Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Florida Atlantic University Libraries

Jewish Generals and Admirals in America's Military

A Judaica Collection Exhibit

Rear Admiral Ben. J. Lehman:
A Flag Officer and a Registered
Professional Engineer
by Seymour “Sy” Brody

Rear Admiral Ben. J. Lehman was a Flag Officer and a professional engineer. He testified in court for the Navy over 50 times in their legal suits against manufacturers.

He was born on April 4, 1924, in New York City, New York. His father, Herman Lehman, was born in New York City. He was a first sergeant in World War I. He married his mother Ethel Schwartz in 1921. She had worked in the shirt factories of New York City.

Lehman was a product of the New York City school system. He earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree in City College of New York, 1942. He attended in the evenings Manhattan College for industrial physiology and safety and Pratt Institute for electronics in 1943.

He attended the U.S. Naval Academy Post-Graduate Academy for electrical and mechanical engineering, 1944-1945. Lehman went to Harvard University and received his M.S. in mechanical engineering, in 1949. He went part-time to Stanford University for design philosophy and advanced stress analysis, 1957-1959.

Lehman received recognition as a registered professional engineer from New York, 1949, California, 1953, Alabama, 1976, Louisiana, 1976 and Florida, in 1976. He was a Certified Safety Professional, 1979 to 2004. This position was discontinued in 2004.

He was a ship superintendent, 1942-1946 and 1950-1954. He was in the Naval Reserve and as promoted to Commander, 1957, Captain, 1962 and Rear Admiral, 1977. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 1982 with a military ceremony.

During the years that he was in the Naval Reserve, Lehman worked for many corporations as an engineer.

Rear Admiral Ben J. Lehman belonged to following professional societies and organizations:
● System Safety Society
● American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
● Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
● Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
● IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society
● American Society of Naval Engineers
● American Boat and Yacht Council
● Risk Analysis Society
● Mechanics Institute of San Francisco
● Panelist American Arbitration Association

He married Nell Zamkin, of N.Y.C., in 1945 and they had a son Thomas, who is a medical doctor and the Chief of the Pediatric Rheumatology at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York City. She died in 1991. Admiral Lehman married Ann Brown Harmon, in 1994, and they are living in Nevada.

For additional information, contact
Special Collections and Archives
S.E. Wimberly Library

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