Don Lynn Anderson is an American geophysicist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of the origin, evolution, structure, and composition of Earth and other planets. An expert in numerous scientific disciplines, Anderson?s work combines seismology, solid state physics, geochemistry and petrology to explain how the Earth works. Anderson is best known for his contributions to the understanding of the Earth?s deep interior, and more recently, for explaining that volcanoes are the product of plate tectonics rather than narrow plumes emanating from the deep Earth. Anderson is Professor of Geophysics in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology. He has received numerous awards from geophysical, geological and astronomical societies. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Crafoord Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences along with Adam Dziewonski. Later that year, Anderson received the National Medal of Science. He holds honorary doctorates from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Paris. 

March 5th, 1933 in Frederick (Age 91)