Henry Adams Thompson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 6th president of Otterbein University | |
| In office 1872–1886 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Eberly |
| Succeeded by | Henry Garst |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 23, 1837 Stormstown, Pennsylvania |
| Died | July 8, 1920 (aged 83) Dayton, Ohio |
| Alma mater | Washington & Jefferson College (BA) |
Henry Adams Thompson (March 23, 1837 – July 8, 1920) was an American prohibitionist and professor who was the vice-presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party in 1880.
Thompson was a native of Pennsylvania, but he spent much of his career in Ohio. He became a member of the United Brethren church and taught mathematics at several United Brethren colleges in the Midwest. Thompson served as president of Otterbein University from 1872 to 1886. Much of his time as college president was devoted to improving the financial standing of the school during the economic depression that followed the Panic of 1873.
Initially a Republican, he became an early member of the Prohibition Party. His attempt at election to the vice presidency in 1880, running on a ticket with Neal Dow of Maine, was the party's best showing to date, but they still placed a distant fourth to the eventual winners, James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. He ran for office under the Prohibition banner several other times before and after 1880, all without success.