(November 11, 1916 — June 5, 2002)
Longtime fan who wrote (with Howard DeVore) several editions of their A History of the Hugo, Nebula and International Fantasy Awards, the latest edition with a slightly different title (Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards) in 1998 and published by Advent was nominated for a Hugo for Best Related Book. Franson also wrote A Key to the Terminology of Science Fiction Fandom (1962), Science Fiction Title Changes, and Some Facts About Science Fiction Fandom He lived most of his life in LA and was active in the N3F and LASFS (including serving as secretary) for years and was a member of N'APA. He was also a member of the Professor Challenger Society and the Interplanetary Exploration Society. He was a member of First Fandom and SFWA.
At one time or another, he was an N3F directorate member, president, club historian, and editor of a fanzine that he sent to N3F members, The Trash Barrel. In both 1995 and 1998 he won N3F’s President’s Award (later renamed The Franson Award in his honor), and in 1966 he received the N3Fs Kaymar Award. In his honor the September 2002 issue of The Fan was a “Don Franson Memorial Issue.”
