The Narratives of Thomas Clarkson Thompson 1860-1938

Thompson, Thomas Clarkson: - Thomas Clarkson Thompson was born in 1860 in Columbia, SC. He grew up in poverty during Reconstruction. T.C. Thompson moved to Chattanooga in 1893 as a representative for the Atlanta Manufacturing Company. In 1898, Thompson became manager of the National Life Insurance Company for Tennessee. He was elected mayor of Chattanooga, TN in 1909 and served until the end of his second term in 1915. At the end of his second term, Thompson did not seek re-election. In 1917, Thompson became a civilian aid to the Adjutant General of Fort Oglethorpe and served in the position for two years. After returning to private business, Thompson's lifelong interest in improving the lives of children continued, and he worked to establish a children's hospital. Working through the Civitan Club, Thompson privately raised funds for the hospital before asking the city and county to issue $250,000 in bonds for the project. During the construction of the eighty-nine bed Children's Hospital, Thompson insisted that distinction not be made in patient areas so that those without means were not separated into "charity wards." T.C. Thompson served on the board of the Childrens' Hospital until his death in 1938. Six years later, the board of trustees voted to change the name of the hospital to the T.C. Thompson Childrens' Hospital.