David Thompson

Introduction

 * David was born in London, England on April 30, 1770. His parents were Welsh and not very wealthy . His father died when David was only at the young age of 2 and at the age of 7 his mother enrolled him in the historic Grey Coat Charity School. He was very good at mathematics. He mostly studied algebra, trigonometry, geography, and navigation. His education focused or preparing him for life as a midshipman in the Royal Navy.

The Big Break

 * throughout the long years, the Hudson's Bay Company made a request to his school for some students to become apprenticed to the North American Fur Trade. Most students took the apprenticeship and got training from Philip Turnor. David Thompson stayed in school. Philip Turnor was the HBC first chief and official surveyor. When David was close to the end of his education, the HBC wanted four more apprentices. Just two were eligible at the time. One was 14 year old David Thompson. In May 1784, he went to Hudson's Bay on the Prince Rupert. He never went back to England, so he never saw his mom again. They do not know what things he did on the voyage, but he did have a Hadly's Quadrant which the school gave him after he finished. Hadly's Quadrant is a double- mirrored device that measures angles to 90 degrees. In 1785, he ended up leaving the Quadrant back in Churchill when they moved him to York Factory. It's said that he never used the Quadrant again.

Middle Years

 * In the winter of 1790, when David Thompson was in Cumberland House training, under Philip Turnor, he became blind in his right eye from looking into the sun for too long with no proper eye protection. That very spring, due to his blindness, he was too weak to go on the Athabaska Journey. Instead of going on the Athabaska Journey, he went to accompany a brigade to the York Factory. They n left June 9th. As he travelled, he was surveying the route with a sextant and watch which he borrowed from Philip Turnor. After he stayed at the York Factory for a while, he went back to Cumberland House which is where he was before he left, and he gave Turnor back his things.

Later Years

 * At the age of 76, in 1846, he could barely see anything at all. As a result he could no longer work. He had contributed greatly to the surveying and map making of North America. By the time he was 42 years old he had already surveyed 1.9 million acres of wilderness and had travelled 55,000 miles. The next year he started to write a narrative. Throughout his last years he was forced to sell all of his things. He contributed many great things but never got the recognition he deserved for it. On February 10, 1857, he died, which was 2 months before his 87th birthday. His faithful wife Charlotte died 3 months after him. In the Montreal Mount Royal Cemetery, they were both buried beside each other. This concludes the story of David Thompson's life. He lived a long and hard and eventful life.