Maurice Sydney Coburne was born Moishe Cohen in Belarus on January 15, 1899. He immigrated to Massachusetts, with his Mother, in 1903 where they joined the rest of their family who had already come over. He attended Boston Latin School. It was at this time he changed his name to Maurice S. Coburne to hide his Jewish background. When the U. S. entered World War One, Maurice was a sophomore at Bowdoin College and he joined their Reserve Officer Training Course (ROTC).

In order for him to be inducted into the U. S. Military, he became a naturalized citizen. Due to a heart murmur, he was denied field service and entered the Quartermaster course of instruction. The War ended by the time he qualified for a commission.

Maurice became a professor of English at the University of Wisconson. He died at the age of 26 while ice skating, falling through thin ice and drowning. He is remembered here by his Grand Nephew, a Maine resident and proud Bowdoin alumni.