{{Short description|Scottish-born American botanist and lichenologist (1913–2009)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox scientist | name = John Walter Thomson | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = July 9, 1913 | birth_place = [[Cockenzie]], Scotland | death_date = {{d-da|February 20, 2009|July 9, 1913}} | death_place = [[Mount Horeb, Wisconsin]] | nationality = | ethnicity = | field = [[Botany]] | work_institutions = [[University of Wisconsin]] | alma_mater = [[Columbia University]]<br>[[University of Wisconsin]] | doctoral_advisor = [[Norman C. Fassett]] | thesis_title = Relic Prairie Areas in Central Wisconsin<ref name="Thomson1940">{{cite journal|last1=Thomson|first1=John W.|title=Relic Prairie Areas in Central Wisconsin|journal=Ecological Monographs|volume=10|issue=4|year=1940|pages=685–717|issn=0012-9615|doi=10.2307/1943556|jstor=1943556|bibcode=1940EcoM...10..685T }} (abridgment of Thomson's 1939 Ph.D. thesis, 123 pages)</ref> | doctoral_students = [[William P. Jordan]]<ref name=Ahti/><br>[[Bill Culberson]]<ref name=Ahti/><br>[[Mason Hale]] | known_for = | author_abbrev_bot = J.W.Thomson }}
'''John Walter Thomson Jr.''' (1913–2009) was a Scottish-born American [[botanist]] and [[lichenologist]], sometimes referred to as the "Dean of North American Lichens".<ref name=BEN>{{cite journal|author=Bennett, John|title=Lichenologist John Walter Thomson (1913–2009)|journal=Botanical Electronic News|issue=405|date=March 10, 2009|url=https://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben405.html}}</ref>
==Biography== When he was eight years old, Thomson moved with his family to the U.S.A.<ref name=Ahti>{{cite journal|last1=Ahti|first1=Teuvo|author-link=Teuvo Ahti|title=A tribute to John Walter Thomson (1913–2009)|journal=The Lichenologist|volume=41|issue=6|year=2009|pages=561–563|issn=0024-2829|doi=10.1017/S0024282909990508|doi-access=free}}</ref> In 1935 he graduated from Columbia University with a bachelor's degree, majoring in botany and zoology. At the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] (UW Madison) he graduated in botany with a master's degree in 1937 and a Ph.D. in 1939. After receiving his Ph.D., he worked as a naturalist at Manhattan's [[American Museum of Natural History]] and taught at [[Brooklyn College]] until 1942.<ref name=obitBCW>{{cite journal|author=Cochrane, Theodore S.|journal=Wisconsin Flora (Newsletter of the Botanical Club of Wisconsin)|title=In Memoriam: John Walter Thomson 1913 – 2009|date=April 2009|pages=1–3|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxib3RhbmljYWxjbHVib2Z3aXNjb25zaW58Z3g6NWM4MWYwOWFhODBlYjhlMw}} reprinted in: {{cite journal|author=Cochrane, Theodore S.|title=In Memoriam: John W. Thomson|journal=The Great Lakes Botanist: A Journal of North American Botany|volume=48|issue=2|pages=61–62|date=April 2009|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mbot/0497763.0048.206/--in-memoriam-john-w-thomson?rgn=main;view=fulltext}}</ref> During WW II, he taught topics in military aviation and meteorology from 1942 to 1944 for the U.S. Army Air Corps at Superior State Teachers College (now named the [[University of Wisconsin–Superior]]).<ref name=Gilchrist>{{cite book|author=Gilchrist, Susan Cantrell|chapter=Interview: John Walter Thomson and Olive (Sherman) Thomson|title=Views of the Ridge: Oral Perspectives from the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area in Southwest Wisconsin|year=2013|pages=197–203|publisher=Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources|url=https://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/ss/SS1123.pdf}}</ref> In 1944 he became a faculty member of the department of botany at University of Wisconsin–Madison, retiring there in 1984 as professor emeritus. In retirement, he continued to work almost daily at the Madison campus until he was about 88 years old.<ref name=obitBCW/>
Thomson taught for many summers at the [[University of Minnesota]]'s Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories campus,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Remembering a Conservation Leader and Educator|author=Henderson, Rich|journal=The Prairie Promoter|publisher=The Prairie Enthusiasts|volume=22|issue=1|date=Spring 2009|pages=3–4|url=https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/theprairieenthusiasts/pages/63/attachments/original/1558143814/PPspring2009.pdf?1558143814}}</ref> which is located on [[Lake Itasca]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.cbs.umn.edu/itasca/about/ |title = About Itasca |author = Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories, College of Biological Sciences |date = February 20, 2015 |publisher = University of Minnesota}}</ref> He collected lichens not only in the Arctic and in Wisconsin, but also in a number of other U.S. states, including "California, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington".<ref name=Ahti/> He was the author or coauthor of over 100 scientific articles. He accumulated a herbarium of lichens, which gave the Wisconsin State Herbarium at UW Madison perhaps the world's best lichen collection of North American and Arctic material.<ref name=Ahti/><ref>{{cite web|title=Lichens|website=Wisconsin State Herbarium|url=https://herbarium.wisc.edu/collections/lichens/}}</ref> Thomson issued two [[exsiccata|exsiccatae]], namely ''Lichenes Wisconsinenses exsiccati'' (1946–1960) and ''Lichenes Arctici'' (1960–1966).<ref>{{cite web |title=Lichenes Wisconsinenses exsiccati: IndExs ExsiccataID=165012480 |website=IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae |publisher=Botanische Staatssammlung München |url=https://www.botanischestaatssammlung.de/DatabaseClients/IndExs/Exsiccatae_IndExs_Details.jsp?ExsiccataID=165012480 |access-date=21 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lichenes Arctici: IndExs ExsiccataID=515968978 |website=IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae |publisher=Botanische Staatssammlung München |url=https://www.botanischestaatssammlung.de/DatabaseClients/IndExs/Exsiccatae_IndExs_Details.jsp?ExsiccataID=515968978 |access-date=21 September 2024}}</ref>
In 1937 in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], Thomson married the botanist and conservationist Olive Sherman.<ref name=wchf>{{cite web|title=Olive Thomson WCGF Nominee Passes|website=The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame|date=September 24, 2017|url=https://wchf.org/olive-thomson-wchf-nominee-passes/}}</ref><ref name=Gilchrist/> Upon his death he was survived by his widow, three sons, a daughter, and seven grandchildren.<ref name=BEN/> Another son, Douglas E. Thomson, M.D., died in 1978 at age 34.<ref name=Ahti/><ref name="Enerson1980">{{cite journal|last1=Enerson|first1=D. E.|title=In memoriam. Douglas E. Thomson, M.D.|journal=Radiology|volume=135|issue=3|year=1980|pages=798|issn=0033-8419|doi=10.1148/radiology.135.3.6992202|pmid=6992202}}</ref> As a memorial to Douglas their dead son, John and Olive Thomson gave money to [[The Nature Conservancy]] for land acquisition, leading to the establishment of the Thomson Memorial Prairie,<ref>{{cite web|title=Thomson Memorial Prairie|website=The Nature Conservancy|url=https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/thomson-memorial-prairie/}}</ref> which consists of {{convert|323| acres}} of remnant dry prairie.<ref name=wchf/> Dennis Thomson and his wife Joan Schurch Thomson donated land to the nonprofit conservation organization The Prairie Enthusiasts, which created the {{convert|193|acre||adj=mid| preserve}} named Schurch-Thomson Prairie.<ref>{{cite web|title=Schurch-Thomson Prairie|website=The Prairie Enthusiasts|url=https://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/schurch_thomson}}</ref>
==Awards and honors== * 1958–1959 — President of the [[American Bryological and Lichenological Society]] * 1985 — Henry Allan Gleason Award of the [[New York Botanical Garden]] * 1985 — Gulf Oil Conservation Award jointly given to John and Olive Thomson for their environmental activity * 1992 — [[Acharius Medal]] of the International Association for Lichenology<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Acharius Medallists|url=http://www.lichenology.org/index.html?/Awards/AchariusMedallists.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624065615/http://www.lichenology.org/index.html?%2FAwards%2FAchariusMedallists.html|archive-date=2021-06-24|access-date=2021-02-03|website=International Association for Lichenology|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 1998 — Festschrift held in honor of Thomson's 85th birthday with published volume ''Lichenographia Thomsoniana'' (1998)<ref name="Hawksworth2007">{{cite journal|last1=Hawksworth|first1=D. L.|author-link=David L. Hawksworth|title=Review of ''Lichenographia Thomsoniana: North American Lichenology in Honour of John W. Thomson'', edited by M. G. Glenn, R. C. Harris, R. Ding and M. S. Cole|journal=The Lichenologist|volume=31|issue=4|date=July 1999|pages=403|issn=0024-2829|doi=10.1006/lich.1999.0214}}</ref> * 2010 — John Thomson Research Award established by the Botanical Club of Wisconsin<ref>{{cite web|title=John Thomson Award|website=Botanical Club of Wisconsin|url=https://sites.google.com/site/botanicalclubofwisconsin/home/john-thomson-research-award}}</ref>
==Selected publications== ===Articles=== *{{cite journal|jstor=2420920|last1=Thomson|first1=John W.|title=The Lichen Genus ''Cladonia'' in Wisconsin|journal=The American Midland Naturalist|year=1942|volume=27|issue=3|pages=696–709|doi=10.2307/2420920}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3239914|title=Lichens of Arctic America. II. Additions to Records of Lichen Distribution in the Canadian Eastern Arctic|last1=Thomson|first1=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1955|volume=58|issue=3|pages=246–259|doi=10.1639/0007-2745(1955)58[246:LOAAIA]2.0.CO;2}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3240565|title=''Agrestic cyphellata'', a New Genus and Species of Lichen in the Usneaceae|last1=Thomson|first1=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1960|volume=63|issue=4|pages=246–250|doi=10.1639/0007-2745(1960)63[246:ACANGA]2.0.CO;2}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3241088|title=The Lichen Genus ''Baeomyces'' in North America North of Mexico|last1=Thomson|first1=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1967|volume=70|issue=3|pages=285–298|doi=10.1639/0007-2745(1967)70[285:TLGBIN]2.0.CO;2}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3240649|title=A Fog-Induced Lichen Community in the Coastal Desert of Southern Peru|last1=Thomson|first1=J. W.|last2=Iltis|first2=H. H.|author-link2=Hugh Iltis|journal=The Bryologist|year=1968|volume=71|issue=1|pages=31–34|doi=10.1639/0007-2745(1968)71[31:AFLCIT]2.0.CO;2}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3242046|title=Lichens from a High Arctic Coastal Lowland, Devon Island, N.W.T.|last1=Barrett|first1=Paul E.|last2=Thomson|first2=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1975|volume=78|issue=2|pages=160–167|doi=10.2307/3242046}} *{{cite journal|doi=10.1139/b78-190|title=The lichen genus ''Dactylina'' in North America|year=1978|last1=Thomson|first1=J. W.|last2=Bird|first2=C. D.|journal=Canadian Journal of Botany|volume=56|issue=14|pages=1602–1624}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3242215|title=Lichens of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska, with Emphasis on the Impact of Caribou Grazing|last1=Moser|first1=Thomas J.|last2=Nash|first2=Thomas H.|last3=Thomson|first3=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1979|volume=82|issue=3|pages=393–408|doi=10.2307/3242215}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3243122|title=Spore Ornamentation in the Lichen Genus ''Solorina''|last1=Thomson|first1=Norman F.|last2=Thomson|first2=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1984|volume=87|issue=2|pages=151–153|doi=10.2307/3243122}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3243269|title=The Lichen Genera ''Catapyrenium'' and ''Placidiopsis'' in North America|last1=Thomson|first1=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1987|volume=90|issue=1|pages=27–39|doi=10.2307/3243269}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3243824|title=The Lichen Genus ''Staurothele'' in North America|last1=Thomson|first1=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1991|volume=94|issue=4|pages=351–367|doi=10.2307/3243824}} *{{cite journal|jstor=3243780|title=Lichens of Tuxedni Wilderness Area, Alaska|last1=Talbot|first1=Stephen S.|last2=Talbot|first2=Sandra Looman|last3=Thomson|first3=John W.|journal=The Bryologist|year=1992|volume=95|issue=1|pages=20–30|doi=10.2307/3243780}} * {{cite journal|last1=Thomson|first1=J|title=The distribution of Arctic lichens and thoughts concerning their origin|journal=The Lichenologist|volume=27|year=1995|pages=411–416|issn=0024-2829|doi=10.1016/S0024-2829(05)80002-7|bibcode=1995ThLic..27R.411T}} * {{cite journal|author=Talbot, S. S.|author2=Thomson, J. W.|author3=Schofield, W. B.|year=2007|title=Lichens from Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge and vicinity, east-central Alaska|journal=The Bryologist|volume=110|issue=1|pages=74–91|doi=10.1639/0007-2745(2007)110[74:LFTNWR]2.0.CO;2|url=https://bioone.org/journals/the-bryologist/volume-110/issue-1/0007-2745(2007)110[74:LFTNWR]2.0.CO;2/Lichens-from-Tetlin-National-Wildlife-Refuge-and-vicinity-east-central/10.1639/0007-2745(2007)110[74:LFTNWR]2.0.CO;2.short|url-access=subscription}}
===Books and monographs=== * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1qZpwAACAAJ|title = The Lichen Genus ''Physcia'' in North America|isbn = 9783768254076|last1 = Thomson|first1 = John Walter|year = 1963| publisher=J. Cramer }} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJUpAQAAMAAJ|title = The Lichen Genus ''Cladonia'' in North America|isbn = 9780802014863|last1 = Thomson|first1 = John Walter|author-mask=2|year = 1967| publisher=University of Toronto Press }} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qaA_AAAAYAAJ|title = Lichens of the Alaskan Arctic Slope|isbn = 9780802054289|last1 = Thomson|first1 = John Walter|author-mask=2|year = 1979| publisher=University of Toronto Press }} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LDeK1AEcRj4C|title = American Arctic Lichens: The macrolichens|isbn = 9780231058889|last1 = Thomson|first1 = John Walter|author-mask=2|year = 1984| publisher=Columbia University Press }} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fx6KPWJ1VKsC|title = American Arctic Lichens: The microlichens|isbn = 9780299134600|last1 = Thomson|first1 = John Walter|author-mask=2|year = 1984| publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press }} * {{cite book|author=Thomson, John W.|author-mask=2|title=Lichens of Wisconsin|year=2003|location=Madison|publisher=Wisconsin State Herbarium|isbn=0972739300|postscript=; 386 pages}}
{{botanist|J.W.Thomson}}
==See also== * [[:Category:Taxa named by John Walter Thomson]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{wikispecies-inline|John Walter Thomson}} *[http://www.lichenology.org/Awards/Acharius_Thomson.html Citation for 1992 Acharius Medal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311001413/http://www.lichenology.org/Awards/Acharius_Thomson.html |date=2007-03-11 }} by [[Irwin M. Brodo|Irwin Murray Brodo]]
{{Presidents of the American Bryological and Lichenological Society|state=collapsed}} {{Recipients of the Acharius Medal}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, John Walter}} [[Category:1913 births]] [[Category:2009 deaths]] [[Category:British emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:20th-century American botanists]] [[Category:21st-century American botanists]] [[Category:American lichenologists]] [[Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni]] [[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni]] [[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty]] [[Category:Acharius Medal recipients]]