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Harold William Thompson
Overview
Harold William Thompson (1891–1964) was an American folklorist, English professor, and scholar of Scottish and New York State folk traditions. He graduated from Hamilton College with the Class of 1912, where he was valedictorian and distinguished in debating and extracurricular activity. He spent most of his academic career at Albany State Teachers College (later the New York State College for Teachers at Albany) and subsequently Cornell University, where he was a professor of English. He is best known for his landmark regional folklore study Body, Boots and Britches (1940), which documented the folk traditions of upstate New York.
Relevance to Research
Thompson appears in the Hamilton corpus across a remarkably wide span — from his undergraduate student years (1908–12 course catalogs and the Hamilton Life issues of 1908–10) through his later reputation as a celebrated alumnus and return visitor (Hamilton Life 1929–1939, Hamiltonews 1947). The Hamilton Life corpus documents his student career, his rise to scholarly prominence, and his ongoing connection to Hamilton as an alumni trustee and occasional speaker. The 1947 Hamiltonews records that Hamilton honored him with a Doctorate of Music at commencement that year. The 1959 Spectator connects him to a broader “Upstate Renaissance” narrative alongside other notable Hamilton alumni.
Notes
Role: Hamilton College alumnus, Class of 1912; English professor; folklorist; alumni trustee Hamilton connection: Class of 1912 (enrolled ca. 1908; valedictorian) Key events: - 1908–09: Listed in the Hamilton course catalog as “Harold William Thompson, Westfield” (freshman-year enrollment); also noted in the Hamilton Life issue of September 26, 1908 as “Harold Thompson, Westfield” - 1910–11: Listed in Hamilton Life (May 1910) as “Harold William Thompson, Westfield”; appears in Hamilton Life May 1911 as “H. W. Thompson, ‘12” - 1911–12: Listed in the 1911–12 catalog under HIGH HONOR students and in the general student roster; confirmed in 1912 Hamilton Life as valedictorian and winner of the written oration prize - June 1912: Hamilton Life (June 4, 1912) headline: “WON BY HAROLD W. THOMPSON” — awarded the written oration prize at commencement; described as graduating valedictorian “distinguished in many lines of extra curricular activity, especially in debating” - 1929: Hamilton Life (April 24, 1929) reports Thompson, ‘12, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Scottish Literature by the University of Edinburgh — described as the only American ever to receive the award — for research on Henry Mackenzie, the Scottish romantic-era critic; work titled Reminiscences of MacKenzie - March 1932: Hamilton Life (March 22, 1932) reports Thompson, ‘12, was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, “the only American member of the group who is not a scientist,” joining company with Franklin and Michelson - March 1934: Returns to Hamilton as coach of the Albany Teachers College debate team; identified as professor at Albany Teachers College and Hamilton alumnus, Class of 1912 - October 1938: Identified in Hamilton Life as a professor at Albany Teachers College and an alumni trustee of Hamilton; contributed a portrait of his classmate Dr. Plant to the Alumni Review - November 1938: Dr. Harold Thompson, ‘12, of Albany Teachers College, invited to read a paper on “The Folk Lore of New York State” at the Hamilton Faculty Club meeting (November 20) - January 1939: Contributes an article, “Clinton to Clinton at Clinton,” featuring newly discovered letters of DeWitt Clinton to his son George Clinton during his time at Hamilton, published in an alumni periodical - October 1939: Reviews Carl Carmer’s book The Hudson for an alumni publication - 1947: Listed in the Hamiltonews (June 5, 1947) as receiving an honorary Doctorate of Music from Hamilton at the 1947 commencement; noted as “a professor of English, but on the staff at Cornell” and described as “a musician and author”; scheduled to speak at the Alumni Luncheon - 1959: Cited in the Spectator (May 15, 1959) in connection with the “Hamilton College and the Upstate Renaissance” — a group of Hamilton alumni, including Samuel Hopkins Adams and Carl Carmer, credited with popularizing the folk-lore traditions of upstate New York