Merritt Thompson papers
Scope and Contents
The Merritt Thompson papers, 1896-1970, consists of Thompson's professional and family correspondence, manuscripts and articles he wrote and collected on the topic of education, course materials used in his education classes, translated Inca stories, photographs of his professional and personal life, and documentation of his travels. The bulk of the collection documents his career as an educator and provides limited information regarding his life as a gay man.
Dates
- Creation: 1896-1970
Creator
- Thompson, Merritt Moore (Creator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Biography
Merritt Moore Thompson (1884-1970) was a lifelong educator and gay education activist. Thompson was born and raised in New Jersey. He started teaching in a local one-room country schoolhouse, then went abroad to teach in the Philippines in 1905. He returned to the United States two years later and got a bachelor's degree at the University of Denver. After a time teaching in South America, he moved to California where he taught Spanish at the University of Southern California. He got his masters and doctorate in education at the University of Southern California and became the university's director of student teaching for 31 years. Thompson's writings include The History of Education published in 1951.
Thompson was one of four members of ONE Incorporated's Education Planning Committee that developed a curriculum for an academic institution devoted to the specialized study of homosexuality. The resulting ONE Institute of Homophile Studies opened its doors in 1956 to ONE Incorporated staff members and then the next year to the general public, becoming the first institution in the United States to offer such studies.
Extent
2.3 Linear Feet (3 archive cartons + 1 flat box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Merritt Thompson papers, 1896-1970, consists of Thompson's professional and family correspondence, manuscripts and articles he wrote and collected on the topic of education, course materials used in his education classes, translated Inca stories, photographs of his professional and personal life, and documentation of his travels. Thompson was an education professor at the University of Southern California as well as a founding member of ONE Institute of Homophile Studies, the first academic institution in the United States devoted to the study of homosexuality.
Acquisition
Date and method of acquisition unknown.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Kyle Morgan, 2013.
Genre / Form
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Merritt Thompson Papers, 1896-1970
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Kyle Morgan
- Date
- (c) 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Sponsor
- Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Repository Details
Part of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California Repository
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90007 United States
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu