Thompson, E. Ray, 1854-
Dates
- Existence: b. 1854
- Existence: 1854
Biographical Note
Edward Ray Thompson was born on March 19th, 1854, to John Leland and Mary P. Thompson. He was prepared at the Troy Academy, and then entered Rensselaer in June of 1871. While at Rensselaer, Thompson played for the baseball team as a short stop, he was a member of the RPI Scientific Association, and he also participated in Schoharie excursions, with classmates and professors. Thompson graduated from Rensselaer in 1876, with a civil engineering degree. At the commencement, he read his graduating thesis, titled, “Hydraulic Machinery of the Bessemer Plant at Troy, N.Y.”. He held many jobs, working at Bement’s machine shop in Philadelphia for one year, Burden’s machine shop in Troy for one year, Bessemer’s steel works in Troy for one year, and then worked for six months at Vulcan iron and steel works, in St. Louis, MO. The dates of which he held these jobs are unknown. Thompson enjoyed travelling, and visited Europe three times, where he studied in Paris for one year. He also had a passion for collecting books, and upon his request, his personal library of 1,928 books, comprised of mostly English and French authors, was donated to the Harvard University Library after his death. Though the official date is unknown, Thompson passed away prior to 1900.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
E. Ray Thompson scrapbook
The Thompson scrapbook consists of various newspaper clippings, cards, commencement programs, invitations, and tickets from Thompson’s time as a student at Rensselaer, ranging from 1871 through 1876. This scrapbook provides a view of student life at RPI from the early to mid-1870s.