John T. Thompson
| John T. Thompson | |
|---|---|
Photo of Thompson
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| Birth name | John Taliaferro Thompson |
| Born |
December 31, 1860 Newport, Kentucky, United States |
| Died | June 21, 1940 (aged 79) Great Neck, New York, United States |
| Buried at | West Point Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
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| Service/branch |
 United States Army
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| Years of service | 1882–1914, 1917–1918 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal |
| Other work | Auto-Ordnance Corporation founder |
John Taliaferro (pronounced "tolliver") Thompson, (December 31, 1860 – June 21, 1940), was a United States Army officer best remembered as the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun.
Born on December 31, 1860 in Newport, Kentucky, Thompson grew up on a succession of Army posts and had decided on the military as a career by the age of sixteen. His father was Lt. Col. James Thompson, his mother was Maria Taliaferro. After a year at Indiana University in 1877, he gained an appointment to the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1882.
His first duty station was in his birthplace of Newport, where he was assigned to the 2nd Artillery as a second lieutenant. He then attended engineering and artillery schools, and was finally assigned to the Army's Ordnance Department in 1890, where he spent the rest of his military career. During this period he began his specialization in small arms.
With the beginning of the Spanish–American War, Thompson was promoted to lieutenant colonel and sent to Tampa, Florida as Chief Ordnance Officer under the top commander for the Cuban campaign, General William R. Shafter. While the rest of the Army was plagued with logistical problems, Thompson ran ordnance supply operations to Cuba in a highly efficient manner. Over 18,000 tons of munitions were transferred to the battlefield from his Tampa command without any accidents. Thompson was promoted to colonel, the youngest such in the Army at the time.
It was also this war which offered Thompson his first exposure to automatic weapons. At the request of Lt. John H. Parker, Thompson arranged for the informal formation of a Gatling gun unit, with fifteen weapons and a generous supply of ammunition, all shipped to Cuba on Thompson's sole authority. This unit later played a significant role in the Battle of San Juan Hill.
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Wikipedia