Branley, Franklyn Mansfield, 1915-2002

Franklyn Mansfield Branley was born in 1915 in New Rochelle, New York. He received his teaching license from New Patlz Normal School and his BA from New York University in 1942. He received his MA and Ed.D. from Columbia University in 1948 and 1957, respectively. He taught school from 1936-1954, one of the first teachers to teach science to elementary school children. From 1954 to 1956 he was a science professor at the Jersey State Teachers College. His work at American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium sparked his interest in astronomy and space exploration. He worked there from 1956 until his retirement in 1972. He wrote over 140 science books for children and received numerous awards for these books. He was named New Jersey's Children's Book Writer of the year in 1970. He died in 2002. Biographical Source: Something About the Author, v. 136, p. 29.

From the guide to the Franklyn Mansfield Branley Papers, 1969, (University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections [clrc])

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