MB Lond 1887, BS 1888; FRCS Eng 1888.
Thompson was born in Northwich, Cheshire, on 21 May 1863. He gained his medical education at Owens College and Manchester School of Medicine, gaining the Bradley and Dunville surgical scholarships and the fold medal for anatomy. Thompson was house surgeon at MRI from 1886, and also house surgeon at Dudley Hospital and resident surgeon at MRI. In 1891 Thompson was appointed professor of surgery at the University of Texas and became recognised throughout America as a leader in surgery. He was vice president of the American Surgical Association in 1922 and was first president of the Texas Surgical Society. Thompson died on 8 April 1927.