William G. Thompson
| William G. Thompson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Mayor of Detroit | |
|
In office 1880–1883 |
|
| Preceded by | George C. Langdon |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Benedict Grummond |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 23, 1842 Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
| Died |
July 20, 1904 (aged 61) Yonkers, New York |
| Spouse(s) | Adelaide Mary Brush, Adele Campau |
William G. Thompson (July 23, 1842 – July 20, 1904) was a Union Army officer, lawyer, politician, and the mayor of Detroit, Michigan. He also founded Detroit's first major league baseball team.
William G. Thompson was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on July 23, 1842. He was educated at Amherst College. In 1861, sparked to enlist by the Civil War, he joined the Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry. When his enlistment was over, he moved at the request of his mother to Toledo, Ohio, but then enlisted in a lancer regiment there as a first lieutenant. He spent the winter of 1861–62 in Detroit, after which the regiment was disbanded and Thompson returned to Lancaster. He was later appointed aide de camp as a second lieutenant in the 6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, and was severely wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, earning a promotion to first lieutenant for gallantry on the battlefield.
After his unit was mustered out in 1864, Thompson studied law in New York City, then moved to Detroit to join the law firm of D. B. and H. M. Duffield. He was admitted to the bar in 1867. He had varied business interests, building the Ste. Claire Hotel on Campus Martius in 1879 and founding Detroit's first major league baseball team, the Detroit Wolverines, in 1881.
Thompson served on the Board of Estimates in 1873, and as an alderman in 1874–1875. He unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 1876, and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Michigan in both 1876 and 1880. He ran for mayor of Detroit on the Republican ticket twice more, winning both times and serving from 1880 to 1883. In 1884, Thompson switched parties to become a Democrat and sought that party's nomination for mayor, but was not nominated. He ran once more for mayor in 1891, being defeated by the then-incumbent Hazen S. Pingree. He also served as a state senator, being elected in 1894.
...
Wikipedia