Maurice and Katia KRAFFT
The Volcano Devils

Renowned for arriving first on the scene as soon as an eruption began, their American colleagues nicknamed them the “Fast moving volcanologists“, but also, more colorfully, the “Volcano Devils“.

Passionate scientists—he a geologist, she a geochemist—they were both field volcanologists. And for twenty-five years, they lived out their consuming passion, studying over two hundred eruptions in that time.

As outstanding popularizers in their field, they produced and directed five feature-length films on volcanoes, which they presented to around four million spectators at over four thousand conferences. They wrote twenty books—some of which have been translated into more than ten languages—including the very first books on the subject intended for children as young as five.

Enthusiastic collectors, they built up the world’s largest collection devoted to volcanism, across every field where science and art meet.

Convinced humanists, they played an active role in both raising political awareness of the dangers posed by volcanoes, and in protecting the people who live at the foot of these living mountains, capable of bringing both the best and the worst to mankind.

Financially independent, they were free to act, developing what would be a global vision of the world of volcanoes.

Maurice and Katia Krafft are considered to have been the most comprehensive and intrepid volcanologists of our time.