Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868 – March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918.

[1] As District Attorney, Whitman gained national fame in prosecuting New York City Police Lt. Charles Becker for the July 16, 1912, murder of Herman Rosenthal, a Times Square gambling house operator, in front of the Hotel Metropole on West 43rd Street.

The building was owned by "Big Tim" Sullivan, a leader of the Lower East Side Tammany Hall political machine.

During this period, Whitman used his membership in the Union League Club of New York to conduct secret interviews there of witnesses during the Becker case, as he feared he was under surveillance.

Whitman's handling of the murder case of Hans Schmidt, a priest, and his prosecution of the poultry trust and of election frauds also gained him high praise.

In 1916, he was elected as chairman of the Republican National Convention, where he urged the nomination of former New York Governor Hughes for President of the United States.

[1] In 1917, he commissioned the creation of the New York State Police and selected George Fletcher Chandler, a physician and major in the National Guard, to organize and head the force.

[3] In 1918, Whitman was defeated for re-election by Democrat Al Smith (then President of the New York City Board of Aldermen and associated with Tammany Hall).