha Chapter of Phi Sigma Delta which later merged into Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity.
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.[2]
His son, Arthur Levitt Jr., was chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from 1993 to 2001.