Harold Coffin

I was unable to locate reliable, detailed biographical information confirming the existence of a well-known American writer named Harold Coffin that matches the user’s query beyond a few attribution pages of quotes. Here is a summary of what I found and potential clarifications.

What I found

• Quotes attributed to “Harold Coffin”
  Several websites list aphorisms attributed to Harold Coffin, treating him as an American writer or humorist. Examples include:

  “Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own.” “The only thing worse than an active conscience is one that’s retroactive.” “Behind every successful man you’ll find a woman who has nothing to wear.” “In the business world an executive knows something about everything, a technician knows everything about something and the switchboard operator knows everything.”

  However, these sites do not supply robust biographical detail, dates, or verifiable primary sources.

• Harold G. Coffin (1929–2015)
  I found a Harold Glen Coffin, born April 9, 1929, died April 25, 2015, who was a Seventh-Day Adventist scientist and writer. Origin by Design) . This Harold Coffin is more of a scientist-writer than a popular humorist or general writer.

• Harold Pullman Coffin (1905–1981)
  Another possible candidate is Harold Pullman Coffin, a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner known for having created “National Nothing Day.” As a newspaperman/columnist, he might be considered a “writer” in some sense. But the “Harold Coffin” attribution of quotes seems more aligned with a humorist persona than a newspaper columnist’s name.

Conclusion and suggestion

Because the name “Harold Coffin” is shared by at least two individuals (the scientist Harold G. Coffin and the columnist Harold P. Coffin) and the quote-attributing websites lack rigorous sourcing, I cannot confidently produce a full, credible “author biography” for “Harold Coffin (American writer)” without further specification.

1. Prepare a biography for Harold G. Coffin (the scientist/writer)?

2. Prepare a biography for Harold Pullman Coffin, the columnist?

3. Try to trace and verify the humorist “Harold Coffin” attributed to those quotes and write a speculative profile?

Which direction would you prefer?