Tina Nellie Levitan (December 19, 1922 – June 9, 2014) was an American writer, who wrote mainly about topics related to

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

Early life

Levitan was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and attended the Boston Hebrew College Prozdor (High School). At age 17, she moved to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. with her parents. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts degree A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

in 1944, winning the Jane Fischel Memorial Prize for the Best Essay on the "Philosophy of Traditional Judaism". She also received a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

degree from the Herzliah Hebrew Teachers Seminary in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Writer and columnist

Levitan’s books consistently explored the intersection of some aspect of history, usually

American history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

, with

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. In 1967, when preparing ''The Laureates: Jewish Winners of the Nobel Prize'', Levitan wrote to

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...

, who had been awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

in 1965, requesting a biographical sketch and a black and white photograph, as he was listed as a Jewish Nobel Prize winner. Feynman wrote back saying that his inclusion in the book would be inappropriate because at the age of 13, he had converted to non-religious views. When she wrote a follow-up letter saying that she intended to include not only professing Jews but also those of Jewish origins because “they usually have inherited their valuable heredity elements and talents from their people,” he replied that “it is evil and dangerous to maintain… that there is a true Jewish race or specific Jewish hereditary character… to select for approbation the peculiar elements that come from some supposedly Jewish heredity is to open the door to all kinds of nonsense on racial theory… such theoretical views were used by

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

.” Feynman was not included in the book. Levitan also lectured frequently, and had over 450 articles and reviews on

American Jewish history ''American Jewish History'' is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Jewish Historical Society. The journal was established in 1892 and focuses on all aspects of the history of Jews in the United States. The journal was ...

and Jewish life published in both scholarly and popular Jewish journals, including a weekly column on Jewish history in ''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York City. It serves the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. History The ''Jewish Press'' was co-founded in 1960 by Albert Klass and his brother Sholom Klass. The Klas ...

'' from 1974 to 1977. She was elected to the Hunter College Hall of Fame in 1979. Levitan died in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, on June 9, 2014.

Works

The Firsts of American Jewish History, 1492-1951
Charuth Press (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 1952, 174 pages.
The Firsts of American Jewish History
Charuth Press (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 1957, 285 pages.
The Laureates: Jewish Winners of the Nobel prize
Twayne Publishers (New York, N.Y.), 1960, 236 pages.
Islands of Compassion: A History of the Jewish Hospitals of New York
Twayne Publishers (New York, N.Y.), 1964, 304 pages. * Beolam Hechadash ("In the New World," in Hebrew), Board of Jewish Education of New York, 1968.
Jews in American Life – From 1492 to the Space Age
Hebrew Publishing Company (New York, N.Y.), 1969, 253 pages. . * Viewpoints on Science and Judaism, Board of Jewish Education of New York, 1978 (editor, 26 essays)
First Facts in American Jewish History: From 1492 to the Present
Jason Aronson (Northvale, N.J.) 1996, 418 pages. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitan, Tina Writers from Boston Writers from New York City American women non-fiction writers Jewish American non-fiction writers 1922 births 2014 deaths Hunter College alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women