Almon Harris Thompson

Almon Harris Thompson
Thompson in 1902
BornSeptember 24, 1839
Stoddard, New Hampshire, United States
DiedJuly 31, 1906(1906-07-31) (aged 66)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Educator, topographer, geologist, explorer, Civil War veteran
SpouseEllen Powell Thompson

Almon Harris Thompson (September 24, 1839 – July 31, 1906), also known as A. H. Thompson, was an American topographer, geologist, explorer, educator and Civil War veteran.[1] Often called "The Professor" or simply "Prof",[2] Thompson is perhaps best known for being second in command of John Wesley Powell's Second Geographical Expedition (1871–1875),[3] a federally funded scientific expedition that retraced the route of Powell's original expedition in order to further explore and map the drainages and canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers in what is now southern Utah and northern Arizona. Thompson's diary of the expedition was originally published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1939.[4] Through his work on the Powell expeditions and later as a geographer at the U.S. Geological Survey,[5] he was responsible for naming many geographic locations in the Western United States. Thompson is also known for being a founding member of the National Geographic Society.

  1. ^ "Thompson Expedition Through the Paria-Escalante-Waterpocket Canyons Region of Utah (1872), and Later Photographs of the Aquarius Plateau Region (1875)". Washington D.C.: United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  2. ^ Dellenbaugh, Frederick S. (1908). A Canyon Voyage: The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado River from Wyoming and the Explorations on Land, in the years 1871 and 1872. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Powell, John Wesley (1875). Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872 under the direction of the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  4. ^ Gregory, Herbert E. (1939). Diary of Almon Harris Thompson. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press.
  5. ^ Dellenbaugh, Frederick (1902). The Romance of the Colorado River. New York: G.P. Putnam. p. 240. Retrieved January 10, 2013.