James M. Thomson

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James McIlhany Thomson and wife in 1916

James McIlhany Thomson (February 13, 1878 – September 25, 1959) was an American newspaper publisher, best known for his long tenure as head of the New Orleans States-Item and his political role within the Democratic Party.

Early years

Thomson was born in Jefferson County, West Virginia.^[1] He attended the Johns Hopkins University, where he and classmate Edgeworth Smith founded the Johns Hopkins News-Letter in 1896.

Career

Shortly after graduating, Thomson became editor of the Norfolk, Virginia Dispatch, where he worked from 1900-1906.^[2] From 1906 to 1941, Thomson served in the position he would hold for most of his life, as publisher of the New Orleans States-Item, then known simply as the Item.^[3] The New Orleans States-Item was later merged with the present-day Times-Picayune.

Political involvement

Thomson married Genevieve Champ Clark in 1915, whose father, James Beauchamp Clark, had been a Democratic nominee for president in 1912.^[4] Thomson himself would serve as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1920, 1924, and 1944 for the state of Louisiana.^[1] His nephew, also named James McIlhany Thomson, served as the Democratic representative of Alexandria, Virginia in the Virginia General Assembly from 1956 to 1978.^[5]

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 See http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/thomson
↑ ibid.
↑ ibid.
↑ See http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/clark5.html#R9M0ISMJW
↑ ibid.

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Persondata
Name	Thomson, James M.
Alternative names
Short description	American newspaper publisher
Date of birth	February 13, 1878
Place of birth
Date of death	September 25, 1959
Place of death

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