Thompson, John M

From Lane Co Oregon

In poor health nearly all his adult life, John M. Thompson (1838-1882) still managed to be a lawyer, judge, state representative, and regent of the University of Oregon. When elected Speaker of the House in 1878, he set about investigating fraud in the state administration. It was not pleasant work, said the Oregon State Journal, but “he performed faithfully” and “as well and as vigorously as his feeble health enabled him to do.” He died at age 43. A “Resolution of Respect” from the Masonic Lodge, printed in the Journal, described him as “a man who was ever ready for duty, though that duty was death.”