Benjamin Thompson (April 22, 1806 – January 31, 1890) was an American farmer and businessman, remembered as the main benefactor of the present-day

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

, located in

Durham, New Hampshire Durham is a New England town, town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 15,490 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,638 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 ...

Biography

Thompson was the son of Benjamin Thompson Sr. and Mary Pickering. Upon his death in 1890, Thompson left the

State of New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

his farm and other properties in Durham. He also left Warner Farm, which was originally part of the Valentine Hill grant at Oyster River. His total assets gifted totaled over $400,000 . Thompson specified that the money and properties were to be used to establish an agricultural college. The New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, which was already established in

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

, was moved to Thompson's property in Durham in 1893. The first building constructed, in the center of the new campus, was named Thompson Hall in his honor. For many years, its profile was used by the school on all documents and memorabilia; it now houses some administrative offices. The college became the

in 1923.

References

External links

UNH Archives - Guide to the Benjamin Thompson Trust Fund Financial Documents, 1856-1964
''UNH Magazine'' online, spring 2002 1806 births 1890 deaths University of New Hampshire Farmers from New Hampshire People from Durham, New Hampshire Businesspeople from New Hampshire 19th-century American farmers {{NewHampshire-stub