Frederick Irving

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title: "Frederick Irving" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1921-births", "2016-deaths", "20th-century-american-diplomats", "20th-century-unitarians", "21st-century-american-male-writers", "ambassadors-of-the-united-states-to-iceland", "ambassadors-of-the-united-states-to-jamaica", "american-autobiographers", "american-expatriates-in-austria", "american-expatriates-in-iceland", "american-expatriates-in-jamaica", "american-expatriates-in-new-zealand", "jewish-american-military-personnel", "american-people-of-moldovan-jewish-descent", "american-people-of-russian-jewish-descent", "american-prisoners-of-war-in-world-war-ii", "american-unitarians", "american-unitarian-universalists", "brown-university-alumni", "burials-at-arlington-national-cemetery", "carter-administration-personnel", "converts-to-unitarianism-from-judaism", "deaths-from-cancer-in-massachusetts", "ford-administration-personnel", "harvard-kennedy-school-faculty", "national-war-college-alumni", "nixon-administration-personnel", "people-from-amherst,-massachusetts", "people-from-providence,-rhode-island", "world-war-ii-prisoners-of-war-held-by-germany", "the-fletcher-school-at-tufts-university-alumni", "united-states-army-air-forces-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "united-states-assistant-secretaries-of-state", "united-states-foreign-service-personnel", "economists-from-massachusetts", "economists-from-rhode-island", "united-states-army-air-forces-officers", "classical-high-school-alumni", "stalag-luft-iii-prisoners-of-world-war-ii"] description: "American diplomat (1921–2016)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Irving" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American diplomat (1921–2016) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Frederick Irving
office	United States Ambassador to Jamaica
image	File:Frederick Irving.jpg
width	200
predecessor	Sumner Gerard
president	Jimmy Carter
successor	Loren E. Lawrence
termend	November 22, 1978
termstart	July 18, 1977
office2	United States Ambassador to Iceland
predecessor2	Luther Replogle
president2	Richard Nixon
office1	2nd Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
predecessor1	Dixy Lee Ray
president1	Gerald Ford
successor1	Patsy Mink
termend1	March 26, 1977
termstart1	April 28, 1976
termend2	April 21, 1976
termstart2	October 11, 1972
successor2	James J. Blake
birth_date	May 2, 1921
birth_place	Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.
resting_place	Arlington National Cemetery
spouse
alma_mater	Brown University (BA)
The Fletcher School (MA)
National War College
allegiance	United States
branch	United States Army
(Army Air Forces)
serviceyears	1943–1945
rank	[[File:US-O3 insignia.svg
battles	World War II
mawards	[[File:Purple Heart BAR.svg
::

| name = Frederick Irving | office = United States Ambassador to Jamaica | image = File:Frederick Irving.jpg | width = 200 | caption = | predecessor = Sumner Gerard | president = Jimmy Carter | successor = Loren E. Lawrence | termend = November 22, 1978 | termstart = July 18, 1977 | office2 = United States Ambassador to Iceland | predecessor2 = Luther Replogle | president2 = Richard Nixon | office1 = 2nd Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs | predecessor1 = Dixy Lee Ray | president1 = Gerald Ford | successor1 = Patsy Mink | termend1 = March 26, 1977 | termstart1 = April 28, 1976 | termend2 = April 21, 1976 | termstart2 = October 11, 1972 | successor2 = James J. Blake | birth_date = May 2, 1921 | birth_place = Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S. | resting_place = Arlington National Cemetery | spouse = | alma_mater = Brown University (BA) The Fletcher School (MA) National War College | allegiance = United States | branch = United States Army (Army Air Forces) | serviceyears = 1943–1945 | rank = [[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|18px]] First Lieutenant | battles = World War II | awards = | mawards = [[File:Purple Heart BAR.svg|30px]] Purple Heart

Frederick Irving (May 2, 1921 – November 13, 2016) was an American diplomat and civil servant. He was United States Ambassador to Iceland from 1972 to 1976, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs from 1976 to 1977, and United States Ambassador to Jamaica from 1977 to 1978.

Biography

Frederick Irving was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 2, 1921. He studied at Classical High School, where he met his future wife, Dorothy. He was educated at Brown University, receiving an A.B. in political science in 1943.

After graduating from Brown, Irving served in the United States Army Air Corps for the remainder of World War II as a navigator. On his 37th bombing mission, his B-24 Liberator heavy bomber was shot down over Hungary as he was returning from bombing the Blechhammer oil refinery. He spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft III.

After the war, he attended Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and received an M.A. in international relations. He then studied at the National War College.

Irving then joined the United States Foreign Service and worked there for 32 years. In September 1972, President of the United States Richard Nixon nominated Irving to be United States Ambassador to Iceland. He served there until 1976. In 1976, President Gerald Ford nominated Irving as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and he held this position until 1977. President Jimmy Carter then named him United States Ambassador to Jamaica.

Irving retired in 1978, and died on November 13, 2016.

Bibliography

References

| title=United States Ambassador to Iceland | years=October 11, 1972 – April 21, 1976 | before=Luther Replogle | after=James J. Blake | title=Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs | years=April 28, 1976 – March 26, 1977 | before=Dixy Lee Ray | after=Patsy Mink | title=United States Ambassador to Jamaica | years=July 18, 1977 – November 22, 1978 | before=Sumner Gerard | after=Loren E. Lawrence

References

1. (7 February 2013). "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR FREDERICK IRVING".
2. "Frederick Irving Obituary". The Boston Globe.
3. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZqNqiZv4P_EC&dq=Frederick+Irving+ambassador&pg=PA117 Gardner N. Hatch and John S. Edwards, ''American Ex-POW'' (Turner Publishing Company, 2001), p. 117]
4. [http://classicalalumni.org/alumni-awards-bios-2010.htm Bio from Classical High School website] {{webarchive. link. (2011-07-25)
5. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZqNqiZv4P_EC&dq=Frederick+Irving+ambassador&pg=PA117 Gardner N. Hatch and John S. Edwards, ''American Ex-POW'' (Turner Publishing Company, 2001), p. 117]

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