Franklin Brewster Folsom (21 July 1907 – 30 April 1995) was an American writer of popular books, many for children and young people, on archaeology, anthropology, and other subjects – he had over 80 titles published both under his own name and various

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s – and a pro-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

political activist.

Biography

Folsom graduated from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

in 1928, and taught at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

for two years before matriculating at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

in 1930 on a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

. After graduation, he dedicated himself to a career as a professional writer, and began publishing books on history and archaeology (some of which were co-authored by his wife, Mary Elting Folsom). He also worked as a guide in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. He served as an able bodied seaman in the

US Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His interest in the rights of

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

and Black Americans led to his extensive involvement in radical leftist organizations in the US. He was one of the founding members of the

League of American Writers The League of American Writers was an association of American novelists, playwrights, poets, journalists, and literary critics launched by the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in 1935. The group included Communist Party members, and so-called " fell ...

, and served as its executive secretary from 1937 to 1943, following the resignation of

Waldo Frank Waldo David Frank (August 25, 1889 – January 9, 1967) was an American novelist, historian, political activist, and literary critic, who wrote extensively for ''The New Yorker'' and ''The New Republic'' during the 1920s and 1930s. Frank is best ...

, who had expressed doubts about Stalin's

show trials A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The League closely cooperated with the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, and Folsom himself was an active party member. During the

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

campaign he published his books under various pseudonyms: Benjamin Brewster, Chase Elwell, Michael Gorham, Lyman Hopkins, Horatio D. Jones, Troy Nesbit, and Philip Stander. His wife Mary Elting (1906—2005) was also a writer and a journalist. They had a son, Michael (1938-1990), and a daughter, Rachel (born 1944).

Selected works

Published under his own name

* ''Search In The Desert'' (1955) * ''Exploring American Caves: Their History, Geology, Lore, and Location: a Spelunker's Guide'' (1956) * ''Fury and The Mystery At Trappers' Hole'' (1959) * ''Wagon Train'' (1959) * ''The Story of Archaeology of The Americas'' (1960) with Mary Elting Folsom * ''America's Ancient Treasures: A Guide To Archaeological Sites and Museums In The United States and Canada'' (1962) with Mary Elting Folsom * ''Famous Pioneers'' (1963) * ''The Language Book: From Tom Toms To Telstar'' (1963), illustrated by John Hull & Tran Hawicke ** Russian translation: ''Книга о языке'' (1974) М. Прогресс ** French translation: ''Du tam-tam à telstar, l'aventure du langage'' ** Extended version: ''The whole dramatic story of language: What it is . . . How it began . . . How it changes'' (1963) * ''Soviet Union : The View from Within'' (1965) * ''Science and The Secret of Man's Past'' (1966) * ''The Answer Book of History'' (1966) with Mary Elting Folsom * ''Flags of All Nations and The People Who Live Under Them'' (1967) with Mary Elting Folsom * ''If You Lived In The Days of The Wild Mammoth Hunters'' (1968) with Mary Elting Folsom * ''The Life and Legend of George McJunkin: Black Cowboy'' (ages 10 & up; 1973) * ''Red Power On The Rio Grande: The Native American Revolution of 1680'' (1973) * ''Indian Uprising On The Rio Grande: The Pueblo Revolt of 1680'' (1996) * ''Impatient Armies of The Poor: The Story of Collective Action of The Unemployed, 1808—1942'' (1991) * ''Days of Anger, Days of Hope: A Memoir of The League of American Writers, 1937—1942'' (1994)

References

External links

Mary Elting, Franklin Folsom, and Michael Folsom

Memoir in honor of Franklin Folsom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Folsom, Franklin Members of the Communist Party USA American children's writers 1995 deaths 1907 births University of Colorado alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford American Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Merton College, Oxford