Benjamin Hirsch Levy was born in Savannah on August 24, 1912, the son of Arthur and Regena Levy.

He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1932 and received a law degree from Harvard University Law School in 1935. He was admitted to the bar that same year and began to practice as an attorney for the Bright and Brennan law firm in Savannah.

On August 7, 1940, he married Marion Cecil Abrahams of Savannah and they had two children, Joan and B.H., Jr.

He began active duty in the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and served throughout World War II, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

After the war Mr. Levy joined the law firm of Bouhan, Williams, and Levy, eventually becoming a senior partner. He practiced law in Savannah for 53 years.

Besides leading a successful career as a lawyer, Mr. Levy was an active civic, business, religious, and cultural leader. Throughout his life he served as president of the Chatham County Board of Education, president of the Savannah Rotary Club, commander of the Savannah chapter of Military Order of World Wars, president of Congregation Mickve Israel, and president of the Savannah chapter of the B’nai B’rith.

He served as president of the Georgia Historical Society from 1980 to 1984 and chaired the GHS Endowment Trust board from 1984 to 1987.

B.H. Levy loved history and it became a second calling. In addition to his service to GHS he was chairman of the Savannah and Georgia Semi-quincentenary Commission for the state’s 250th anniversary and was a trustee for the U.S. Constitution Council of the 13 Original States.

He was also an authority on the history of Savannah’s Jewish community and chaired the Savannah chapter of the American Council of Judaism. He published articles in the Georgia Historical Quarterly and was the author of Savannah’s Old Jewish Community Cemeteries, published by Mercer University Press in 1983, and Mordecai Sheftall: Jewish Revolutionary Patriot, published by GHS in 1999.

B.H. Levy died on August 3, 1988, at age 75. He is buried in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah.

In 2004, Mr. Levy’s family established the B.H. Levy Endowment Fund, thus ensuring in perpetuity that his deep love and commitment to Georgia history education will continue.