Sheldon S. Cohen
{{short description|American lawyer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Sheldon Cohen
|image = Sheldon Stanley Cohen (page 29 crop).jpg
|office = 35th Commissioner of Internal Revenue
|president = Lyndon B. Johnson
|term_start = January 25, 1965
|term_end = January 20, 1969
|predecessor = Mortimer Caplin
|successor = Randolph W. Thrower
|birth_name = Sheldon Stanley Cohen
|birth_date = {{birth date|1927|6|28}}
|birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2018|9|4|1927|6|28}}
|death_place = Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
|party = Democratic
|education = George Washington University (LLB)
}}
Sheldon Stanley Cohen (June 28, 1927 – September 4, 2018) was an American attorney who served as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 1965 to 1969.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/104322779/ |title=The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio on December 29, 1964 · Page 39 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=1964-12-29 |accessdate=2018-09-08}}
Background
Cohen was born in Washington, D.C., the son of a Lithuanian immigrant.{{cite news |title=Sheldon Cohen, commissioner who computerized IRS, dies at 91 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/sheldon-cohen-commissioner-who-computerized-irs-dies-at-91/ |access-date=29 October 2021 |work=Times of Israel |date=7 September 2018}} He went to the District of Columbia public schools and served in the United States Navy during World War II. He received his law degree from the George Washington University Law School and practiced law in Washington, D.C. He was involved with the Democratic Party and served as the general counsel to the Democratic National Committee.[https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=190133452 Sheldon Cohen-obituary]
Commissioner of the IRS
In 1965 Cohen became the youngest ever Commissioner of Internal Revenue. He helped the IRS become fully computerized. Writing in 1968, John Brooks described him as "a man with close-cropped brown hair, candid eyes, and a guileless manner" who was "less gregarious and more reflective" than his predecessor Mortimer Caplin.{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=John |author1-link=John Brooks (writer) |title=Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street |date=2014 |page=108}}
Death
He died of heart failure on September 4, 2018, in Chevy Chase, Maryland at age 91.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/sheldon-s-cohen-irs-commissioner-who-computerized-agency-dies-at-91/2018/09/05/69ac41b2-b06a-11e8-9a6a-565d92a3585d_story.html |title=Sheldon S. Cohen, IRS commissioner who computerized agency, dies at 91 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2018-09-05 |accessdate=2018-09-08}}
References
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Category:Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
Category:Military personnel from Washington, D.C.
Category:George Washington University Law School alumni