Venus

5 June 1915 – 5 May 2002

Franklyn Mansfield Branley was born in New Rochelle, New York, the child of an insurance salesman and his wife. While he was still a toddler, Branley's mother died of influenza, and he and his two brothers went to live with a farm family near Newburgh, New York. His father visited them on the weekends. Branley contracted polio at a young age. After graduating from the New Paltz Normal School (now SUNY), he married Margaret Lemon, who became a grade school teacher. He became a science teacher educator at the New Jersey State Teachers College. In 1956, he joined the American Museum-Hayden Planetarium to run the Planetariums education program. While working there, he also earned a Masters de…