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Biographical Sketch
J. Roy Thompson standing in Lafayette Square
in front of the White House in October, 1968
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J. Roy Thompson, a lawyer and graduate of Oklahoma State University, gained prominence with his llegal work settling the Native American land claims with the US government. “The wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, and the longevity of Methuselah,” was how Thompson described what was required to take on the US government in addressing land claims made by the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes over 3,000,000,000 acres of land. Dockets 32, 258, 257, 259-A and Appeal 12-71 settled the land claims and were the largest settlements over Native American during.
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After graduation Thompson worked in Tulsa briefly when Senator Thomas P. Gore asked Thompson to serve on his staff in Washington D.C. Many of Thompson’s duties revolved around the Senator’s blindness. During this time Thompson attended George Washington University Law School where he graduated in 1941.
Thompson worked for Gore until June 1942, when he joined the Army Air Corp as a second lieutenant. Thompson held various assignments in the office of the Judge Advocate General and served on active and reserve duty until 1957 and retired as a coronel.
In 1940 Thompson opened a general law practice with Senator Gore, and it was through this connection that Thompson became involved with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes (KCA) on October 25, 1938. Thompson and Senator Gore were instrumental in the creation of the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) in 1946. |
Thomas P. Gore, ca.1930
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In 1963 the firm of Thompson, McGrail, and O’Donnell was organized, where Thompson practiced law until he retired on December 31, 1989, “when it stopped being fun.” J. Roy Thompson died on March 9th, 2005 in Washington D.C. His firm still practices law in Washington D.C. under the name Thompson, O’Donnell, Markham, Norton, & Hannon.
The J. Roy Thompson Collection
The J.Roy Thompson Collection, housed in Special Collections and University Archives, contains both biographical and historical information pertaining to J.Roy Thompsons professional life. There is both information pertaining to his cases as a lawyer, Dockets, correspondences, notes, photographs, and artifacts as well as over 500 books related to the American West and Native American studies. For more information about the collection see Guide to the J. Roy Thompson Collection # 1999-059 .
Note:
For a listing of books found in the collection, search for Call Number 1999-059 using the OSU Library Catalog.
Young J. Roy Thompson, III [son of J. Roy Thompson] with Tennyson Berry, ca. 1950s
Berry made the bow and arrows held by Thompson in this photograph, which are currently housed with The J. Roy Thompson Collection's artifacts in Special Collections and University Archives [SCUA], Edmon Low Library, OSU. For more information Contact SCUA and/or consult the Guide to the J. Roy Thompson Collection #1999-059
Note: For related information please see Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler.
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