Dale Cairns Thomson (17 June 1923 – 27 April 1999) was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and departmental director at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

, professor and Vice-Principal of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

and a professor of international relations and Director of the Center of Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins University's

School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and the

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of several important historical works. Born on a

Westlock Westlock is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1913, the town is primarily an agricultural, business, and government administration centre serving communities and rural areas within surrounding Westlock County. Geography Westlock i ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

, Dale Thomson served in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. At the end of the war, he attended the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

, graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1948. Fluent in the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

, he then obtained a diploma in international relations from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1950 and his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from the university's Faculty of Letters in 1951. To do his thesis entitled " General Haushofer and his Ideas on Geopolitics," Thomson spent time in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, becoming fluent in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

. Returning to Canada, Thomson worked for a short time at the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

before being invited to served as Associate Private Secretary to

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...

, Louis St. Laurent where he remained until 1958. Involved with both the

Liberal Party of Quebec The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

and the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, in the

1958 Canadian federal election The 1958 Canadian federal election was held to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election. It transformed Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's mino ...

Thomson was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate in the

Jasper—Edson Jasper—Edson was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1968. This riding was created in 1933 from parts of Peace River riding. The electoral district was abolish ...

riding. Following his brief foray into politics, Thomson returned to academia where he forged an outstanding career that included authoring a number of important books. In addition, he wrote articles in the Canadian press and was a frequent television and radio guest commentator concerning Canadian politics. Dale Thomson died in 1999 after a lengthy illness. His archive is held at the

Archives.

Academic positions

- professor (1960–1969), departmental director (1963–1967) * Johns Hopkins University's

- professor of international relations and founding director of the Director of the Center of Canadian Studies (1969–1973) *

- Vice-Principal (1973–1976) and Professor of Political Science (1973–1994)

Affiliations

Association for Canadian Studies The Association for Canadian Studies is a non-profit organization, founded at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1973. Its activities are conducted in both official languages of Canada. Through the organization, its individual and institut ...

in the United States * Canadian Political Science Association/Société Canadienne de Science Politique * International Society for Political Psychology * International Association for Mass Communication Research * Member of the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Books

*''Alexander Mackenzie : Clear Grit'' (1960) *''Louis St. Laurent, Canadian'' (1967) *''Canadian Foreign Policy : Options And Perspectives'' (with Roger F. Swanson, 1971) *''Quebec Society And Politics: Views From The Inside'' (1973) *''Mémoire à la Commission parlementaire de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec à propos du projet de loi no 1, Charte de la langue française au Québec'' (1977) *''Jean Lesage & The Quiet Revolution'' (1984) *''

Vive le Québec Libre " (, 'Long live free Quebec!') was a phrase in a speech delivered by French President Charles de Gaulle in Montreal, Quebec on July 24, 1967, during an official visit to Canada for the Expo 67 world's fair. While giving an address to a large cro ...

'' (1988)

External links

Dale Cairns Thomson Fonds
McGill University Library & Archives
Empire Club Addresses, Dale C. Thomson, March 12, 1970

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Dale C. Canadian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) University of Alberta alumni University of Paris alumni Canadian political scientists McGill University faculty Members of the United Church of Canada Université de Montréal faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Canadian non-fiction writers People from Westlock County 1923 births 1999 deaths Candidates in the 1958 Canadian federal election Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 20th-century non-fiction writers Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian expatriates in France Canadian expatriates in Germany 20th-century political scientists