The Comptroller of the Treasury was an official of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1781 to 1921. The Comptroller's office was established by resolution of the Continental Congress in 1778. According to section III of the Act of Congress establishing the Treasury Department, it is the comptroller's duty to superintend the adjustment and preservation of the public accounts; to examine all accounts settled by the Auditor, and certify the balances arising thereon to the Register; to countersign all warrants drawn by the Secretary of the Treasury, which shall be warranted by law; to report to the Secretary the official forms of all papers to be issued in the different offices for collecting the public revenue, and the manner and form of keeping and stating the accounts of the several persons employed therein. He shall moreover provide for the regular and punctual payment of all monies which may be collected, and shall direct prosecutions for all delinquencies of officers of the revenue, and for debts that are, or shall be due to the United States.
The first person to hold this office was Nicholas Eveleigh.Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States United States. Vol. 20. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1941, p. V. Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. Washington’s Circle: The Creation of the President. New York: Random House, 2015. It was also held for a time by Gabriel Duvall, who would later serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. The office was originally known as the First Comptroller of the Treasury until it was abolished and replaced with the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury in 1894.28 Stat. 162, 205 (1894) The office of the Comptroller of the Treasury was abolished in 1921, with many of its duties transferring to the Comptroller General.Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, Sec. 301
List of officeholders PortraitNameTerm of officeAppointing presidentTook officeLeft officeTime in office1Nicholas EveleighSeptember 11, 1789April 16, 17911 year, 218 daysGeorge Washington2Oliver Wolcott Jr.179117954 years3John Davis179517964John SteeleJuly 1, 1796December 15, 18026 years, 168 days5Gabriel Duvall180218119 yearsThomas JeffersonChristopher L. Tomlins, The United States Supreme Court: The Pursuit of Justice 476–77 (2005).6Richard RushNovember 181118121 yearJames MadisonEzekiel BaconFebruary 11, 1814February 28, 18151 year, 17 daysJoseph Anderson1815183621 yearsGeorge Wolf1836Andrew JacksonJames Nelson Barker1838?Martin Van BurenWalter ForwardMarch 6, 1841September 13, 1841192 daysWilliam Henry HarrisonElisha Whittlesey (1st appt)May 31, 1849March 26, 1857Zachary TaylorWilliam Medill18571861James BuchananElisha Whittlesey (2nd appt)April 10, 1861January 7, 1863Abraham LincolnRobert Walker Taylor Sr.January 14, 1863February 25, 187815 years, 47 daysAlbert G. Porter187818802 yearsRutherford B. Hayes?William Lawrence1880March 24, 18855 yearsMilton J. Durham188518894 yearsGrover ClevelandAsa C. Matthews1889Benjamin Harrison?Robert TracewellMarch 4, 1897June 15, 191417 years, 107 daysWilliam McKinleyGeorge Eddy Downey19131915Woodrow WilsonWalter W. Warwick1915?1921
References
External links Fact sheet on the Act of Congress establishing the Treasury Department
Eveleigh's biographic note on the web page for the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 - Present https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=E000263