Irving Florman

Irving Florman (1892,[1] Poland - May 9, 1981, Manhattan[2]) was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia by President Harry Truman. His appointment was based on what was considered “unorthodox” qualifications because he “had been a Manhattan inventor (cigarette lighters, mine detectors), and a sometime Broadway lyric-writer (Chauve-Souris, 1943).”[3]

He served as Ambassador from November 1949 until September 1951, when he resigned for health reasons.[2]

Prior to being his ambassadorship, he worked as a research and mechanical engineer, an inventor and a Broadway producer and songwriter. It's been reported he was “an associate of ... Morris Gest ... and had a long friendship with the producer David Belasco.[2]

A resident of Manhattan at the time of his death, he died at Roosevelt-St. Luke's Hospital.[2]

  1. ^ "Florman, Irving, b. 1892". Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Irving Florman, Envoy To Bolivia for Truman". The New York Times. May 11, 1981. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  3. ^ "BOLIVIA : Idea Man Florman and Chewing Gum". No. November 6, 1950. Time Magazine. Retrieved 8 November 2019.