Herbert Irving

Herbert Irving (November 5, 1917 – October 3, 2016) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and art collector. He co-founded Sysco, the world's largest food distributor, and was known for his contributions to the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Biography Irving was born on November 5, 1917, in Brooklyn. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He served with the United States Army in Europe during World War II and took part in the landing of Normandy. He stepped down as vice chairman of Sysco's board in 1992 and remained a director until 1994. The contributions Irving made to the medical center totaled $300 million over thirty years, beginning in 1987, when he made the first donation of $8.5 million. A dozen programs, facilities, and professorships at the CUMC are named after Irving.

He and his wife were also known for their collection of Asian art. The couple donated over 1,300 objects and made donations worth over $80 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to support the museum's acquisition, exhibition, and publication of Asian art. They are the namesake of The Florence and Herbert Irving Asian Wing on the North side of the museum, which includes the galleries for Chinese art, the arts of Korea, and South and Southeast Asian art.

In 2017, he and his wife made a posthumous $700 million gift to Columbia to advance research and clinical programs for the treatment of cancer.

Personal life and family He married Florence Rapoport in 1941. He died in Manhattan on October 3, 2016, at age 98.