William Oxley Thompson, D.D. (November 5, 1855 – December 9, 1933) was the fifth President of The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Biography

Thompson was born in

Cambridge, Ohio Cambridge is a city in and the county seat of Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. It lies in southeastern Ohio, in the Appalachian Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains 74 miles east of Columbus. The population was 10,635 at the 2010 census. ...

to David Glenn Thompson and Agnes Miranda Oxley. Thompson was educated at

Muskingum College Muskingum University is a private liberal arts college in New Concord, Ohio. Chartered in 1837 as Muskingum College, the institution is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Collectively, the university's alumni are referred to as th ...

and

Western Theological Seminary Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is a private seminary located in Holland, Michigan. Established in 1866, it is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. ...

. An ordained minister, Thompson spent the first half of his career in

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

ministry. Upon his first wife's death in 1885 he turned to higher education and became the first president of the

Longmont Presbyterian College Longmont College, also known as The Landmark, is a building in Longmont, Colorado that briefly housed the city's first college from 1886 to 1889. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The Presbyterian Synod of Colora ...

founded by the Presbyterian Synod of Colorado. He was appointed president of

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

in 1891 and served until 1899 when he resigned to become president of the Ohio State University. His extensive service at Ohio State University (26 years) is honored with a larger-than-life bronze statue by Erwin FreyAdams, Philip R., The Sculpture of Erwin F. Frey, The Ohio State University Press, Columbus, 1939 pp. 46-47 of President Thompson in

academic dress Academic dress is a traditional form of clothing for academic settings, mainly tertiary (and sometimes secondary) education, worn mainly by those who have obtained a university degree (or similar), or hold a status that entitles them to assum ...

, positioned in front of the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library The William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library (commonly referred to as the Thompson Library) is the main library at Ohio State University's Columbus campus. It is the university's largest library and houses its main stacks, special collections, ra ...

on "The Oval" (the central green space on the Ohio State University campus). He is known for being involved in students education and social lives, presiding over the Ohio State win over Oxford University on October 10, 1924 in intercollegiate

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

. Thompson's tenure at Ohio State was marked by two seminal events. The first occurred in 1906 with the passage by the

Ohio Legislature The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...

of the Eagleson Bill, which formalized and legally locked in Ohio State's flagship role in the state's public system of higher education. The Eagleson law mandated that only Ohio State, among Ohio's public universities, would be allowed to offer doctoral education or conduct basic research. The second event, and the culmination of both the

raison d'être Raison d'être is a French expression commonly used in English, meaning "reason for being" or "reason to be". Raison d'être may refer to: Music * Raison d'être (band), a Swedish dark-ambient-industrial-drone music project * ''Raison D'être' ...

for Ohio State's founding in 1870 and the aim of the Eagleson Bill in 1906, occurred in 1916 with Ohio State's election into the

Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...

. Thompson also served as President of the University during World War One, which saw a massive drop in student attendance for 1917-1918 as many left to join the military or other war-related activities. In 1924 he quit his position as president. He died on December 9, 1933 in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Thompson's nephew,

William Hertzog Thompson William H. Thompson (June 16, 1895 – July 6, 1981) was a writer, psychologist, professor, Presbyterian minister, and the father-in-law of Warren Buffett. William Hertzog Thompson was born in 1895 in Greeley, Colorado, to Lorin Andrew Thompson, ...

, was a prominent academic at the University of Nebraska, and the father-in-law of

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

Honors

In 1926, Thompson was elected Moderator of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

of the

Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was the first national Presbyterian denomination in the United States, existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North Americ ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, William Oxley Presidents of Ohio State University People from Cambridge, Ohio Presidents of Miami University Muskingum University alumni Pittsburgh Theological Seminary alumni American Presbyterians 1855 births 1933 deaths Burials at Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus, Ohio) Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers

Biography

Honors

References

Further reading

External links