author
John G. (John Gilbert) Thompson
1862–1940
Best known for school readers and World War story collections, this educator-turned-author helped shape classroom reading for young students in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also played a major role in the early history of Fitchburg State, where Thompson Hall bears his name.
2 Audiobooks
Winning a Cause: World War Stories
by John G. (John Gilbert) Thompson, Inez Bigwood
Lest We Forget: World War Stories
by John G. (John Gilbert) Thompson, Inez Bigwood
About the author
Born in 1862, John G. Thompson was an American educator and writer whose full name was John Gilbert Thompson. He is remembered especially for educational reading books such as the New Century Readers, Word from Word Readers, and The Thompson Readers, along with World War I-era story collections written with Inez Bigwood, including Lest We Forget and Winning a Cause.
Thompson spent much of his career in education. Fitchburg State University identifies him as the first principal of the Fitchburg Normal School, serving from 1895 to 1920, and notes that Thompson Hall was named in his honor. The university also credits him with helping establish the school in its early years and selecting its first faculty.
Alongside his school leadership, he continued to write and publish books aimed largely at students and teachers. His work reflects a practical interest in reading instruction and classroom learning, and it remained visible enough to be preserved by libraries and projects such as Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive after his death in 1940.