The Former home of John H. Thompson

John H. Thompson

John H. Thompson was born in 1883 in Detroit. He started as a travelling salesman, then moved to New York City to work as a broker. He pursued a similar line of work in Chicago, then returned to Detroit in 1904 to work as a mechanic in the Cadillac and the Oldsmobile factories. He then brokered automobile parts for three years, and in 1909 organized the Thompson Auto Company, which distributed Federal Trucks (manufactured by Martin L. Pulcher). In 1912 he took two of his brothers into the business, remaining president. In 1918 he began distributing Maxwell and Chalmers automobiles. In the same year, he also organized the Thompson Airplane Company, which distributed Curtiss airplanes. John H. Thompson lived at 1210 W. Boston Boulevard from 1920 through the late 1950s.