David Osborn; Former U.S. Ambassador to Burma, Career Diplomat

David Osborn, 73, a former U.S. ambassador to Burma whose mastery of Japanese and Chinese helped resolve various diplomatic crises. Osborn’s 31-year career with the Foreign Service included multiple postings in Japan, as well as assignments in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It culminated with the ambassadorship to Burma from 1974 to 1978. His language skills were invaluable during interrogations of Japanese prisoners in World War II, during war crimes trials and as a participant in diplomatic talks with Chinese Communists in the mid-1950s. In San Diego on Sept. 16 of injuries incurred in a bicycle accident.