Children's author and illustrator James Marshall (October 10, 1942 - October 13, 1992) was born in San Antonio, Texas where he grew up on his family's farm. His father worked on the rail road, was a band member in the 1930's, and his mother sang in the local church choir. He played viola and entered the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, but injured his hand thereby ending his music career. He returned to Texas, where he attended San Antonio College, and later transferred to Southern Connecticut State University where he received degrees in French and history. He lived between an apartment in the Chelsea district of New York and a home in Mansfield Hollow Connecticut.
