Donald Wilber

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Donald Newton Wilber, American writer and spy. He was largely involved in CIA project "Operation Ajax", a successful plot to remove Prime Minister Mossadeq from power in Iran.

Besides collecting Oriental rugs, he wrote histories, travelogues and commentaries on Iran, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

Donald N. Wilber was a renowned scholar on the ancient and modern Middle East. He received his A.B. (1929), M.F.A., and Ph.D. (1949) from Princeton University, where he was the first student to receive a doctorate in architectural history. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including:

The Islamic Architecture of Iran and Turan: The Timurid Period (with co-author Lisa Golombek, Princeton University Press, 2 vols.)
Iran Past and Present (Princeton University Press)
The Architecture of Islamic Iran: The Il Khanid Period (Princeton University Press)
Persian Gardens and Garden Pavilions (Dumbarton Oaks)
Pakistan Yesterday and Today (Holt, Rinehart and Winston)
Persepolis: The Archaeology of Parsa, Seat of the Persian Kings (The Darwin Press, Inc.)
The Land and People of Ceylon (J. B. Lippincott)
Contemporary Iran (Frederick A. Praeger),

and Adventures in the Middle East: Excursions and Incursions (The Darwin Press, Inc.)

His book Iran Past and Present, was one of the most popular books about Iran and went through nine editions. Donald Wilber was also an expert on Oriental Rugs, and was president of the Princeton Rug Society for many years. His forty years spent as an archaeologist in the Middle East, and as a historian of the region, included many friendships with people in all walks of life, including Persian scholars and rulers and dignitaries of many nations as well as with ordinary citizens of many different countries.

Wilber also served as a United States intelligence officer with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and was an active participant in the power struggles of nations, especially during the rivalry between the West and the Soviet Union as it came to a head in Iran in the aftermath of World War II. Don Wilber died in 1997.

Source: Adventures in the Middle East and Iran, Past and Present and Iran Past and Present and personal conversations with Don Wilber. Submitted by a personal acquaintance of Don Wilber in Princeton, NJ, and publisher of the aforementioned books on Persepolis and Adventures in the Middle East, a book that summarizes his adventures, experiences, friendships, and his participation in the political events of that era.