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Finding Aid to the Merritt Thompson Papers, 1896-1970
Coll2013.039
Coll2013.039
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Table of contents
Title: Merritt Thompson papers
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013.039
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2.3 linear feet.
3 archive cartons + 1 flat box
Date (inclusive): 1896-1970
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.
creator:
Thompson, Merritt Moore
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
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.
Collection processed by Kyle Morgan, 2013.
[Box/folder #, or item name] Merritt Thompson Papers, Coll2013-039, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Date and method of acquisition unknown.
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.
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.
Related Archival Materials note
For documentation of Thompson's gay education activism, please see:
ONE Incorporated records, Coll2011.001, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Jim Kepner papers, Coll2011-002, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
ONE audiovisual collection, ARR0153, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence
Education--Study and teaching
Educator
Gay men's writings, American
Gays in higher education