Harrison Forman was born on June 15, 1904 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended the
Layton School of Art and later the University of Wisconsin. There, he majored in
Oriental Philosophy and graduated with a B.A. in 1929. Forman began his career
training pilots and later sold military and commercial aircraft to the Chinese
government. Throughout the 1930s, he made several expeditions through Tibet and
later served as a war correspondent during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In that
conflict, he covered incidents like the bombardment of Shanghai (1937) and the
Japanese invasion of Indo-China (1940). Forman also traveled to Europe and was
present for the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland. This led to work as a foreign
correspondent for the New York Times and London Times during World War II. He mainly reported on
the China War Theater and was also present for the Communist capture of Shanghai in
1949. Forman travelled to the Philippines, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, and
numerous other countries during the postwar period. His photography and writing
about these journeys earned him the nickname, the "Modern Marco Polo."
Forman authored several books, including Through Forbidden
Tibet (1935), Report from Red China
(1945), and How to Make Money with Your Camera
(1951). He also edited for magazines such as McCall's
and True, and wrote for titles like Life and Collier’s. For
the 1937 movie Lost Horizon, he served as the film's
technical director. In his later years, Forman started two businesses with his wife
Sandra: Harrison Forman Travel, Inc., a travel agency, and Harrison Forman World
Photos, a photograph supplier. In addition, he was affiliated with several
organizations, including as a founding member of the American Society of Journalists
and Authors, a lifetime member of the Explorers Club, and as a fellow of the
American Geographical Society. Harrison Forman died on January 31, 1978.
