Homer Armstrong Thompson (September 7, 1906 – May 7, 2000) was a Canadian classical

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

of the twentieth century, specializing in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

. As a fellow of the

American School of Classical Studies at Athens The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA; ) is one of 19 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece. It is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). CAORC is a private not-for-profit federat ...

, Thompson was part of the excavations of the

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

from May 25, 1931 and led them from 1946 until 1970. He was married to a fellow archaeologist,

Dorothy Burr Thompson Dorothy Burr Thompson (August 19, 1900 – May 10, 2001) was an American classical archaeologist and art historian at Bryn Mawr College and a leading authority on Hellenistic terracotta figurines. Early life Thompson was the elder of two da ...

Early life and education

Thompson was born in Devlin, Ontario, Canada, as the second child of William and Gertrude Thompson. The younger years of his life were split between Lauderdale Farm in Rosedale and

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

, British Columbia. Since Chilliwack Senior Secondary School was not easily accessible from the farm, he and his sister, Jean, boarded with Grace Baldwin and her family on Williams Street in Chilliwack. At school, he was influenced by his principal Harry Fraser, who taught and encouraged Thompson in his pursuit of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Homer's father, who had also studied the classics before becoming a farmer, encouraged his son as well. At the young age of 15, Thompson graduated from Chiliwack High School. He enrolled to study the classics at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, as well as becoming a member of the track team, the business manager for Student Publications, and the president of the Classics Club. Thompson focused on Latin and earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

with honours in only three years. He stayed to continue his studies and in 1927 received his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

with first-class honours. At this time he was only 19 years old and became the youngest classics professor in Canada. Thompson chose archaeology for his doctoral studies, and was awarded his Ph.D. by the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

after only two years' study.

Life and career

Soon after completing his doctorate, Thompson was awarded a three-year fellowship of $4,500 by the

to assist on excavations. He was to work primarily at Corinth but also in the agora in Athens, both under

T. Leslie Shear Theodore Leslie Shear (August 11, 1880 – July 3, 1945) was an American classical archaeologist, who directed excavations of the ancient Greek city of Corinth and the Agora of Athens. Born in New London, New Hampshire, Shear was educated ...

. After spending some time in working in Athens, he became passionate about the Athenian agora and the possible work to be done there; it would become the focus of his career. While excavating in Athens in 1932, Homer met Dorothy Burr. At the time she was the only woman fellow working on the excavations in Athens. Dorothy's concentration of study revolved around excavating and publishing her finds on the Athenian gardens and terracotta figurines. Thompson called Dorothy "one of ismore remarkable finds." She also was a classics enthusiast and worked with him at the Institute for Advanced Study as well as in Athens. They married in 1934. Dorothy gave birth to twins, Hilary and Hope, in 1935, and another daughter, Pamela, in 1938. However, she pursued her career as well, unlike many women of the era. Excepting the war years, from 1933 to 1947 Homer and Dorothy spent the summers of every year in Athens and the remaining months teaching at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. In 1947, the Thompsons moved on to the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

. Thompson received numerous awards during his long career. These included: Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1957), the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement from the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and ...

(1972), the Lucy Wharton Drexel Gold Medal of the University Museum at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(1978), the Kenyon Medal for Classical Studies from the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

(1991), and the

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Humanities from the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(1996), of which he was also a member. Thompson died in

Hightstown, New Jersey Hightstown is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nestled within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region, Hightstown is an historic, commercial, and cultural hub of Cent ...

Sources

* Diffendale D.P. (2014) Thompson, Homer. In: Smith C. (eds) ''Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology''. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_933 * Dyson, Stephen L. and Daniel Graepler, "Thompson, Homer Armstrong" In ''Brill’s New Pauly Supplements I - Volume 6 : History of classical Scholarship - A Biographical Dictionary, 2013-12-04''

Necrology

* Rotroff, Susan I. "Homer Armstrong Thompson, 1906-2000." ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 105, no. 1 (2001): 99-100. Accessed April 5, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/507328. * McCredie, James R. "Homer Armstrong Thompson: 7 September 1906 · 7 May 2000." ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 146, no. 4 (2002): 412–14. Accessed April 5, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1558316. * Martin, Douglas "Homer Thompson Dies at 93; Led Excavation of the Agora" ''New York Times'' May 13, 2000 https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/13/nyregion/homer-thompson-dies-at-93-led-excavation-of-the-agora.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Homer 1906 births 2000 deaths Canadian archaeologists Institute for Advanced Study faculty People from Rainy River District Canadian expatriate academics in the United States Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences University of Michigan alumni People from Chilliwack Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Canadian expatriates in the United States Members of the American Philosophical Society