"[4] Samuel C. Florman was born and raised in New York City where he attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School.

The following year he enlisted in the Navy V-12 program at Dartmouth, continued his studies while on active duty, and received the BS degree, summa cum laude in November 1944.

Returning to civilian life in the fall of 1946 he entered graduate school at Columbia University and earned an MA degree in English Literature (June 3, 1947).

In 1948 after service in the Seabees and graduate studies at Columbia and N.Y.U., Florman worked as a field engineer for Hegeman-Harris Co.[7] on a project in Venezuela.

Florman has delivered papers and given speeches and presentations at many universities including Georgia Institute of Technology,[15] Princeton, Yale and the U.S. Military Academy—as well as at many engineering conferences and the New York Academy of Science—since 1968.

Florman's numerous awards included the Ralph Coats Roe Medal,[19] American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1982, which "recognizes an outstanding contribution toward a better public understanding and appreciation of the engineer’s worth to contemporary society," and honorary doctorates from Manhattan College and Clarkson University.