Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Thompson, Merritt Moore
- 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.
- Extent:
- 2.3 linear feet. 3 archive cartons + 1 flat box
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Box/folder #, or item name] Merritt Thompson Papers, Coll2013-039, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
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.
- Biographical / historical:
-
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.
- Acquisition information:
- Date and method of acquisition unknown.
- Processing information:
-
Collection processed by Kyle Morgan, 2013.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
- Terms of access:
-
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.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Box/folder #, or item name] Merritt Thompson Papers, Coll2013-039, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
- Location of this collection:
-
909 West Adams BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90007, US
- Contact:
- (213) 821-2771