Uriah Phillips Levy (April 22, 1792 – March 22, 1862) was a naval officer, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy. He was instrumental in helping to end the Navy's practice of flogging, and during his half-century-long service prevailed against the antisemitism he faced among some of his fellow naval officers.
An admirer of Thomas Jefferson, Levy purchased and began the restoration of Monticello in the 1830s. He also commissioned and donated a statue of Jefferson that is now located in the Capitol Rotunda; it is the only privately commissioned artwork in the Capitol.
Levy was born on April 22, 1792, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Michael and Rachel Phillips Levy. He had two older siblings. Uriah Levy was close to his maternal grandfather, Jonas Phillips, who had emigrated to the United States in 1756 from Germany, and fought with the Philadelphia militia in the American Revolution. His maternal great-great-grandfather, Dr. Samuel Ribeiro Nunes, a Portuguese physician, was among a group of 42 Sephardic Jews who escaped the Spanish Inquisition of the early 16th century and migrated to England, where they settled. Descendants of that group sailed from London in 1733 and helped found the city of Savannah, Georgia, where they lived for generations.
Levy's younger brother was Jonas Phillips Levy, who became a merchant and sea captain. He was the father of five, including the Congressman Jefferson Monroe Levy.
Levy ran away from home at the age of ten and ended up serving on various vessels as a cabin boy, and according to family stories, returned home to Philadelphia at age 13 for his bar mitzvah.
In 1806, he apprenticed as a sailor and was a cabin boy. Later he became a sailing master in the U.S. Navy, and fought in the Barbary Wars.
At the age of 21, he volunteered for the War of 1812 and was commissioned as a sailing master on October 21, 1812. He was a supernumerary sailing master on the Argus, which interdicted British ships in the English Channel. The Argus seized more than 20 vessels before being captured by a British warship on August 14, 1813; her captain was killed, and the crew, including Levy, surrendered and were taken prisoner. They were imprisoned in Great Britain for sixteen months until the end of the war. During his imprisonment, Levy had difficulty obtaining a subsidy and parole because his status as a supernumerary was not recognised by the British Transport Board.
Upon returning to the United States, Levy served aboard the Franklin as second master. Levy was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1817. This commission was a rare feat, given that he started as a cabin boy and worked his way to being a sailing master. He became a master commandant in 1837, and captain in 1844.
During his service in the U.S. Navy, Levy faced considerable antisemitism. He reacted to slights and was court-martialed six times, and once demoted from the rank of Captain. Twice, he was dismissed from the Navy, but reinstated. He defended his conduct in his handling of naval affairs before a Court of Inquiry and in 1855 was restored to his former position.
Later, Levy commanded the Mediterranean Squadron. As a squadron commander he was given the title of commodore, then the highest position in the U.S. Navy.
Levy was instrumental in abolishing flogging in the U.S. Navy, although his position was considered controversial at the time. He also helped gain the support of the U.S. Congress in passing an anti-flogging bill in 1850.
Levy spent only 16 years of his 49-year naval career in active service. The rest of time, he was listed as "waiting orders", meaning that he could be called to serve at any time. Although Levy served during the first year of the American Civil War, he was not given an active assignment at that time.
Levy became wealthy by investing in New York City's real estate market.
Levy undertook various philanthropic endeavors, many of which were in support of Jewish-American life. In 1854 he sponsored the new Jewish seminary of the B'nai Jeshurun Educational Institute in New York.
In 1833, New York City gave Levy the Key to the City after he presented the city with a patinated plaster statue of Thomas Jefferson, the one used to cast the bronze version he gave to the U.S. Congress. Before the statue was set up in New York City Hall, Levy installed it in a building on Broadway and charged admission to view it. The proceeds were used to buy bread for the city's poor.
Levy was a great admirer of Thomas Jefferson:
I consider Thomas Jefferson to be one of the greatest men in history, the author of the Declaration and an absolute democrat. He serves as an inspiration to millions of Americans. He did much to mould our Republic in a form in which a man's religion does not make him ineligible for political or governmental life.
Monticello was sold by Jefferson's heirs (his daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph and her son, Thomas Jefferson Randolph) to James Turner Barclay, a Charlottesville pharmacist, in 1831. In 1834, Levy bought it from Barclay for $2,700 218-acre (88 ha) Monticello—which is equivalent to $87,100 in today's dollars. Levy undertook to have the long-neglected home repaired, restored, and preserved. He bought hundreds of additional acres that had been part of the plantation, to add to what was left. He also purchased 12 enslaved people to work at Monticello, eventually owning about 20 during his tenure.