David Thompson (explorer)

For other people with the same name, see David Thompson.

David Thompson
Born(1770-04-30)30 April 1770
Westminster, England
Died10 February 1857(1857-02-10) (aged 86)
Longueuil, Canada East
Occupation(s)Explorer and Map Maker
SpouseCharlotte Small
ChildrenFanny (1801), Samuel (1804), Emma (1806), John (1808), Joshuah (1811), Henry (1813), Charlotte (1815), Elizabeth (1817), William (1819), Thomas (1822), George (1824), Mary (1827), Eliza (1829)
Parent(s)David and Ann Thompson
Signature

David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was an Anglo-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native people as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he travelled 90,000 kilometres (56,000 mi) across North America, mapping 4.9 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) of the continent along the way.[1] For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".[2]: xxxii 

  1. ^ "The Country of Adventurers: David Thompson narrated by Rick Hansen". HBC History Foundation. 19 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  2. ^ Thompson, David (1916). Tyrrell, Joseph (ed.). David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America, 1784–1812. Champlain Society. doi:10.3138/9781442618114. hdl:2027/uiug.30112076489480. ISBN 978-1-4426-1811-4.