Ernest O. Thompson

Ernest O. Thompson

Infobox_Officeholder
name= Ernest Othmer Thompson


image_size = (349 × 475 pixels, file size: 152 KB, MIME type: image/gif)
caption= Ernest O. Thompson
office= Mayor of Amarillo, Potter County, Texas, USA
term_start=1929
term_end=1932
preceded=Lee Bivins
succeeded=Ross D. Rogers
office2=Texas Railroad Commissioner
term_start=January 1, 1933
term_end=January 11, 1965
preceded2=Pat Morris Neff
succeeded2=Byron M. Tunnell
birth_date= birth date |1892|3|24
birth_place= Alvord, Wise County, Texas, USA
death_date= death date and age|1966|6|28|1892|3|24
spouse= (1) May Peterson Thompson (1924-her death in 1952)
(2) Myda Bivins Thompson (widow of Miles Bivins)
children=No children
party= Democratic
occupation= Businessman; Attorney; Oil expert
religion= Episcopal
footnotes=(1) Thompsons name lives in Amarillo through Thompson Park, which houses Wonderland Amusement Park, and in the capital of Austin, which contains the Ernest O. Thompson Building.

(2) Thompson was widely recognized as a world authority on petroleum and natural gas production and conservation.

(3) Thompson patronized the Western artist Harold Dow Bugbee through showings of paintings in Thompsons two Amarillo hotels.

(4) Thompson served thirty-two years on the Texas Railroad Commission, an oil and gas regulatory body originally established in 1891.

(5) Thompsons brief tenure as mayor of Amarillo launched a major capital improvements projec and brought reductions in utility rates.

(6) Thompson, an expert in machine guns was given a battlefield promotion in World War I by General John J. Pershing.

(7) A longtime advocate of veterans causes, Thompson was a co-founder of the American Legion.

(8) In 1937, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference.

Ernest Othmer Thompson (March 24, 1892June 28, 1966) was a general in the United States Army during World War I, a mayor of Amarillo, Texas, an attorney, a businessman (hotels, office buildings, and oil), and a 32-year member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was recognized as a world authority on petroleum and natural gas production and conservation. Thompson was also a patron of the arts; his first wife was a Metropolitan Opera singer. [http://www.amarillo.com/stories/051900/his_thompsone.html Amarillo Globe-News: History Makers: Gen. Ernest O. Thompson 05/19/00 ] ]

Early years and military service

Thompson was born to Lewis Oliver Thompson and the former [http://ohshitcp.pt.vu/ Flora Lee Agnes] Murray in Alvord in Wise County in what is now part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. When he was ten years of age, his family moved to Amarillo, where the senior Thompson, operated a drug store. Thompson was already a successful entrepreneur even as a teenager. [http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?step=1&pers_id=2373 Ernest Othmer Thompson ] ] He graduated from Amarillo High School and attended Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, and later the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a law degree.

During the Great War, Thompson became an expert in machine-gun tactics. In the Meuse-Argonne campaign, he worked out a mass machine-gun firing technique and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, having received a battlefield promotion from General John J. Pershing. At twenty-six, he was the youngest lieutenant colonel in the Army. After the cessation of hostilities, Thompson remained in Europe to direct the stockpiling of German weapons with the Army of Occupation.

In 1919, he was among the organizers of the American Legion, which lobbies for various veteranscauses. That same year, he attended the Paris Peace Conference, where U.S. President Woodrow Wilson headed the American delegation, which also included Edward M. House, a rice magnate from Houston.In 1936, Thompson was named colonel of the Texas National Guard. He was promoted to commanding general in 1952 and was thereafter known as "General Thompsonthough his biographer refers to him as "colonel".

Amarillo businessman

On his return from Europe to Amarillo, General Thompson practiced law and owned the Amarillo and Herring hotels. He maintained a penthouse suite atop the Amarillo Hotel, where he resided. The hotel was built in 1889. Laura Vernon Hamner, a West Texas ranch historian, former school superintendent, and well-known civic leader, lived in Thompsons Herring Hotel for many years. Thompson patronized the western artist Harold Dow Bugbee, a curator of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in nearby Canyon. He also built the first multi-story office building in Amarillo, called simply the Amarillo Building.

Two marriages

In 1924, Thompson married the former May Esther Peterson (October 7, 1880—October 7, 1952), a Wisconsin native and a star of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City who was twelve years his senior. The couple met in the First Methodist Church of Amarillo, where Thompson was her escort for a performance. In addition to the hotel suite in Amarillo, the couple lived in the capital of Austin during much of the time that Thompson served on the Railroad Commission. They also maintained a summer home in Estes Park, Colorado. They had no children. [ [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/fth48.html Handbook of Texas Online - THOMPSON, MAY PETERSON ] ] Mrs. Thompson died suddenly on her 72nd birthday. [ [http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?step=1&pers_id=2314 May Esther Peterson Thompson ] ]

Thompson thereafter married Myda Bivins (1892–1978), [ [http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index Interactive Search ] ] the widow of Miles Bivins, a prominent Amarillo cattleman. Lee Bivins, the father of Miles Bivins, had been Thompsons predecessor as mayor, having died in office after four years of service. Hence, Thompsons second wife was the former daughter-in-law of the man who had preceded Thompson as mayor.

Election as mayor

Though Thompson was a Democrat, the Bivins family became prominent Texas Republicans as the state adopted a two-party system. Former State Senator and U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Miles Teel Bivins of Amarillo was a grandson of the late Miles and Myda Bivins.

Thompson was elected to the nonpartisan position of mayor of Amarillo in 1928 on a platform advocating the reduction of utility rates. On taking office in 1929, he established a competing municipal natural gas company and launched a successful consumer boycott of telephones to persuade the companies to lower rates.He also launched a major capital improvements campaign. He served as mayor for two two-year terms, until 1932, when he was appointed by Governor Ross Sterling, a founder of the future Exxon Company, to the Texas Railroad Commission. A vacancy occurred when commissioner and former Governor Pat Morris Neff resigned to become the president of Baylor University in Waco.

On the commission, Thompson built his reputation as an oil and gas expert. He was elected to full six-year terms in 1936, 1942, 1948, 1954, and 1960. He resigned two-thirds into his last term, and Governor John B. Connally, Jr., named Byron M. Tunnell, former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives as Thompsons successor. Tunnell's departure from the House paved the way for Ben Barnes to become the youngest Speaker in Texas House history. [http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/history/h03.html RRC: RRC Chronology 1960-1979 ] ]

Meanwhile, Ross D. Rogers followed Thompson as mayor and served throughout the remainder of the 1930s, when Amarillo was hard hit by drought during the Great Depression.

Authority on oil

Under Thompson's guidance, the Railroad Commission developed conservation and production measures that brought order to the chaotic East Texas oil field in the 1930s, where oil prices fell from $1.10 to 10 cents a barrel.

Thompson long opposed nationalization of the petroleum industry and worked to establish the Interstate Oil Compact, having served three terms as chairman of the group. He was one of the first to warn the industry against reliance on imports in time of war, a prophecy which bore fruit with the Gulf War of 1991 and the continuing War on Terrorism.

In 1937, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference in Paris, France. With the outbreak of World War II, Thompson briefly rejoined the Army before returning to Texas to ensure oil supplies for Allied forces.

In 1951, Thompson was honored by several trade associations: the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, which awarded him the "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement."

Promoting the Texas Railroad Commission

Thompson did much to enhance the credibility of the Railroad Commission, which had been created in 1891 during the first administration of Governor James Stephen Hogg. He and his wife relocated to Austin, where the commission meets and conducts its business. He tried to build public support for Railroad Commission services. At every opportunity, he promoted Texas oil and the idea that regulation would enhance, not hamper, the free-market. Regulations, however, increased the price of oil by holding back production but promised steady supplies in the future. [http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/railroad/power/page1.html Hazardous Business - The Power Years - Page 1 - Texas State Library ] ]

Both the petroleum conservationists and the major oil companies received a system of mandated oil-production levels known as prorationing. The Railroad Commission determined how much oil could be produced monthly in accord with market demand. This practice permitted price-fixing by major oil companies and conservation of Texasreserves. The tens of thousands of independent oilmen who owned most of the East Texas fields opposed prorationing but were reconciled to Thompsons system when they realized that the commission would allow narrow spacing of wells, a policy which favored the smaller independent producers.

In 1930, the Railroad Commission employed 69 persons; by 1939, it had 566 employees working in multiple divisions. Thompson sought to hire new graduates from the states geology and petroleum engineering schools. He knew nost of those young people would move to higher-paying jobs in the private sector. However, he believe that they would promote the mission of the Railroad Commission because of their prior employment.

In 1944, Thompson moved to protect Texas interests by leading the opposition to the Anglo-American oil treaty in the Middle East. This pact would have formed a commission dominated by the major oil companies to assess post-war demand for Mideast oil and authorized production quotas. Thompson, Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes, and the independent oil companies opposed the idea of giving the major companies so much control over global marketing and production. The treaty eventually failed, but the competition from Mideast oil would continue.

Two gubernatorial campaigns

Thompson twice ran for governor of Texas, having lost the Democratic nomination both times to W. Lee O'Daniel, a populist radio announcer and salesman originally from Ohio and later Kansas. Thompson was believed to have been the leading candidate in 1938 until ODaniel made his last-minute entry. ODaniel won the nomination, 573,166 votes (51.4 percent ) to Thompsons 231,630 (20.8 percent). The remaining 27.8 percent was divided among eleven other candidates.http://www.texasalmanac.com/politics/gubernatorial.pdf] In the 1940 primary, held when the state had two-year gubernatorial terms, Thompson offered proposals of aid to labor, the establishment of a public utility commission, and a nickel-a-barrel oil tax to pay for the state's old-age pensions. He noted that Texas oil was not limitless and was taxed less than was oil in several other states. Nevertheless, Thompson again finished second to ODaniel, 645,646 (54.3 percent) to 255,923 (21.5 percent). Also in the race was controversial former Governor Miriam Ferguson, who received 100,578 votes (8.5 percent). The remaining 15.7 percent was divided among four other candidates."Pappy" ODaniel, as he was known, resigned in his second abbreviated term and narrowly won a special election to the United States Senate, having defeated then U.S. Representative Lyndon B. Johnson, on the death of Senator Morris Sheppard of Texarkana.

Thompson's legacy

Thompson served on the boards of Texas Tech University in Lubbock and his "alma mater", VMI. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Masonic lodge, the Shriners, and the Amarillo Rotary Club.

On his retirement from the Railroad Commission, the Texas State Legislature designated the former Tribune Building as the Ernest O. Thompson Building at Colorado and West Tenth streets. It was the tallest building constructed in Austin during the 1940s. [ [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=ernestothompsonbuilding-austin-tx-usa Ernest O. Thompson Building, Austin / Emporis.com ] ]

After Thompsons death, the Texas Historical Commission placed a marker to honor him in the convert|610|acre|km2|sing=on Thompson Park, which the city had already named for its former mayor. The park, located off Dumas Drive in north Amarillo, houses Wonderland Amusement Park, a small zoo, a lake, a ball park, a golf course, and facilities for picnicking. [ [http://www.planetware.com/amarillo/thompson-park-us-tx-amtp.htm Thompson Park, Amarillo ] ]

James Anthony Clark penned the biography of Thompson, "Three Stars for the Colonel: A Biography of Ernest O. Thompson" in 1954. It was published by Random House in New York City. [ [http://www.antiqbook.com/boox/bookbs/011197a.shtml Three Stars for the Colonel: The Biography of Ernest O. Thompson, Father of Petroleum Conservation - CLARK, JAMES A ] ]

Thompson is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin beside his first wife, May. In 2001, Thompson was incuded among the "100 Most Influential People of the High Plains", as compiled by the "Amarillo Globe-News".

Overall, Thompsons main legacy is perhaps his dogged attempt to keep his state's oil-based wealth within Texas.In 1957, Sam Rayburn of Texas, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, told a U.S. Senate committee which was investigating a shortage of American oil production at the time, thatin my humble opinion, the general knows more about oil than any [other] man in the world." Thompson used the occasion to explain how Texas policies had deliberately reduced production to benefit the independent oil producers. The lack of production, moreover, he maintained, was "a myth." [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,936869,00.html?promoid=googlep Not so Villainous - TIME ] ]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ernest Evan Thompson — Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (* 14. August 1860 in South Shields, County Durham heute in Tyne and Wear, Schottland; † 23. Oktober 1946 in Seton Village, New Mexico) war ein bekannter Autor und Mitbegründer der US amerikanischen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ernest Seton Thompson — Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (* 14. August 1860 in South Shields, County Durham heute in Tyne and Wear, Schottland; † 23. Oktober 1946 in Seton Village, New Mexico) war ein bekannter Autor und Mitbegründer der US amerikanischen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge — Égyptologue Pays de naissance  Angleterre Naissance 27 jui …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ernest Thompson — (* 1892; † 1961 in High Point, North Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Old Time Musiker. Thompson gehörte zu den ersten ländlichen Musikern, die Plattenaufnahmen machten. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 1.1 Kindheit und Jugend 1.2 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ernest Thompson Seton — (* 14. August 1860 in South Shields, County Durham heute in Tyne and Wear, Schottland; † 23. Oktober 1946 in Seton Village, New Mexico) war ein bekannter Autor und Mitbegründer der US amerikanischen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thompson — Thompson, Benjamin Thompson, Francis * * * (as used in expressions) Seton, Ernest Thompson Ernest Evan Thompson Ernest Seton Thompson Thompson, Dorothy Thompson, E(dward) P(almer) Thompson, Emma Thompson, Hunter S(tockton) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ernest Wallis Budge — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (nació el 27 de julio de 1857, en Cornualles, Inglaterra muere el 23 de noviembre de 1934, en Londres). Fue un egiptólogo, orientalista y filólogo inglés que trabajó para el… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ernest Thompson Seton — Infobox Person name = Ernest Thompson Seton image size = 200px caption = birth date = birth date|1860|8|14 birth place = South Shields, England death date = death date and age|1946|10|23|1860|8|14 death place = Seton Village, New Mexico, USA… …   Wikipedia

  • Ernest — /err nist/, n. a male given name: from an Old English word meaning vigor, intent. * * * (as used in expressions) Ernest Banks Bevin Ernest Bloch Ernest Borlaug Norman Ernest Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean Marie Chausson Amédée Ernest Durocher Leo… …   Universalium

  • Ernest — (as used in expressions) Ernest Banks Bevin, Ernest Bloch, Ernest Borlaug, Norman (Ernest) Boulanger, Georges (Ernest Jean Marie) Chausson, (Amédée) Ernest Durocher, Leo (Ernest) Ernest Jennings Goodpasture, E(rnest) W(illiam) Hemingway, Ernest… …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/10359959 Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”