David Gray (August 8, 1870 – April 11, 1968)[1] was an American diplomat, journalist, playwright, novelist, short story writer, and lawyer.

A World War I veteran, he served in France in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, the American Expeditionary Forces, and as a liaison officer attached to several French armies.

Gray's first notable work as a writer was as the librettist for Lewis Sabin Thompson's operetta The Sphinx (1892), which the pair created while students at Harvard University.

He also authored two plays which had successful productions on Broadway: Gallops (1906, adapted from his short stories) and The Best People (1924); the latter of which was co-authored with playwright Avery Hopwood.

[6] David Gray, Sr. also was a respected poet, and a collection of his poems and letters was published in 1888;[5] the year of his death in a railway accident.

[8][9] He wrote the libretto for Lewis Sabin Thompson's operetta The Sphinx which was staged by the Hasty Pudding Club at Harvard in 1892.

Like the play, the novel tells the story of man returning to London from Colonial Africa in search of a wife; only to discover he despises the vapid women of his class and much prefers his sister's housemaid, Smith.

[3] Gray's second novel, Ensign Russell (1912),[12] followed the adventures of a junior officer in the United States Navy serving during the time of the Philippine–American War.

After leaving the law in March 1902, Gray embarked on a voyage around the world via the Panama Canal to the Philippines where he lived for five months.

[8] He was part of a civilian group sent by the United States Congress to evaluate the situation in the Philippines and report back on the conditions in the country.

Part of this evaluation involved reviewing the work of the United States Navy in order for Congress to determine the need for continued American military presence.

He wrote about his personal experiences in this civilian evaluative team in the magazine article "The Recantation of an Anti-Imperialist" for The Outlook, published August 20, 1904.

Together, Hopwood and Gray reworked the final portions of the comedy, and it was this revised version, now entitled The Best People, that premiered at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre on August 19, 1924 with both men credited as the playwrights.

In 1917 he was commissioned as a captain in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps (ASUSC), and left the United States for France on November 2 of that year.

[4] From June 1933 through June 1934, Gray and his wife lived in a cottage in the village of Castletownshend in County Cork, Ireland; during which time Gray began writing a history of the Irish Free State; ultimately abandoning the project when he realized he knew too much for a "tourist report" but not enough to publish a serious academic work.

Initially a supporter of de Valera, Gray became impatient with his stance of Irish neutrality and under pressure from the Roosevelt administration his behavior became increasingly undiplomatic beginning in November 1940 and continuing.

[29] When Roosevelt died in April 1945, de Valera ordered flags lowered to half mast as a sign respect and made arrangements for a commemoration service in St Mary's (Catholic) Pro-Cathedral.

Gray however sent word that he would not attend unless it was held in St. Patrick's (Church of Ireland) Cathedral, Dublin and refused to correspond on the matter further.

"[31] Gray, among other things, relied for guidance on seances conducted at the embassy residence, according to T. Ryle Dwyer, author of a number of publications on Irish neutrality.

After returning to the United States from Ireland, Gray lived with his wife Maude in Portland, Maine up until her death in that city on October 16, 1952 at the age of 75.