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in the steamer " Fulton " in 1859 when she was wrecked. When the civil war began he was at- tached to the steamer " Powhatan," which went to Pensacola navy-yard, and contributed to the relief of Fort Pickens. He commanded the river iron- clad steamer " Pittsburg," in the Mississippi flotilla, in which he participated in the battle of Fort Donelson, when he was obliged to run her ashore to keep from sinking. He was commended for gallantry in running the batteries of Island No. 10, for which he received the thanks of the navy de- partment, and he took part in the attacks on Fort Madrid and Fort Pillow, and the battle with the Confederate rams. He was commissioned a com- mander, 16 July, 1862, served at the rendezvous at Philadelphia" in 1863-'4, and commanded the steamer " McDonough " in the South Atlantic blockade in 1864-'5, and the steamer '• Dacotah," of the South Pacific squadron, in 1866-'7. He was commissioned captain, 26 July, 1867, and was com- mandant of the naval station at Mound City, 111., in 1869-'71. He commanded the steam sloop " Canandaigua," of the North Atlantic squadron, in 1871-2, and was retired on 6 Jan., 1874.

THOMPSON, Elizabeth, philanthropist, b. hi Lyndon, Vt., 21 Feb., 1821. She is the daughter of Samuel Rowell, a poor farmer, and at the age of nine went to aid in the household duties of a neighbor's family as a maid of all work, receiv- ing as wages twenty-five cents a week. Her edu- cation was chiefly self-acquired, but she was re- markably handsome, and, while on a visit to Bos- ton in 1843, so impressed Thomas Thompson, a well-known millionaire of that city, that he sought her acquaintance. Early in 1844 they were mar- ried, and until his death in 1869 spent much of their income for charitable purposes. The use of the entire income of his immense estate was then left to Mrs. Thompson. She has given large sums to the cause of temperance, and " Figures of Hell," a tract written by her and filled with much sta- tistical information, has been widely circulated. Mrs. Thompson has given more than $100,000 to- ward providing with business pur- suits the heads of families, hundreds of whom have been enabled to establish them- selves by her boun- ty. Among her many charities is the gift of $10,000 which was expend- ed by a commis- sion authorized by congress to inves-

tigate the yellow

fever. She founded the town of Long Mont, at the foot of the Rocky mountains, and gave 640 acres of land with $300 to each colonist in Saline county, Kan. Mrs. Thompson contributed largely to the purchase of the Vassar college telescope, and gave to the Con- cord school of philosophy the building in which its summer assemblies are held. She suggested the idea of a song-service for the poor, and incurred large expense in putting it into practical operation in many of the large cities of this country. Fran- cis B. Carpenter's painting of the " Signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln in the Pres- ence of his Cabinet " was purchased by her and presented to congress. In consequence of this she was granted the freedom of the floor of the house, a right which no other woman, not even the presi- dent's wife, possesses. She gave $1,000 to the American association for the advancement of sci- ence in 1883, and was made its first "patron. In 1885 she placed in the hands of a board of trustees, chosen for that purpose, $25,000, to be devoted to the advancement and prosecution of scientific re- search in its broadest sense. This trust, known as the "Elizabeth Thompson science fund," is to be controlled by the International scientific congress. Mrs. Thompson has agitated the question of the possibility of an international republic, or a world governed by laws emanating from an intelligent community. The value of this idea has been rec- ognized by statesmen at home and abroad. The publication of a journal in England advocating her views has been announced by George J. Holyoake.

THOMPSON, George, English reformer, b. in Liverpool, England, 18 June, 1804; d. in Leeds, England, 7 Oct., 1878. He entered actively into the agitation against slavery in the British colonies, and contributed largely to its downfall, and subse- quently to that of the apprentice system. After- ward he joined the Anti-corn-law league, and also took an active part in forming the India associ- ation. In 1834, at the request of William Lloyd Garrison and others, he came to the United States to speak in behalf of the abolition of slavery. He addressed meetings in various parts of the north- ern states, and his efforts led to the formation of more than 150 anti-slavery societies ; but he was often threatened by mobs, and finally in Boston, Mass., escaped death only by fleeing in a small row-boat to an English vessel and going to St. John, New Brunswick, whence he sailed for Eng- land in November, 1835. Mr. Thompson's visit created such excitement that President Jackson denounced him in a message to congress. He made a second visit to this country in 1851, and another during the civil war, when a public reception was given to him in the house of representatives, at which President Lincoln and his cabinet were pres- ent. He aided greatly in preventing the recogni- tion of the southern Confederacy by the British government. Mr. Thompson was also concerned in the work of the National parliamentary reform association. In 1847 he was chosen a member of parliament for the Tower Hamlets. About 1870 a testimonial fund was raised for him by his ad- mirers in this country and England.

THOMPSON, George Washington, lawyer, b. in St. Clairsville, Ohio, 14 May, 1806 ; d. near Wheeling, W. Va., 24 Feb., 1888. He was graduated at Jefferson college, Pa., in 1824, studied law in Richmond, Va., was admitted to the bar, and began practice in his native town, but afterward removed to western Virginia. He was U. S. district attorney in 1849, and was elected to congress as a Democrat in the following year, serving from 1 Dec, 1851, till 30 July, 1852, when he resigned to accept a seat on the bench of the circuit court of his state. He was re-elected in 1860, but, declining to take the test oaths that were required by the reorganized government of Virginia, retired from public life. He had previously served on the com- mission that was appointed to determine the boundary between Virginia and Ohio. He was a frequent contributor to the Boston "Quarterly Review" in 1839-'42, and, besides numerous legal, political, and educational addresses, has published "Dissertation on the Historical Right of Virginia to the Territory Northwest of the Ohio " : "Life of Linn Boyd"; "The Living Forces of the Universe"