William Thompson

William LaMarcus Thompson was born in Oberlin, Ohio in 1857. He entered Oberlin as a student in the preparatory department in 1881 and graduated from the College in 1886 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Oberlin in 1889 and the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of the City of New York in 1889, after study of medicine first in the University of Michigan and then in New York City. He practiced in a hospital in Newark, NJ for two years and then became a medical missionary in East Africa, under the American Board, being located in the Mount Silinda, Rhodesia. He spend several furloughs in the United States, in 1900-01 and 1910-12.

At different times he was a student in Johns Hopkins University, in the School of Topical Medicine in London, England, and in the University of Chicago College of Dental Surgery. After his retirement in 1931 he made his home for the most part in Florida. He was twice married: first on June 14, 1891, to Mary Elizabeth McCornack who died in 1936; second on May 11, 1937, to Eloise Marcy, a former Oberlin student.

His death occurred in St. Cloud Florida January 4, 1947, following a period of gradually failing health.