Volcanoes

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…

23 November 1915 – 13 July 2013

Marc Simont was born in Paris, France, the son of Spanish painter Joseph Simont. He spent his childhood in Paris, Barcelona, and New York City. He became interested in drawing at a very young age. He was often ill as a child, and his education was often interrupted by illness or relocation, and he never finished high school. Nevertheless, he studied art at both the Academie Julien and the Academie Ranson in Paris, although he considered his father to be his most influential art teacher. In 1930, Simont traveled to New York City to attend the New York National School of Design. He settled in the United States permanently in 1935 and resumed study at the National School of Design. In …