Frank Thompson Jr. (July 26, 1918 – July 22, 1989) was an American politician. He represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from 1955 to 1980, and was chairman of the

House Administration Committee The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on House Administration was created by the Legislative Reorganization A ...

from 1976 to 1980. He is one of seven federal politicians who were convicted in the

Abscam Abscam (sometimes written ABSCAM) was an FBI sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members of the United States Congress, among others, for bribery and corruption. The two-year investigation init ...

case in 1980. As a result, he resigned from Congress and served two years in prison.

Life and career

Thompson was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

, from which he earned a degree in law from the

Wake Forest University School of Law The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Wake Forest University. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredite ...

. Following the outbreak of

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 opposing ...

, Thompson put his legal career on hold to serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. From 1941 to 1948, Thompson was on active duty. He received three combat decorations for distinguished service at Iwo Jima and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. After a few years of practicing law, Thompson returned to the military and from August 1950 to January 1952, commanded the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

Battalion 4-68 completing a seventeen-month tour of active duty, on the staff of the commander, Eastern Sea Frontier. Between 1950 and 1954, he was as a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

, serving as minority leader during his second term.

Tenure in Congress

In 1954, he successfully ran as a Democrat for a seat in Congress. Thompson was a liberal voice in the House. He was also a strong supporter of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and ran Kennedy's voter registration operations in the 1960 Presidential election. From 1969 to 1971, he chaired the House Subcommittee on Libraries and Memorials and during his tenure conducted the first ever comprehensive hearings into the operations of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. From 1975 to 1978, he also chaired the

Joint Committee on Printing The Joint Committee on Printing is a joint committee of the United States Congress devoted to overseeing the functions of the Government Publishing Office and general printing procedures of the federal government of the United States. The authori ...

. He sponsored legislation that created both the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

and authored the legislation to establish the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was a ranking member of his party, serving as the chairman of the

Committee on House Administration The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on House Administration was created by the Legislative Reorganization A ...

during his final three terms.

Abscam conviction

In February 1980, Thompson was one of six Congressmen who were implicated in the

sting. Despite the charges, Thompson ran for re-election. He faced 27-year old Republican Chris Smith whom he had easily dispatched in 1978. The accusations weighed on the campaign and Smith defeated Thompson with 57% of the vote.NJ District 4 – 1980 Election
Our Campaigns; accessed October 6, 2013. Although Thompson maintained his innocence, he was convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges on December 3, 1980. On December 29, 1980, he resigned from Congress. In 1981, an appeals court upheld his conviction and he received a sentence of three years in prison. He served two years at the Federal prison in Lexington before he was granted parole in 1985.

Later life

After his release, he quietly lived out his days in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

. On July 20, 1989, he had surgery for esophageal cancer at

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 m ...

in Baltimore, and died there on July 22, 1989, four days before his 71st birthday.

References

External links

Frank Thompson Papers
at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

Frank Thompson Jr.
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...