Benjamin Applegate Furman was born in Newark, New Jersey, on August 18, 1883, the son of John Applegate Furman and Emma Conover Ayres. He had four siblings: Edna, Robert, Edith, and John, Jr. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1906, he earned a medical degree from Columbia University in 1910. He worked for Presbyterian Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, from 1914-1963, and concurrently owned a private practice. Furman joined the United States Army before August 1917, served as a surgeon with the 407th Telegraph Battalion and the 2nd Evacuation Hospital in France between August 1917 and April 1919, and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant. On September 27, 1919, he married Helen Mary Pryor; they had two sons, John Pryor and Robert Ayres. Benjamin A. Furman died on June 22, 1967.
From the guide to the Benjamin A. Furman collection, Furman, Benjamin A. collection, 1917-1919, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
