Leonard Monteath Thompson (born 6 March 1916, in
Cranborne
Cranborne is a village in Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the parish had a population of 779, remaining unchanged from 2001.
Until 2019 the appropriate electoral ward was called 'Crane'. This ward included Wimborne St. Giles in the west a ...
, Dorset, England - died June 2004) was Charles J. Stillé Professor of History Emeritus at
Yale
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
and director of the former Yale Southern African Research Program. He is well known for his work on the formation of the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
and the two-volume ''
The Oxford History of South Africa'', a collaboration with N.M. Wilson., and has written and edited many books, including ''The Political Mythology of Apartheid'', ''The Frontier in History'' (with
Howard Lamar
Howard Roberts Lamar (November 18, 1923 – February 22, 2023) was an American historian of the American West. In addition to being Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University since 1994, he served as President of Yale University ...
), ''A History of South Africa'', and ''South African Politics'' (with Andrew Prior), all published by
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
.
Life
Born in England in 1916, Thompson was educated in both England and South Africa, and was a
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Esta ...
at
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
from 1937 to 1939. He was a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in the
Royal Navy during the Second World War
The Royal Navy was an important component of the Allied forces during the Second World War and made a significant contribution to the victory over the Axis powers. Its main tasks included the protection of merchant ships in the Atlantic against ...
, and was awarded many medals for distinguished service. After the war, he taught at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
. Thompson was a professor at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
between 1969 and 1986, and was the founding director of the Yale Southern African Research Program, directing the foundation from 1977 until 1994. Thompson wrote many books and articles, including "The Unification of South Africa" and "Survival in Two Worlds: Moshoeshoe of Lesotho, 1786-1870". In the 1950s, Thompson was a founding member of the
South Africa Liberal Party, although he left the country in 1961, in the wake of the 1960
Sharpeville Massacre. In June 2004, Thompson died after a brief illness.
Publications
* ''The Unification of South Africa: 1902-1910'' (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1960).
* "Afrikaner nationalist historiography and the policy of apartheid." ''Journal of African History'' 3#1 (1962): 125-141.
* Editor, ''African societies in Southern Africa: historical studies'' (London: Heinemann, 1969).
*
* edited with
Monica Wilson
Monica Wilson, née Hunter (3 January 1908 – 26 October 1982) was a South African anthropologist, who was professor of social anthropology at the University of Cape Town.
Life
Monica Hunter was born to missionary parents in Lovedale in t ...
: ''The Oxford History of South Africa: South Africa to 1870. Vol. 1'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969).
* ''The Political Mythology of Apartheid'' (1986).
* ''A History of South Africa'' (1st ed. 1990; 4th ed. 2014 with Lynn Berat).
Further reading
* Saunders, Christopher. "Thompson, Leonard" in
References
External links
Book Reviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Leonard
1916 births
2004 deaths
20th-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
20th-century American male writers
British emigrants to the United States
British expatriates in South Africa
Yale University faculty
Alumni of the University of Oxford